The WSJ Law Blog (Jacob Gershman) reports, based on an ALM Florida business article, that lawyers in Florida are alarmed by the bar president's revolutionary idea: Motion admission might be a good idea.
Says the WSJ blog:
"The newly installed president of the Florida Bar is walking back his suggestion that the state should make it easier for out-of-state lawyers to practice in Florida.
"Bar president Ramón Abadin clarified his position after the idea of loosening Florida’s bar admission rules provoked a heated and divided reaction from lawyers in Florida, some of whom fear such a shift would flood the state with out-of-state lawyers and undermine their business."
Of course, Florida lawyers especially worry because the state is a magnet for snow birds and retirees, lawyers among them.
Nothing in the report attributes the opposition to a desire to protect clients. It's all about competition.
How about other warm places: Arizona allows motion admission, Hawaii does not.
New Jersey, which is not warm, does not, but would it make any difference if it did?
Should the Florida bar be criticized? Maybe. Or maybe not. Could state high courts fix the bar passage rate with an eye to ensuring enough work to support a vibrant lawyer population. Do they?