Rule Text (verbatim from The Florida Bar)
An applicant for admission to the bar, or a lawyer in
connection with a bar admission application or in connection with a
disciplinary matter, shall not:
(a) knowingly make a false statement of material fact;
(b) fail to disclose a fact necessary to correct a
misapprehension known by the person to have arisen in the matter
or knowingly fail to respond to a lawful demand for information
from an admissions or disciplinary authority, except that this rule
does not require disclosure of information otherwise protected by
rule 4-1.6; or
(c) commit an act that adversely reflects on the applicant’s
fitness to practice law. An applicant who commits such an act
before admission, but which is discovered after admission, shall be
subject to discipline under these rules.
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 (or applicant for admission) cannot knowingly make false statements of material fact in connection with bar admission or disciplinary matters, and cannot fail to disclose a material fact when the omission would mislead. The rule covers what you tell the Bar during your own admission and during a disciplinary investigation — of yourself or another lawyer. Lying to the disciplinary process is itself grounds for discipline.
Comment (verbatim from The Florida Bar)
The duty imposed by this rule extends to persons seeking
admission to the bar as well as to lawyers. Hence, if a person
makes a material false statement in connection with an application
for admission, it may be the basis for subsequent disciplinary
action if the person is admitted and in any event may be relevant in
a subsequent admission application. The duty imposed by this rule
applies to a lawyer’s own admission or discipline as well as that of
others. Thus, it is a separate professional offense for a lawyer to
knowingly make a misrepresentation or omission in connection with
a disciplinary investigation of the lawyer’s own conduct.
Subdivision (b) of this rule also requires correction of any prior
misstatement in the matter that the applicant or lawyer may have
made and affirmative clarification of any misunderstanding on the
part of the admissions or disciplinary authority of which the person
involved becomes aware.
This rule is subject to the provisions of the fifth amendment of
the United States Constitution and the corresponding provisions of
the Florida Constitution. A person relying on such a provision in
response to a question, however, should do so openly and not use
the right of nondisclosure as a justification for failure to comply
with this rule.
A lawyer representing an applicant for admission to the bar, or
representing a lawyer who is the subject of a disciplinary inquiry or
proceeding, is governed by the rules applicable to the client-lawyer
relationship, including rule 4-1.6 and, in some cases, rule 4-3.3.
An applicant for admission may commit acts that adversely
reflect on the applicant’s fitness to practice law and which are
discovered only after the applicant becomes a member of the bar.
This rule provides a means to address such misconduct in the
absence of such a provision in the Rules of the Supreme Court
Relating to Admissions to the Bar.
Amended July 23, 1992, effective Jan. 1, 1993 (605 So.2d 252); amended
October 6, 2005, effective January 1, 2006 (916 So.2d 655); amended
March 23, 2006, effective May 22, 2006 (933 So.2d 417).