Rule Text (verbatim from The Florida Bar)
(a) Use of Titles by Nonlawyer Assistants. A person who
uses the title of paralegal, legal assistant, or other similar term
when offering or providing services to the public must work for or
under the direction or supervision of a lawyer or law firm.
(b) Supervisory Responsibility. With respect to a nonlawyer
employed or retained by or associated with a lawyer or an
authorized business entity as defined elsewhere in these Rules
Regulating The Florida Bar:
(1) a partner, and a lawyer who individually or together
with other lawyers possesses comparable managerial authority in a
law firm, must make reasonable efforts to ensure that the firm has
in effect measures giving reasonable assurance that the person’s
conduct is compatible with the professional obligations of the
lawyer;
(2) a lawyer having direct supervisory authority over the
nonlawyer must make reasonable efforts to ensure that the person’s
conduct is compatible with the professional obligations of the
lawyer; and
(3) a lawyer is responsible for conduct of such a person
that would be a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct if
engaged in by a lawyer if the lawyer:
(A) orders or, with the knowledge of the specific
conduct, ratifies the conduct involved; or
(B) is a partner or has comparable managerial
authority in the law firm in which the person is employed, or has
direct supervisory authority over the person, and knows of the
conduct at a time when its consequences can be avoided or
mitigated but fails to take reasonable remedial action.
(c) Ultimate Responsibility of Lawyer. Although paralegals
or legal assistants may perform the duties delegated to them by the
lawyer without the presence or active involvement of the lawyer, the
lawyer must review and be responsible for the work product of the
paralegals or legal assistants.
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
Lawyers with supervisory authority over nonlawyer staff — paralegals, legal assistants, secretaries, contract reviewers — must take reasonable steps to ensure the nonlawyer’s conduct is compatible with the lawyer’s own ethics obligations. The rule makes the supervising lawyer responsible when nonlawyer staff handles client files, prepares documents, communicates with clients, or accesses confidential information. The lawyer can’t escape ethics responsibility by delegating sensitive work to nonlawyers.
Florida Bar Ethics Opinions interpreting this rule
- Opinion 10-2 (2010)
<p>Modern office equipment — copiers, printers, scanners, fax machines — often stores images of every document it handles. When a law firm leases or replaces these machines, the firm must wipe the storage before disposal or risk leaking your case data. If you're a client, ask about device sanitization policies; the firms taking this seriously have written procedures.</p>
Read on floridabar.org → - Opinion 02-1 (2002)
<p>A law firm cannot pay a nonlawyer employee a bonus based purely on hours worked — that arrangement reads as fee-splitting with a nonlawyer through the back door. Bonuses tied to overall firm profit or general performance are fine; the line is at hour-by-hour compensation that effectively shares the legal fees the employee's hours generated.</p>
Read on floridabar.org →
Comment (verbatim from The Florida Bar)
Lawyers generally employ assistants in their practice,
including secretaries, investigators, law student interns, and
paraprofessionals such as paralegals and legal assistants. Such
assistants, whether employees or independent contractors, act for
the lawyer in rendition of the lawyer’s professional services. A
lawyer must give such assistants appropriate instruction and
supervision concerning the ethical aspects of their employment,
particularly regarding the obligation not to disclose information
relating to representation of the client. A lawyer should also
consider safeguards when assistants use technologies such as
generative artificial intelligence. The measures employed in
supervising nonlawyers should take account of the level of their
legal training and the fact that they are not subject to professional
discipline. If an activity requires the independent judgment and
participation of the lawyer, it cannot be properly delegated to a
nonlawyer employee.
Subdivision (b)(1) requires lawyers with managerial authority
within a law firm to make reasonable efforts to ensure that the firm
has in effect measures giving reasonable assurance that nonlawyers
in the firm and nonlawyers outside the firm who work on firm
matters act in a way compatible with the professional obligations of
the lawyer. See comment to rule 4-1.1 (retaining lawyers outside
the firm) and comment to rule 4-5.1(responsibilities with respect to
lawyers within a firm). Subdivision (b)(2) applies to lawyers who
have supervisory authority over nonlawyers within or outside the
firm. Subdivision (b)(3) specifies the circumstances in which a
lawyer is responsible for conduct of nonlawyers within or outside
the firm that would be a violation of the Rules of Professional
Conduct if engaged in by a lawyer.
Nothing provided in this rule should be interpreted to mean
that a nonlawyer may have any ownership or partnership interest in
a law firm, which is prohibited by rule 4-5.4. Additionally, this rule
does not permit a lawyer to accept employment by a nonlawyer or
group of nonlawyers, the purpose of which is to provide the
supervision required under this rule. This conduct is prohibited by
rules 4-5.4 and 4-5.5.
Nonlawyers Outside the Firm
A lawyer may use nonlawyers outside the firm to assist the
lawyer in rendering legal services to the client. Examples include
the retention of an investigative or paraprofessional service, hiring a
document management company to create and maintain a database
for complex litigation, sending client documents to a third party for
printing or scanning, using generative artificial intelligence, and
using an Internet-based service to store client information. When
using these services outside the firm, a lawyer must make
reasonable efforts to ensure that the services are provided in a
manner that is compatible with the lawyer’s professional
obligations. The extent of this obligation will depend on the
circumstances, including the education, experience and reputation
of the nonlawyer; the nature of the services involved; the terms of
any arrangements concerning the protection of client information;
and the legal and ethical environments of the jurisdictions in which
the services will be performed, particularly with regard to
confidentiality. See also rules 4-1.1 (competence), 4-1.2 (allocation
of authority), 4-1.4 (communication with client), 4-1.6
(confidentiality), 4-5.4 (professional independence of the lawyer),
and 4-5.5 (unauthorized practice of law). When retaining or
directing a nonlawyer outside the firm, a lawyer should
communicate directions appropriate under the circumstances to
give reasonable assurance that the nonlawyer’s conduct is
compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer.
Where the client directs the selection of a particular nonlawyer
service provider outside the firm, the lawyer ordinarily should agree
with the client concerning the allocation of responsibility for
monitoring as between the client and the lawyer. See Rule 1.2.
When making this allocation in a matter pending before a tribunal,
lawyers and parties may have additional obligations that are a
matter of law beyond the scope of these rules.
Amended July 23, 1992, effective January 1, 1993 (605 So.2d 252);
amended April 25, 2002 (820 So.2d 210); amended March 23, 2006,
effective May 22, 2006 (933 So.2d 417); amended June 11, 2015, effective
October 1, 2015 (167 So.3d 412).