Rule 6-25.3(a) lists the minimum standards including:
(a) Minimum Period of Practice.
The applicant must have been engaged in a state or federal government and administrative practice for at least 5 years preceding the application date.
The years of law practice need not be consecutive.
(b) Practice Requirements.
The practice requirements are as follows.
(1) Substantial Involvement.
The applicant must demonstrate substantial involvement in a state and federal government and administrative practice during 3 of the last 5 years immediately preceding application by providing examples of service as the lead advocate on behalf of a private client or a government entity or instrumentality.
Using the point values and limitations assigned below, the applicant’s experience examples from the following actions must total at least 100 points and have been performed within 20 years preceding the filing of the application:
(A) administrative hearings, involving disputed issues of material fact [Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes] and adjudicated through final order pursuant to the Florida Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter 120, Florida Statutes (5 points each);
(B) fully-adjudicated administrative actions or rulemaking proceedings pursuant to the Federal Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551-559, and other federal APA proceedings, including record review proceedings, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706 (5 points each);
(C) any other fully-adjudicated state or federal administrative or civil proceeding before an administrative forum, hearing officer, magistrate, arbitrator, state or federal district, circuit or supreme court, or other forum, in which the applicant represents a party in a lawsuit brought by or against a government entity.
Applicants are encouraged to identify cases involving state or federal constitutional or statutory matters, state or federal regulations, ethics, open government, public records, or sovereign immunity.
Experience working on matters exclusively involving city, county, and local government law (such as code enforcement, municipal financing and licensing, local referenda, ordinances, and zoning) does not constitute practical experience for purposes of obtaining state and federal government and administrative practice certification (5 points each);
(D) rulemaking proceedings through rule adoption pursuant to the Florida Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter 120, Florida Statutes (3 points each);
(E) state or federal government or administrative actions as follows:
1. involvement in actions that are considered, pursuant to the Florida Administrative Procedure Act or the Federal Administrative Procedure Act, to provide a point of entry or otherwise create an opportunity for a person to seek to adjudicate legal rights in state or federal courts, or in an administrative forum.
Examples may include, but are not limited to, policies, orders, emergency orders, permits, licenses, contracts, or other agency decisions, or intended decisions of state and federal government entities. Examples may not include documents requiring merely clerical completion (2 points each);
2. involvement as lead advocate in an administrative proceeding of the type identified herein, in which a written settlement agreement was negotiated and upon which the proceeding was terminated (2 points each);
3. involvement as lead advocate in an administrative proceeding of the type identified herein, in which a proposed administrative or government action or the challenge to the action was formally withdrawn (2 points each);
(F) other actions on behalf of state or federal government agencies, including military adjudicatory or rulemaking proceedings, that are the substantial equivalent of the practical experience categories identified herein, as determined at the sole discretion of the state and federal government and administrative practice certification committee after review of the application (1 to 4 points each);
(G) an advisory opinion issued by the Florida Commission on Ethics, Florida or United States Attorney General, or Supreme Court of Florida (1 point each);
(H) experience as legislative staff on a bill passed by the Florida Legislature and enacted into law within Chapters 119 (Public Records), 120 (Administrative Procedure Act), 286 (Open Meetings), or 287 (Procurement), Florida Statutes, or as staff for the Florida Legislature’s Joint Administrative Procedures Committee on completed rulemaking initiatives (1 point each); or
(I) experience as judicial staff, or staff to an administrative law judge, arbitrator, hearing officer, or other administrative panel on fully-adjudicated cases consistent with this rule (1 point each).
The applicant may have a maximum of 40 points from examples within (F) through (I).
If the applicant has no points within (A), (B), or (C), the applicant must have points from a minimum of 2 different categories within (D) through (I).
The state and federal government and administrative practice certification committee may increase the number of points granted for activities of the type identified in subdivisions (b)(2)(A), (B), or (C), above, for good cause shown, such as an applicant’s involvement as lead advocate in an administrative hearing that lasted more than 6 days.
(c) Peer Review.
The applicant must submit the names and addresses of 5 individuals, at least 4 of whom are lawyers and 1 of whom is a federal, state, or administrative law judge before whom the applicant has appeared within the 5 years immediately preceding application to complete peer review forms.
Individuals who currently practice in the applicant’s law firm or government entity may not be used as references.
The applicant may provide the name and address of the head of a government entity or a member of a collegial board that serves as the head of a government entity in lieu of a judicial reference if the applicant has advised or appeared before the person within the 5 years immediately preceding application.
Administrative law judges or hearing officers applying for certification may offer the reference of an attorney who has appeared before them more than once, or, if appropriate, the reference of the chief administrative law judge or hearing officer. In all cases, at least 2 of the lawyer references must be members of The Florida Bar.
The board of legal specialization and education and the state and federal government and administrative practice certification committee may authorize references from nonlawyers.
(d) Education.
The applicant must complete at least 50 hours of the continuing legal education requirements in state and federal government and administrative practice during the 3- year period immediately preceding the application date as established by the board of legal specialization and education. (e) Examination.
The applicant must pass an examination applied uniformly to all applicants to demonstrate sufficient knowledge, proficiency, and experience in state and federal government and administrative practice to justify the representation of special competence to the legal profession and the public.
