Court asks Bar to take a look at internship rules.

A bungled attempt to extort an airline out of millions. Drug convictions resulting in the loss of civil liberties. Identity theft. All were crimes committed by law students seeking Supreme Court certified internships.

"Law students are having more and more interaction ... with law enforcement than I think you would believe," Supreme Court Justice R. Fred Lewis told the Board of Governors at its Tallahassee meeting in January. "I think it would shock you."

Justice Lewis asked the Board of Governors to address the "problems" with Chapter 11 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, which covers law students participating in internships and handling cases under a lawyer's supervision for state attorneys, public defenders, and legal aid agencies.

Justice Lewis said law students are perceiving the certified internship program not as a privilege which allows them to represent citizens before they are admitted to the Bar, "but as an entitlement."

"It is a wonderful process if it's not abused, but our experience is it is being abused," Lewis said.

One possible solution, Lewis said, might require prospective interns to register early in their law school experience for the necessary background check that the Florida Board of Bar Examiners must otherwise conduct on any student seeking admission to the Bar following graduation. The fee for that investigation is $75. a student then would have to be cleared before practicing as a certified legal intern. Lewis said the Board of Bar Examiners' capacity to conduct the investigations into whether students are fit to enter the certified internship program would be more expansive than anything the court can do now.

Court rules allow for law students to gain experience as attorneys under the supervision of various state offices and nonprofit organizations throughout Florida, and Lewis noted internships can serve as an educational tool that is advantageous to both students and the courts. Students are eased into the transition...