Florida Bar leader discusses issues
FORT LAUDERDALE — Fort Lauderdale-based lawyer Michael Higer of Berger Singerman is The Florida Bar’s new president. Higer, 56, began practicing as a lawyer in Florida in 1985 and became a partner of Berger Singerman in 2015.
Higer recently addressed issues that are priorities for The Florida Bar in the coming year. One of the most significant is the use of technology to help provide the public with better access to the courts.
The Bar has 104,000 members across the state.
Question: What do you see as the biggest issues facing The Florida Bar?
Answer: We have five priorities, in no particular order: [Florida’s] constitutional revision commission, which could have a dominant impact this year; health and wellness of our lawyers and member benefits; inclusiveness, not just about diversity but access by our citizens to our legal justice system; and lastly, technology.
The Florida Bar is a service
organization. Our mission is to serve the interest of our members, the court and the citizens in the state of Florida.
Q: How important is technology in providing better public access to the courts? What is The Florida Bar doing to accomplish that?
A: [In part,] technology has to do with how our lawyers have the necessary tools and services to make a living and to do so efficiently. We have the Practice Resource Institute, where a lawyer can go online for software, blogs and dozens of hours of free continuing legal education.
When we think of lawyers, we think of these mega law firms, but 76 percent are solo or firms with 10 lawyers or fewer. There are a lot of tools lacking, and we try to level that.
Lawyers Advising Lawyers is a virtual hallway for lawyers in rural areas or a younger lawyer who is working on some issue and needs some help. She can’t physically go down the hallway. She can go on our site and talk to a lawyer in that area and get some advice.
Technology also [has to do with] access to justice issues. We’re talking about folks who meet poverty standards for [free] legal service entities. The folks just above the poverty level, [paying for child care, food, medical care — they have legal issues as well]. If you’re struggling for basic needs, you’re not coming out of pocket for legal services.
The need is great. It’s burgeoning all the time and federal funding is at all-time lows. We just don’t have enough manpower to meet the need.
Q: Do you have an idea about how to solve that?
A: I firmly believe the best way to bridge that gap is through technology. There are a couple of programs out there. One is Free Legal Answers, a program tried nationally by the American Bar Association.
Joe or Mary Citizen who qualifies under the federal guidelines signs on to the portal for a lawyer. Oftentimes, they
need someone who will take 10 to 20 minutes with them and answer a few questions.
Another program I’m excited about is Pro Bono Matters. Case files are posted online through various legal services, so a lawyer can send a message through the portal — ‘that’s something I could do.’ You connect in cyberspace.
Legal services are working through The Florida Bar Foundation. There’s a pilot program that we’re looking to expand statewide.
Q: Women have been leaving the profession, both nationally and in Florida. Issues include gender bias and harassment. What recommendations came out of The Florida Bar committee you recently chaired to address
this issue?
A: We spent a year analyzing, and in May, we issued a report with 12 recommendations that I truly believe will make a difference. We started with the premise there was an issue.
We focused on what The Florida Bar could implement or facilitate to actually address the issues. We saw two types of issues;one is intentional misconduct, which tends to be far smaller issue. Intentional misconduct exists, but not to the extent of implicit bias.
People don’t realize part of their hard-wired biases. [Recommendations include] the ways in which we hire — blind hiring practices and blind partnership decisions. We’re trying to implement those protocols, so we make those decisions without bias.
I think there probably is a long way to go. The numbers show the number of law firm partners who
are men are 65 to 75 percent, as opposed to closer to 50/50 or 60/40. In Florida, 38 percent of the lawyers practicing are women. Take that number and you would expect the number of women partners would be close, and that’s not the case.
Q: As Florida Bar president you’ll be involved with revising Florida’s Constitution. Tell me about that and your role.
A: In May of 2018, the Constitutional Revision Commission will submit proposed amendments to Florida’s Constitution, which is revised every 20 years. Those will go on the ballot for 2018. The work has already been done.
The way we can make a difference is to be educating our members and the public on the proposed amendments. Our issue is to protect and support a fully independent court.