Preamble

The following standards of professional courtesy describe the conduct preferred and expected by the attorneys practicing in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit. These standards are not meant to be exhaustive, but they are intended to set a tone or guide for conduct not specifically covered by these standards. For most lawyers, these guidelines will simply reflect their current practice. However, it is hoped that the widespread dissemination and implementation of these guidelines will result in an overall increase in the level of professionalism of attorneys in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit. The hope is that these guidelines will give direction to both lawyers and judges as to the manner in which lawyers should conduct themselves in all phases of practice. These guidelines have received the approval of the voluntary bar associations of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit. The guidelines have also been endorsed by the judges of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, who expect professional conduct by all attorneys who appear and practice in this circuit.

A. SCHEDULING, CONTINUANCES, AND EXTENSIONS OF TIME

1. Upon receiving an inquiry concerning a proposed time for a hearing, deposition, meeting, or other proceeding, a lawyer should promptly agree to the proposal or offer a counter suggestion that is as close in time as is reasonably possible.

2. A lawyer should call potential scheduling conflicts or problems to the attention of those affected, including the court or tribunal, as soon as they become apparent to the lawyer. Further, attorneys should cooperate with one another regarding all reasonable rescheduling, cancellations, extensions and postponement requests that do not prejudice the client or unduly delay a proceeding.

3. Attorneys should promptly notify the court or other tribunal of any resolution between the parties that renders a scheduled court appearance unnecessary or otherwise moot.

4. Attorneys should endeavor to provide opposing counsel, parties, witnesses, and other affected persons, sufficient notice of depositions, hearings and other proceedings, except upon agreement of counsel, in an emergency, or in other circumstances compelling more expedited scheduling. As a general rule, actual notice should be given that is no less than 5 business days for in-state depositions, 10 business days for out-of-state depositions and 5 business days for hearings.

5. Attorneys should communicate with opposing counsel prior to scheduling depositions, hearings and other proceedings, so as to schedule them at times that are mutually convenient for all interested persons. Attorneys should note on their Notice of Hearing(s) whether or not the time has been cleared with opposing counsel and, if not, a brief statement indicating why the matter has not been cleared should be added. Further, sufficient time should be reserved to permit a complete presentation by counsel for all parties.

6. The first request for reasonable extensions of time to respond to litigation deadlines, whether related to pleadings, discovery or motions, should ordinarily be granted between counsel as a matter of courtesy when such an extension will not prejudice the client, unduly delay a proceeding or when time is not of the essence.

7. A lawyer should not request rescheduling, cancellations, extensions, or postponements without legitimate reasons and never solely for the purpose of delay or obtaining an unfair advantage. 8. Counsel should always notify opposing counsel of dates and times obtained from the court for future hearings on the same day that the hearing date is obtained from the court.

B. SERVICE OF PAPERS

1. Papers should not be served in order to take advantage of an opponent's known absence from the office or at a time or in a manner designed to inconvenience an adversary, such as late on Friday afternoon or on the day proceeding a secular or religious holiday.

2. Service should be made personally, by courtesy copy, or by facsimile transmission, when it is likely that service by mail, even when permissible, will prejudice the opposing party.

C. COMMUNICATION WITH ADVERSARIES

1. Counsel should at all times be civil and courteous in communicating with adversaries, whether in writing or orally.

2. Letters should not be written to ascribe to one's adversary a position he or she has not taken or to create "a record" of events that have not occurred.

3. A lawyer should adhere strictly to all expressed promises to and agreements with opposing counsel, whether oral or in writing, and should adhere in good faith to all agreements implied by the circumstances or by local custom.

4. During the course of representing a client, a lawyer should not communicate on the subject of the representation with a party who is known to be represented by a lawyer with regard to the subject matter without the prior consent of the lawyer representing such other party unless authorized by law to do so.

D. COMMUNICATION WITH THE COURT

1. Neither written submissions nor oral presentations should disparage the intelligence, ethics, morals, integrity or personal behavior of one's adversaries, unless such things are directly and necessarily in issue.

