The Florida Bar is set to make a significant change to its policy regarding diversity and inclusion within the legal profession, removing references to race and gender and shifting focus toward a more generalized commitment to “the quality of legal services.” This move comes in response to a directive from the Florida Supreme Court earlier this year and marks a pivotal shift in how the state’s legal community approaches diversity-related initiatives.
The Florida Bar’s Board of Governors is scheduled to meet on Friday to review the proposed revisions, which would overhaul the bar’s current diversity and inclusion policy. The new policy would emphasize the “Improvement of the Quality of Legal Services,” with a focus on equal access and opportunity for all but without explicit mention of diversity or inclusion.
The proposed change follows a directive from the Florida Supreme Court issued in January, which instructed the Florida Bar to remove funding for diversity and inclusion programs from its budget. This decision was part of broader efforts by the court to refocus the bar’s priorities, particularly in response to mounting pressure regarding race and gender-focused initiatives.
Currently, the Florida Bar’s policy states that it is “fully committed to the enhancement of diversity and inclusion” across the legal profession, legal education, and the justice system. The board’s policies, however, are not binding rules for individual bar members, but rather guide the operations of the bar itself. The new proposed policy would be a shift away from these more specific diversity-related goals, instead prioritizing the quality and accessibility of legal services for all Floridians.
The Florida Bar, which represents over 80,000 attorneys, is one of the largest bar associations in the country. It has been at odds with the state’s Supreme Court on diversity issues since 2021. That year, the court blocked a policy from the bar’s business section that required continuing legal education (CLE) programs with three or more presenters to include at least one speaker from an underrepresented demographic. This was followed by a series of actions in 2023 and 2024, including the disbandment of the bar’s diversity and inclusion committee and the removal of “bias elimination” from approved CLE topics for Florida lawyers.
In addition, the Florida Supreme Court’s February decision to eliminate “bias elimination” as a topic for CLE credits, as well as its 2023 ruling barring judges from receiving credit for courses on “fairness and diversity,” reflects a broader trend of diminishing focus on diversity and inclusion in the state’s legal system. All seven justices of the Florida Supreme Court were appointed by Republican governors, further influencing the trajectory of these legal shifts.
This movement in Florida aligns with similar national trends. For instance, the American Bar Association (ABA) proposed a similar shift in its standards for law school diversity in August 2024, aiming to align with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling on race-conscious admissions policies. After some backlash, the ABA amended its stance in November, restoring “race and ethnicity” to its diversity standards.
As the Florida Bar prepares to finalize its policy revision, many are watching closely to see how this shift will affect the broader legal landscape, particularly in terms of how diversity and inclusion are addressed within the state’s legal community.
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