§ Rule 6-24.3 Minimum Standards
Rule 6-24.3. Minimum Standards
(a) Minimum Period of Practice. The applicant shall have been engaged in the practice of law in the United States, or engaged in the practice of United States law while in a foreign country, and shall have been a member in good standing of the bar of any state of the United States or the District of Columbia for a period of 5 years as of the date of filing an application. The years of law practice need not be consecutive.
(b) Substantial Involvement. To become certified as a construction lawyer, a lawyer must demonstrate substantial involvement in construction law. Substantial involvement shall include the following:
(1) At least 5 years of actual practice of law of which at least 40 percent has been spent in active participation in construction law. At least 3 years of this practice shall be immediately preceding application.
(2) Substantial involvement means the applicant has devoted 40 percent or more of the applicant's practice to matters in which issues of construction law are significant factors and in which the applicant had substantial and direct participation in those construction law issues. An applicant must furnish information concerning the frequency of the applicant's work and the nature of the issues involved. For the purposes of this subdivision the “practice of law” shall be as defined in rule 6-3.5(c)(1), except that it shall also include time devoted to lecturing and/or authoring books or articles on construction law if the applicant was engaged in the practice of law during such period. Demonstration of compliance with this requirement shall be made initially through a form of questionnaire approved by the construction law certification committee but written or oral supplementation may be required.
(c) Peer Review. The applicant shall submit the names and addresses of 5 attorneys who are familiar with the applicant's practice, not including attorneys who currently practice in the applicant's law firm, who can attest to the applicant's special competence and substantial involvement in the field of construction law, as well as the applicant's character, ethics, and reputation for professionalism. The board of legal specialization and education and the construction law certification committee may authorize references from persons other than attorneys and may also make such additional inquiries as deemed appropriate.
(d) Education. The applicant must demonstrate that during the 3-year period immediately preceding the date of application, the applicant has met the continuing legal education requirements in construction law as follows. The required number of hours shall be established by the board of legal specialization and education and shall in no event be less than 45 hours. Credit for attendance at continuing legal education seminars shall be given only for programs that are directly related to construction law. The education requirement may be satisfied by 1 or more of the following:
(1) attendance at continuing legal education seminars meeting the requirements set forth above;
(2) lecturing at, and/or serving on the steering committee of, such continuing legal education seminars;
(3) authoring articles or books published in professional periodicals or other professional publications;
(4) teaching courses in construction law at an approved law school or other graduate level program presented by a recognized professional education association;
(5) completing such home study programs as may be approved by the board of legal specialization and education or the construction law certification committee, subject to the limitation that no more than 50 percent of the required number of hours of education may be satisfied through home study programs; or
(6) such other methods as may be approved by the board of legal specialization and education and the construction law certification committee.
The board of legal specialization and education and the construction law certification committee shall establish policies applicable to this rule, including, but not limited to, approval of credit hours allocable to any of the above-listed continuing legal education activities. Such policies shall provide that credit hours shall be allocable to each separate but substantially different lecture, article, or other activity described in subdivisions (2), (3), and (4) above.
(e) Examination. The applicant must pass an examination, applied uniformly to all applicants, to demonstrate sufficient knowledge, proficiency, and experience in the practice of law applicable to the design and construction of projects in Florida construction law to justify the representation of special competence to the legal profession and the public.