DEFINITIONS

(a) Authorized Legal Aid Practitioner. An “authorized legal aid practitioner” is any person who:

(1) was engaged in the active practice of law for 3 years immediately preceding the application for certification under this chapter;

(2) is a member in good standing of the entity governing the practice of law of any other state or territory or the District of Columbia, eligible to practice law in that jurisdiction and has not been disciplined for professional misconduct by the bar or courts of any jurisdiction within the past 15 years;

(3) has not failed the Florida bar examination and has not been denied admission to the courts of any jurisdiction during the preceding 15 years;

(4) agrees to abide by the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar and submit to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Florida for disciplinary purposes;

(5) neither asks for nor receives compensation of any kind from the person on whose behalf the practitioner renders legal service under this chapter (this does not prevent the approved legal aid organization from paying compensation to the lawyer); and

(6) is certified under rule 13-1.5.

(b) Approved Legal Aid Organization. An “approved legal aid organization” for the purposes of this chapter is a not-for-profit legal aid organization that is approved by the Supreme Court of Florida as set forth herein. A legal aid organization seeking approval from the Supreme Court of Florida for the purposes of this chapter must file a petition with the clerk of the Supreme Court of Florida certifying that it is a not-for-profit organization and stating with specificity:

(1) the structure of the organization and whether it accepts funds from its clients;

(2) the major sources of funds used by the organization;

(3) the criteria used to determine potential clients’ eligibility for legal services performed by the organization;

(4) the types of legal and nonlegal services performed by the organization;

(5) the names of all members of The Florida Bar who are employed by the organization or who regularly perform legal work for the organization; and

(6) the existence and extent of malpractice insurance that will cover the authorized legal aid practitioner.

(c) Supervising Attorney. A “supervising attorney” as used in this chapter is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar who is eligible to practice law in Florida and who directs and supervises an authorized legal aid practitioner engaged in activities permitted by this chapter. The supervising attorney must:

(1) be employed by or be a participating volunteer for an approved legal aid organization; and

(2) assume personal professional responsibility for supervising the conduct of the matter, litigation, or administrative proceeding in which the authorized legal aid practitioner participates.