First lawyer admitted under military spouse rule.

A rule change that took effect in September removed a major barrier for spouses of military personnel who wish to practice law in Florida. For Bailey L. McGowan, the first person to take advantage of the change, it meant she didn't have to be a substitute teacher after all.

Florida has more than 55,000 active-duty service members in bases from Pensacola to Key West. The rule change, proposed by The Florida Bar's Military Affairs Committee and approved by the Florida Supreme Court, was created for people just like Bailey McGowan.

McGowan's husband, Kaleb Simpson, is a captain in the Air Force, flying AC-130s out of Hurlburt Field in Okaloosa County, where he has been stationed since 2017. McGowan stayed behind in Texas to complete her studies at the Texas Tech University School of Law and sit for the Texas bar exam. Then, she assumed, she would have to repeat the process in Florida.

"I was applying to be a substitute teacher," she said, "because I was looking for a flexible income while I was planning to study for the Florida bar. [A law school professor] let me know about the rule change and encouraged me to apply."

McGowan was sworn in as a member of The Florida Bar on January 31 and now works as a public defender in a misdemeanor court in Okaloosa County. She also handles Baker Act cases for the office.

The Supreme Court, recognizing the unique mobility requirements of military families who defend their country, approved creating Chapter 21 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar and also a new Rule of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar 2-23.7. They allow the lawyer-spouses of full-time active duty military personnel, if they meet several conditions, to practice in Florida for up to five years without taking the bar exam.

Florida is the 30th state to have a military spouse rule.

In approving the rule, the Supreme Court wrote that "the assignment of a service member to a duty location in Florida may place the service member's spouse in the untenable position of having to choose between giving up the practice of law to relocate with the service member and continuing to practice law in the jurisdiction where he or she is already licensed."

Eliminating the bar exam can halve the time it takes for an attorney coming from out-of-state to...