2. Attorneys should notify opposing counsel of all oral or written communications with the court or other tribunal, except those involving only scheduling matters. In instances where time is of the essence (i.e., consistent with the policy of B.2. herein), copies of any submissions to the court (such as correspondence, memoranda of law, case law, etc.) should simultaneously be provided to opposing counsel by substantially the same method of delivery by which they are provided to the court. For example, if a memorandum of law is hand-delivered to the court, at the same time, a copy should be hand-delivered or faxed to opposing counsel.

3. A lawyer should be courteous and may be cordial to a judge, but should never show marked attention or unusual informality to a judge, uncalled for by the personal relations. A judge should be referred to by surname in court. A lawyer should avoid anything calculated to gain, or having the appearance of gaining, special personal consideration or favor from a judge.

4. Attorneys should be, and should impress upon their clients and witnesses the need to be, courteous and respectful and not rude or disruptive with the court, opposing counsel, parties and witnesses.

E. DISCOVERY

1. General

a. Attorneys should pursue discovery requests that are reasonably related to the matter at issue. Attorneys should not use discovery for the purposes of harassing, embarrassing or causing the adversary to incur unnecessary expenses.

b. Attorneys should ensure that responses to reasonable discovery requests are timely, organized, complete and consistent with the obvious intent of the parties.

2. Depositions

a. In scheduling depositions, reasonable consideration should be @ given to accommodating schedules of opposing counsel and of the deponent, where it is possible to do so without prejudicing the client's rights.

b. In scheduling depositions upon oral examination, a lawyer should allow enough time to permit the conclusion of the deposition, including examination by all parties, without adjournment.

c. Counsel should not attempt to delay a deposition for dilatory purposes, but only if necessary to meet real scheduling problems.

d. Counsel should not engage in any conduct during a deposition that would not be allowed in the presence of a judicial officer.

e. While a question is pending, counsel should not, through objections or otherwise, coach the deponent or suggest answers. Should any lawyer do so, the courts are urged to take stern action to put a stop to such practices and to serve as a deterrent to others.

f. Counsel defending at depositions should limit objections to those that are well founded and permitted by the Rules of Civil Procedure or applicable case law. Counsel should bear in mind that most objections are preserved and need be interposed only when the form of a question is defective or privileged information is sought. When objecting to the form of a question, counsel should simply state, "I object to the form of the question." The grounds should not be stated unless asked for by the examining attorney. When the grounds are then stated they should be stated succinctly and only the necessary grounds should be stated.

F. MOTIONS

1. Attorneys should, whenever possible, prior to filing or upon receiving a motion, contact opposing counsel to determine if the matter can be resolved in whole or in part. This may alleviate the need for filing the motion or allow submission of an agreed order in lieu of a hearing.

2. Before setting a motion for hearing, counsel should make a reasonable effort to resolve the issue.

3. A lawyer should not force his or her adversary to make a motion and then not oppose it.

4. Following a hearing, the attorney charged with preparing the proposed order should prepare it promptly, generally no later than the following business day, unless it should immediately be submitted to the court. Attorneys should promptly provide, either orally or in writing, proposed orders to opposing counsel for approval prior to submitting them to the court. Opposing counsel should then promptly communicate any objections and at that time the drafting attorney should immediately submit a copy of the proposed order to the court and advise the court as to whether or not it has been approved by opposing counsel. The order must fairly and adequately represent the ruling of the court.

G. CANDOR TO THE COURT AND OPPOSING COUNSEL

1. Attorneys should not knowingly misstate, misrepresent or distort any fact or legal authority to the court or to opposing counsel and shall not mislead by inaction or silence. Further, if this occurs unintentionally and is later discovered, it should immediately be disclosed or otherwise corrected.

2. Attorneys should draft agreements and other documents promptly and so as to fairly reflect the true intent of the parties. Where revisions are made to an agreement or other document, attorneys should point out or otherwise highlight any such additions, deletions or modifications for all opposing counsel.

