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16 Fla. B. News 1 (1989)

handle is hein.barjournals/flabn0016 and id is 1 raw text is: TV ads changed beliefs, but not attitudes By Joe Bizzaro Associate Editor The Florida Bar's three-week television ad campaign changed few attitudes about law- yers but demonstrated that the beliefs which underpin those attitudes can be altered. The campaign gave us confidence that we can change beliefs and, in the long run, change attitudes, said Bar Public Informa- tion Director Jerry Butterfield. Butterfield and Executive Director John F. Harkness, Jr., met December 15 with rep- resentatives of the Bar's advertising and poll- ing firms to evaluate the impact of the $600,000 campaign, which aired statewide from November 14 through December 4. They were told that while the spots did not significantly enhance the public's image of lawyers, they did increase public aware- ness of the profession's commitment to pro- viding free legal services. WHAT that suggests, Butterfield said, is that a long-term commitment by the Bar to paid media can change enough beliefs about lawyers to ultimately improve the public's attitude toward them. According to polling, more than half the people had a favorable or very favorable opinion of lawyers after the TV campaign aired, virtually the same number as prior to the campaign. While there was essentially no shift in the public's attitude' toward lawyers, other fig- ures show that the ad campaign was success- ful in convincing people that significant numbers of attorneys donate time to their communities. Prior to the campaign, 48 percent of those surveyed expressed the belief that between 26 percent and 49 percent of the state's attor- neys do pro bono work. Overall, 68 percent said at least 1 percent of attorneys donate time. After the campaign, 59 percent estimated that between 26 percent and 49 percent of Florida's attorneys donate time. Overall, 82 percent said at least 1 percent. of the state's attorneys donate time. (In the 1988 Florida Bar Membership At- titude Survey, approximately 81 percent of the attorneys surveyed said they willingly provided legal services in 1987 to individuals they knew could not afford to pay.) NOTABLY, the percentage of people who were unsure whether lawyers did pro bono work dropped from one in three to one in five, indicating that the campaign accom- plished the task of changing beliefs, about the legal community's contributions to soci- ety. While beliefs are perceptions with no posi- tive or negative evaluation, Butterfield noted, they are the building blocks of atti- tudes, which are judgmental. In order to change attitudes, you have to change beliefs, he said, adding that he is confident future efforts along the lines of the recent TV campaign will help achieve that goal. But, Butterfield added, such a shift in atti- tudes will take time. In the 1950s, lawyers were placed up on a pedestal. It has taken 30 years for people (Please see TV, page 3) The F.iorid.a Bar.News- January 1, 1989 Vol. 16, No. 1 Analysis Controversy added some spice to .1988 By Joe Bizzaro Associate Editor Some victories. Some defeats. Some con- troversies settled and still others left unresolved. It was that kind of year for The Florida Bar and the legal community. Herewith, a look back at some of the top Bar and law related stories of 1988: Tort Revision If there was a single issue which domi- nated 1988 from the perspective of the Bar in particular and lawyers in general, it was tort revisiont - The issue seized the spotlight February 2 when the Florida Legislature convened in special session to grapple with the problem of sky high medical malpractice insurance premiums. Physicians caught in the economic vise urged lawmakers to completely scrap a tort system they said was granting unreasonably high awards and driving malpractice premi- ums through the roof. Attorneys fearful of a wholesale raid on litigant rights urged moderation, and the Bar endorsed a Trial Lawyers Section plan to refer all medical malpractice claims to nonbinding arbitration. LAWMAKERS ultimately approved a voluntary, binding arbitration plan which placed conditional caps on the amount of noneconomic damages which may be awarded in medical malpractice cases. In ad- dition, they provided greater immunity for emergency care physicians and established a no-fault compensation plan for some obstet- ric injuries. The legislation did not go down well with much of the legal community. Nor did it ap- pease Florida's doctors, who proceeded to place on the November ballot a proposed constitutional amendment capping none- conomic damages in all tort cases at $100,000. What followed was the costliest amend- ment battle in state history, with proponents and opponents splitting a tab of more than $15 million to finance a bitter TV campaign described by many as deceptive and mislead- ing. When the vote was in, proposed Amend- ment 10 lay dead, overwhelmingly rejected by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent. IOTA Perhaps the most controversial internal is- sue confronted by the Bar in 1988 was a pro- posal to broaden participation in the Interest on Trust Accounts (IOTA) program. Looking to increase revenues to fund free legal counsel and other services, The Florida Bar Foundation proposed