Young Lawyers Division explores eliminating in-person attendance requirement at PWP seminars.

The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division recently took a first step toward offering an online version of its signature Practicing with Professionalism seminar.

At the division's August 23 Board of Governors meeting on Marco Island, members voted 21-14 in favor of exploring supplementing live PWP seminars with online courses.

Opponents expressed concerns that moving away from the in-person attendance requirement that all new Bar members participate in a one-day training course designed to establish a basic level of professionalism might dilute the program's message.

Such a change requires approval by both The Florida Bar Board of Governors' Program Evaluation and Rules committees, followed by a favorable vote of the entire board, and acceptance by the Florida Supreme Court. The entire process could take up to 18 months, according to YLD President Melanie Griffin of Orlando.

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"We're at the very preliminary stages of a long process," said Gordon Glover, co-chair of the YLD's PWP Committee.

As Bar admissions have increased, so have the number of PWP seminars offered at various locations throughout the state. Though the YLD organizes 22 seminars each year, many new lawyers have difficulty getting into courses in their areas, according to Glover, who practices in The Villages.

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"Courses typically sell out in the major cities quickly, sometimes in less than an hour, so a significant number of people who were not able to get into a course in their locality have to travel to another part of the state in order to complete the course within their first year of practice," he said. "Last year several Miami lawyers had to fly to Tallahassee for a course. The primary focus of the Bar is member services and members have not been happy when they've had to buy a plane ticket, fly across the state, and get a hotel room in order to complete the course in the required time frame."

Griffin said the situation forces both board members and Bar staff to field an increasing number of "customer service issues."

"In many cases, [the lawyers'] first exposure to the Bar is not a positive one, which is what we don't want," Griffin said. "We do believe in the importance of PWP. It's a great course and it's important to be able to provide them with this course efficiently during their first year of practice."

Griffin also noted that an increasing number of CLEs are now offered online.

"Online courses are not unique now," she said...