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Article
Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post By Kimberly
Miller Published
September 25, 2012
The Florida Bar’s committee on the unlicensed practice of law approved a request
last Thursday for an advisory opinion on whether certain actions taken by community associations should be completed only by attorneys.
But on 10 of 14 items considered, the committee said it wanted to keep the same language as a 1996 opinion that already addresses the issue, said Lori Holcomb, the Florida Bar’s director of client protection.
The remaining four issues were either not in the 1996 Florida Supreme Court order or the committee asked for more examples of how an action would be considered the unlicensed practice of law. For example, the 1996 opinion says phrasing a yes or no voting question on a ballot is not considered something that needs to be done by a lawyer. But if you are interpreting an amendment to community association rules, it might be, Holcomb said.
Some community association members fear the opinion will mean higher lawyer fees.
“There are things community managers can do in some cases at no additional charge without sending to an attorney,” said Brad van Rooyen, a Tampa-based community manager and executive director of the Chief Executive Officers of Management Companies, a Florida community management association.
The request for a formal opinion was made by the Real Property Division of the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section.
Florida Bar staff will now draft an opinion and bring it back to the unlicensed practice of law committee in February for a vote. If it is approved there it will go to the Supreme Court for a ruling.
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