Richard Greenberg presented an “Ethics Update” at the Palm Beach County Bar Association’s 2022 Annual Estate/Probate and Trust Seminar on Friday, March 25 in West Palm Beach presented by the Estate/Probate CLE Committee. He discussed recent amendments to the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar which take effect May 2, 2022. He also discussed ABA Formal Opinion 500 (Language Access in the Client-Lawyer Relationship), Florida Bar ethics opinions pertinent to estate/probate and trust practitioners, and recent bar discipline cases.

Two key takeaways from his presentation:

1. The Supreme Court of Florida has approved a number of new provisions to the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. The updated rules are effective May 2, 2022, at 12:01 a.m. Every Florida Bar member must ensure they file their trust certificate required timely in order to avoid becoming a delinquent member, and thus ineligible to practice.
2. Rule 4-1.14 has been amended to set forth an attorney’s obligations when dealing with a client with diminished capacity, formerly a client under a disability.  Other significant amendments deal with deceptive and misleading advertisements that direct a person to a different lawyer or law firm than the one they were attempting to contact and limitations on direct contact with prospective clients at business or professional gatherings.