This morning I had the luxury of time and picked up two of my neglected periodicals, the Colorado Lawyer and The Florida Bar Journal. Reading through these side by side, which I rarely do, was an instructive experience that highlighted the difference between my two states of bar licensure.
One difference between the states is that in Colorado attorneys are regulated by the court system, the Colorado Supreme Court. Being a part of the Colorado Bar Association is voluntary. In Florida you are obligated as a licensed bar member to be a member of The Florida Bar. Part of the journals is a section that covers attorneys who have been disciplined. As a self regulating organization nationwide, the idea is to impose some element of public humiliation as a disincentive to other attorneys to act badly toward their clients, the judiciary and sometimes (but less often) the general public. Acts that regularly receive discipline are inappropriate acts regarding client funds, failing in an extreme way to communicate with clients, and swearing at judges. So the Colorado cases look more like criminal cases, People v. Joe Smith, by way of made-up example. In Florida it is the Bar Association, not the state that is imposing discipline. Both can have the same ultimate outcome of course, which in the most extreme cases is loss of your bar license.
Another difference I note between the two publications is that the Florida one focuses solely on the law, new U.S. Supreme Court decisions, new Florida laws, and analysis of both. The Colorado one contains this as well but contains many other interesting articles about the practice or business of law and innovations there, historical case highlights, and changes in the way justice is being made more accessible. It is thus generally a more interesting and entertaining read. It also underscores the difference I have seen between the way the law is taught in each state. I attended law school (a long time ago now) in Colorado and the focus was very much theoretical, looking to what the law could or should be, very progressive in nature. From my understanding from my law school interns in Florida where I also practice, law school is oriented toward teaching what the law is, and very state specific, and aimed at Bar passage. Much like our public schools are uber focused on performance on standardized state tests, Florida law schools (but my sample includes one main local school) seem to focus on making sure their students can pass Florida’s bear of a Bar exam.
Now, looking at the law more specifically, I have observed that Colorado includes more uniform standards, whereas Florida relies on its own statutes and the case law that draws the real life examples of how the statutes play out in practical terms. Florida is also broken up into several circuits which are always making conflicting decisions that ultimately go up to the Supreme Court, Florida’s and at times the U.S.
Colorado’s judicial system is more simplified and follows a more common sense model. In general Colorado law, substantive and procedurally, follows the federal system more closely. For example, court cases are governed by procedural rules that reflect the federal rules. They are concise and strictly applied. For example, motions follow a schedule. You respond with a brief within a certain number of days. In Florida, you can choose not to respond. You can choose to request a hearing. There is no standard path that is followed for each motion.
Colorado has adopted both the Uniform Dissolution of Marriage Act and the Uniform Trust Code, which provide more regularity in these wide reaching areas of law.
When you read Colorado cases you are going to learn about elements such as mountain boundary disputes, neighboring ranches fighting over water rights, and mining rights. In the federal court cases you get a lot of big criminal cases because Denver has the federal court for the less populated surrounding states.
In Florida many cases revolve around the condo laws and high net worth divorce or probate/trust.
There is no better or lesser but only difference, just like the two states offer the opposite of the best of both worlds, sunny weather and beaches and sunny weather and mountains. I love both and am privileged to be able to have a presence in each.
Notes From Real Life 