that IOTA be changed from voluntary to comprehensive. Under that proposal, all attorneys holding trust accounts would be required to earn in- terest on them and proceeds from short-term or nominal accounts would go into IOTA. That plan was endorsed in May by the Bar's Board of Governors, which tacked on provisos that the Bar be empowered to name all Foundation directors and 10 percent of the estimated $12 million in annual revenues go for legal education programs. The board's action angered many attor- neys, who resented the mandatory nature of the comprehensive plan. That protest prompted the board to withdraw its support for comprehensive IOTA and support a pro- gram which would mandate IOTA for all at- torneys but allow them to opt out if they so desired. Those conflicting positions were still awaiting resolution by the Florida Supreme Court when this issue of the Bar News went to press December 20. Confidentiality Also still to be resolved are a special Bar panel's recommendations that confiden- tiality in the lawyer discipline process be re- laxed. Under the Disciplinary Review Commis- sion recommendations presented in Septem- ber, the so-called gag rule prohibiting complainants from revealing or discussing complaints filed with a grievance committee would be dropped, as would the absolute immunity from civil liability which com- plainants now enjoy. Bar staff also would be allowed to acknowledge that investigations were being conducted in some instances. At the same time, discipline files would no longer be made public only if and when the Bar lodged a formal complaint against an attorney with the Supreme Court. Instead, they would be opened after a finding of probable cause, no probable cause or non- jurisdiction was entered. Record attendance is expected as Midyear registration soars With early registrations running nearly 100 percent ahead of last year, planners of The Florida Bar's 1989 Midyear Meeting are expecting a record turnout at the Buena Vista Palace January 11-14. Changes in the meeting's format should mean the larger numbers will not translate into long lines or other delays experienced last year, the planners are quick to add. Last year was our first meeting since the continuing education requirement was adopted, and we really didn't know what to expect, explained Dianne Lynn, director of the Bar's mietings department. This time we have expanded the program and expect a larger number of lawyers, but well be ready. I think it will run smoothly. The Bar's Ninth Annual Midyear Meet- ing, a combination of 27 CLE programs, section and committee meetings, a host of entertainment events and a mini-tradeshow with 36 exhibitors, will attract well over the 1,100 lawyers who registered for the pro- gram last year, Lynn said. More than 620 lawyers took advantage of an early bird special' by registering before December 15, she said-nearly double the number of Mid- year registrants recorded this time last year. Lynn attributed the increase in preregis- trations at least in part to the registration fee savings available until December 15. She said she doubted that the total number of lawyers attending Midyear would double over last year, but that we won't know for sure until after the meeting. Streamlining the registration process and centralizing seminars should cut down on lines and confusion, Lynn said. More space also has been reserved for the meeting, which will alleviate other problems experi- enced last year, she said. THE MEETING will be held at Buena Vista Palace, located within Walt Disney (Please see Midyear, page 6) Proponents of the recommendations ar- gued that the changes would restore and en- hance public confidence in the Bar's ability to police its own members. Opponents ar- gued that they would unduly threaten lawyer reputations while discouraging the filing of legitimate complaints. An anticipated vote on the recommenda- tions was postponed in November and the Board of Governors now is scheduled to take up the matter at the end of this month. BarLobbying Honoring a Bar request, the Florida Su- preme Court in June approved a method by which a portion of member dues used to lobby an objectional position could be re- funded to the objecting member. But at the same time, the court raised seri- ous questions about the scope of Bar lobby- ing and asked its Judicial Council to investi- gate the matter and recommend possible rules changes. Lauderhill attorney Thomas Schwarz, whose petition led to the probe, argued that as an arm of the Supreme Court, the Bar should be limited in its lobbying to matters directly affecting lawyer discipline and ad- ministration of the courts. Bar President Rutledge Liles and others argued that the Bar must be free to lobby a wide range of issues which might impact on the public's access to justice. The Judicial Council concluded that the Bar should be free to lobby any issue of great public interest which affects the pub- lic's rights and of which attorneys possess special insight. Targeted Mail Solicitation Concerned about offensive lawyer adver- tising, the Board of Governors in January (Please see 1988, page 3) 10L' Mz2., 0 -30 o 0 (L -Amendment combatant ........M e.... ? ....ow rite ~ • V tOI etfe .. :'... ..c. .,.?;; ~e'' -'

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