Rule Text (verbatim from The Florida Bar)
A lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness
in representing a client.
Educational reference. This page summarizes a Florida Rule of Professional Conduct for educational purposes. The rule text and Comment are mirrored from the Florida Bar's official publication and are public domain. The plain-English summary and any commentary are the opinion of Phillips, Hunt & Walker and are general information only — not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you believe a Florida lawyer has violated this rule, you can file a complaint with The Florida Bar at floridabar.org. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What this rule means in plain English
A Florida lawyer must act with reasonable diligence and promptness on your case. Diligence isn’t optional; missed deadlines, unreturned calls for months, and case-stagnation drift are the most common client complaints to the Florida Bar. If your lawyer ‘has been swamped’ for the third consecutive month, that’s a violation — not an explanation. The standard is what a reasonable lawyer would do under the circumstances, not what’s convenient for the lawyer’s calendar.
Comment (verbatim from The Florida Bar)
A lawyer should pursue a matter on behalf of a client despite
opposition, obstruction, or personal inconvenience to the lawyer
and take whatever lawful and ethical measures are required to
vindicate a client’s cause or endeavor. A lawyer must also act with
commitment and dedication to the interests of the client and with
zeal in advocacy upon the client’s behalf. A lawyer is not bound,
however, to press for every advantage that might be realized for a
client. For example, a lawyer may have authority to exercise
professional discretion in determining the means by which a matter
should be pursued. See rule 4-1.2. The lawyer’s duty to act with
reasonable diligence does not require the use of offensive tactics or
preclude the treating of all persons involved in the legal process
with courtesy and respect.
A lawyer’s workload must be controlled so that each matter
can be handled competently.
Perhaps no professional shortcoming is more widely resented
than procrastination. A client’s interests often can be adversely
affected by the passage of time or the change of conditions; in
extreme instances, as when a lawyer overlooks a statute of
limitations, the client’s legal position may be destroyed. Even when
the client’s interests are not affected in substance, however,
unreasonable delay can cause a client needless anxiety and
undermine confidence in the lawyer. A lawyer’s duty to act with
reasonable promptness, however, does not preclude the lawyer from
agreeing to a reasonable request for a postponement that will not
prejudice the lawyer’s client.
Unless the relationship is terminated as provided in rule 4-
1.16, a lawyer should carry through to conclusion all matters
undertaken for a client. If a lawyer’s employment is limited to a
specific matter, the relationship terminates when the matter has
been resolved. If a lawyer has served a client over a substantial
period in a variety of matters, the client sometimes may assume
that the lawyer will continue to serve on a continuing basis unless
the lawyer gives notice of withdrawal. Doubt about whether a
client-lawyer relationship still exists should be clarified by the
lawyer, preferably in writing, so that the client will not mistakenly
suppose the lawyer is looking after the client’s affairs when the
lawyer has ceased to do so. For example, if a lawyer has handled a
judicial or administrative proceeding that produced a result adverse
to the client and the lawyer and the client have not agreed that the
lawyer will handle the matter on appeal, the lawyer must consult
with the client about the possibility of appeal before relinquishing
responsibility for the matter. See rule 4-1.4(a)(2). Whether the
lawyer is obligated to prosecute the appeal for the client depends on
the scope of the representation the lawyer has agreed to provide to
the client. See rule 4-1.2.
Amended July 23, 1992, effective Jan. 1, 1993 (605 So.2d 252); amended
March 23, 2006, effective May 22, 2006 (933 So.2d 417).