H. CONDUCT TOWARD OTHER ATTORNEYS, THE COURT AND PARTICIPANTS

1. Attorneys should refrain from criticizing or denigrating the court, opposing counsel, parties or witnesses, before their clients, the public or the media, as it brings dishonor to the profession.

2. Attorneys should attempt to accommodate the schedules of witnesses when setting or resetting their appearances for depositions, hearings or trials and promptly notify the witnesses of any cancellations.

3. Attorneys should respect and abide by the spirit and letter of all rulings of the court.

I. TRIAL CONDUCT AND COURTROOM DECORUM

1. A lawyer should always deal with parties, counsel, witnesses, jurors or prospective jurors, court personnel and the judge with courtesy and civility and avoid undignified or discourteous conduct which is degrading to the court.

2. Be punctual and prepared for any court appearance,

3. Stand when court is opened, recessed or adjourned; when the jury enters or retires from the courtroom; and when addressing, or being addressed by, the court.

4. Counsel should refer to all adult persons, including witnesses, other counsel, and the parties by their surnames and not by their first or given names.

5. Counsel should request permission before approaching the bench. Any documents counsel wish to have the court examine should be handed to the clerk or bailiff.

6. In making objections, counsel should state only the legal grounds for the objection and should withhold all further comment or argument unless elaboration is requested by the court.

7. A lawyer should address objections, requests and observations to the court, not to opposing counsel. A lawyer should not engage in undignified or discourteous conduct which is degrading to court procedure.

J. EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION

1. Attorneys should refrain from actions intended primarily to harass or embarrass and should refrain from actions which cause unnecessary expense or delay.

2. Attorneys should, whenever appropriate, stipulate to all facts and legal authority not reasonably in dispute.

3. Attorneys should encourage principled negotiations and efficient resolution of disputes on their merits.

4. Except where there are strong and overriding issues of principle, an attorney should raise and explore the issue of settlement in every case as soon as enough information is known about the case to make settlement discussions meaningful.

5. In every case, counsel should consider whether the client's interest could be adequately served and the controversy more expeditiously and economically disposed of by arbitration, mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution.

6. A lawyer's word should be his or her bond. The lawyer should not knowingly misstate, distort, or improperly exaggerate any fact or opinion and should not improperly permit the lawyer's silence or inaction to mislead anyone.

Approved by the Sarasota County Bar Association, 1998.

Original Document signed by Vickie L. Shesler, President.

Approved by the Venice-Englewood Bar Association, 1998. Original Document signed by Joseph R. Deciantis, President.

Approved by the Manatee County Bar Association, 1998. Original Document signed by Thomas P. Flynn, President.

Approved by the DeSoto County Bar Association, 1998. Original Document signed by James Beesting, President.

Endorsed by the Judges of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit this day of 1998. Original Document signed by Andrew D. Owens, Chief Judge

Endorsed by the Judges of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit this day of 1998. Original Document signed by Andrew D. Owens, Chief Judge

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 99-04

IN RE: STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONALISM

WHEREAS, the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar approved ideals and goals of professionalism, hereinafter referred to as the "Ideals"; and,

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Sarasota County, Manatee County, DeSoto County and Venice-Englewood Bar Associations approved Standards of Professional Courtesy, hereinafter referred to as the "Standards," to educate attorneys unfamiliar with the customary practices in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, and the Standards were endorsed by the judges of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit; and,

WHEREAS, the Professionalism Committee of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit and the voluntary bar associations have asked this court to assist in establishing guidelines for promoting professionalism by attorneys;

WHEREFORE, there are established the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Standards of Professionalism. The Standards have been compiled by the Circuit's Professionalism Committee and have been endorsed by each of the voluntary bar associations of this Circuit, and are approved by the judges of this circuit who expect professionalism from all attorneys practicing in this Circuit. Attorneys practicing in this Circuit are expected to be familiar with the standards and to abide by them.

DONE and ORDERED, in Chambers, at Sarasota County, Florida, this 28"' day of January, 1999.

Original Order Signed by Andrew D. Owens, Jr., Chief Judge