Profession to face technology and encroachment problems.

The legal profession will likely face critical concerns in the next few years dealing with the impact of technology and with the encroachment by other professions and businesses.

There will also be significant challenges to the continued regulation of Florida lawyers by the Supreme Court and with maintaining competence among lawyers.

Those were among the conclusions of the recent Long Range Planning Committee retreat. Past Chair Caryn Carvo presented the results to the Board of Governors last month. The report was forwarded to the Long Range Planning Committee for their consideration.

Retreat participants included board members, members of sections and committees, judges, representatives of law schools and others, she said.

Attendees were asked to envision what the practice of law will be like in 2005 and 2010, and then outline problems that will face the Bar, she said.

"A couple areas were universally named," Carvo said. "They believed the Bar needed to move forward and concentrate its effort on getting its message out. They wanted the Bar to be able to communicate against and turn the perception of the public around."

A second area was helping lawyers deal with technology, both as a day-to-day practice tool and the changes it is bringing with the increasing globalization of practices and a more sophisticated clientele that does some of its own legal research, she said.

The committee broke its retreat findings down into three categories: critical concerns; significant concerns; and meritorious considerations. It broke its recommended actions into four areas: critical activities; significant activities; meritorious activities; and those of lesser significance.

Critical activities were protecting the independence of the judiciary; improving the public perception of lawyers with specific educational projects; establishing regulations for ancillary businesses (nonlaw businesses owned by lawyers to which clients may be referred) and addressing the encroachment by multidisciplinary practices (businesses that are partly or entirely owned by nonlawyers and providing legal services); sanctioning the lack of professionalism by lawyers; and including representation on the Bar board from different practice areas and for those from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Specific public education projects recommended were telling the public about the...