R. Regul. Fl. Bar 6-23.3

As amended through November 4, 2024

Rule 6-23.3 - MINIMUM STANDARDS

(a) Minimum Period of Practice. The applicant must have at least 5 years of the practice of law which at least 50 percent has been spent in active participation in labor and employment law. At least 5 years of this practice must immediately precede the application for certification. An LL.M. in the field of labor and employment law may substitute for 1 of the 5 years of law practice required.

(b) Substantial Involvement. The applicant must have substantial involvement by demonstrating 50 percent or more of the applicant's practice to matters in which issues of labor and employment law are significant factors and in which the applicant had substantial and direct participation in those labor and employment law issues. The applicant must furnish information concerning the frequency of the applicant's work and the nature of the issues involved. Demonstration of this requirement is made initially through a form questionnaire approved by the labor and employment law certification committee, but written or oral supplementation may be required.

(c) Experience. The applicant must have a total of 30 days acting as the primary lawyer, judge, hearing officer, referee, master, magistrate, arbitrator, or mediator in litigation or administrative proceedings concerning labor and employment law issues within the 5 years immediately preceding the filing of the application for certification. Proceedings include, but are not limited to, trials; evidentiary hearings; arbitrations; collective bargaining; conciliation conferences with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or state deferral agency; on-site inspections by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs; Fair Labor Standards Act audits conducted by the Department of Labor; and unemployment compensation appeal hearings, mediations, court hearings, taking depositions, and oral arguments.

Any proceeding lasting at least 4 hours is credited a full day. Any proceeding lasting fewer than 4 hours, but at least 1 hour, will be credited a half day. Proceedings occurring on the same day and which are of the type for which experience credit may be given under this rule but which are not individually at least one hour in length may be aggregated for purposes of claiming credit. If aggregation is used, the applicant must aggregate all qualifying proceedings occurring during a single day to determine the total hours of proceedings and corresponding credit.

Generally, credit for a single proceeding occurring over multiple days is calculated on a daily basis. However, a single proceeding occurring exclusively in periods of less than 4 hours per day on multiple days is limited to the amount of credit the proceedings would receive if aggregated.

Conducting an oral argument at a state or federal appellate court automatically entitles the applicant to 1 full day of credit, regardless of the amount of time that is allotted to the oral argument by the court. The applicant may also seek credit from the certification committee for activities not listed in this rule that involve labor and employment issues that are of sufficient complexity and otherwise demonstrate the applicant's labor and employment law experience. Experience credit to be awarded for any of these additional activities is at the sole discretion of the certification committee.

The following are not accepted as proceedings satisfying the 30-day experience requirement: attendance at pre-trial conferences; attendance at scheduling and status conferences; defending depositions; preparation of pleadings, written discovery, motions, memoranda, briefs, and position statements; and participation in investigations by administrative agencies unless that participation involves in-person activities including an online visit, inspection, or audit or other covered activities including hearings or mediation.

(d) Peer Review. The applicant must submit the names and addresses of 6 lawyers who are familiar with the applicant's practice excluding lawyers who currently practice in the applicant's law firm to complete peer review forms. The labor and employment law certification committee must seek at least 3 additional secondary references. At least 1 of the 6 references must be from a judge, arbitrator, mediator, or administrator before whom the applicant has appeared or practiced (or in the case of a mediator or arbitrator seeking certification, references may be from lawyers who have appeared before the applicant) within the 2 years immediately preceding the application.

(e) Education. The applicant must complete 60 credit hours of approved continuing legal education in labor and employment law during the 3-year period immediately preceding the application date. Accreditation of educational hours is subject to policies established by the labor and employment law certification committee or the board of legal specialization and education.

(f) Examination. The applicant must pass an examination applied uniformly to all applicants, to demonstrate sufficient knowledge, proficiency, and experience in labor and employment law to justify the representation of special competence to the legal profession and the public. The examination will be comprehensive in scope and each applicant will be required to demonstrate at least some knowledge in each specific subject tested.

R. Regul. Fl. Bar 6-23.3

Added and amended effective 3/23/2000 (763 So.2d 1002); amended August 26, 2005; amended and effective 1/26/2018 by the Board of Governors; amended and effective 12/4/2020 by The Florida Bar Board of Governors.