The Supreme Court has declined a proposal to scrub so-called “Z” words – “zeal,” “zealous,” and “zealously,” from the Bar’s rulebook.

Acting July 30 in In Re: Amendments to the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar Chapter 4, Case No. 2024-0032, justices disagreed with proponents of the rule change who asserted that the term is associated with “negative extremist behavior.”

Proponents argued that too many lawyers cite “zealous advocacy” as an excuse for unprofessional behavior. But justices stressed that the Supreme Court has rejected that defense.