JEAC SAYS GENERAL MAGISTRATES MAY COMPLETE BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE CASES
Lawyers appointed as full- or part-time general magistrates may continue winding down Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee cases and receive compensation for work already performed without violating judicial ethics rules, according to the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee.
Acting August 5 in Opinion 2026-05, the JEAC noted that, unlike judges, "magistrates and hearing officers may ethically practice law in certain areas during their tenure in such positions."
The committee reasoned that because the inquiring magistrate would serve in family court, the bankruptcy trustee work did not appear to overlap with the magistrate's judicial responsibilities.
The inquiring magistrate is currently a part-time truancy magistrate considering applying to become a full-time general magistrate assigned to a circuit court's family law division. The magistrate has served as a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee and, in that role, was compensated on a contingency basis, as fixed by law, upon the completion of each case.
According to the opinion, the magistrate expects to complete a number of trustee cases in the near future and would ordinarily be entitled to contingent compensation for those matters. The magistrate also anticipates having cases that will be completed by successor trustees and asked whether compensation could still be received for work already performed on those matters under a quantum meruit theory.
The JEAC said its advice is limited to matters of judicial ethics and expressed no opinion regarding any contractual or other legal restrictions that may apply to the magistrate's employment.
"[W]e are of the opinion that the inquiring magistrate, whether serving full-time or part-time as a family law magistrate, may continue to serve as a bankruptcy trustee while winding down that practice, subject to compliance with Canons 1, 2A, 3, and such other provisions of the Code that might reasonably be applicable," the committee said.
The JEAC also concluded that the magistrate may continue to receive contingency compensation for bankruptcy trustee work performed on completed cases and appropriate compensation for work performed on cases completed by successor trustees.
"We express no opinions on any matter outside of judicial ethics with regard to compensation for trustee services," the opinion said.
The Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee is charged with rendering advisory opinions to judges and judicial candidates on the application of the Code of Judicial Conduct to specific circumstances. Although the opinions are advisory and not binding on the Judicial Qualifications Commission, the Florida Supreme Court may consider compliance with a committee opinion as evidence of a judge's good faith in disciplinary proceedings.
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