by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The title of expert was attached to the resumes of just over a dozen Jacksonville Attorneys recently. And, this recognition isn’t awarded easily.
After an extensive application process, attorneys take a day-long exam in order to gain board certification in any of the 22 specialty fields.
“The board certification process tests you on all aspects of your specialty,” said Phillip Buhler, of Mosely Prichard. “It may be information that doesn’t apply to your practice but it helps with issue spotting. You may not be a specialist in an area but at least you can spot an issue when someone comes into your office and be able to recommend someone that could help.”
Buhler gained board certification in Admiralty & Maritime Law in 1996 and added International Law to his certifications in the last round of examinations.
The Florida Bar recently approved board certification for 207 lawyers in 22 specialty areas of legal practice. This is the greatest number of state-approved certification areas in the nation.
Board certification evaluates attorneys’ special knowledge, skills and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice.
Approximately 4,200 of Florida’s 80,000 lawyers are board certified. Most of them would agree that it wasn’t an easy process.
“I was in Africa for three weeks prior to exam, but I took materials with me. I should have taken more time to prepare,” said Cheryl Worman, of Rogers Towers. “The four partners in the construction law division are certified, so I was getting tired of the digs because I wasn’t certified.”
Minimum requirements for certification include:
• A minimum of five years in law practice
• Substantial involvement in the field of law for which certification is sought
• A passing grade on the examination
• Satisfactory peer review assessment of competence in the specialty field as well as character, ethics and professionalism in the practice of law
• Satisfaction of the certification area’s continuing legal education requirements
Board certification is valid for five years. The attorney during that time must continue to practice law and attend Florida Bar-approved continuing legal education courses.
The following Jacksonville attorneys were recently board certified by the Florida Bar:
Appellate Practice
Bryan Gowdy, Mills & Creed
Business Litigation
Jeffrey Regan, Regan, Zebouni & Walker
Civil Trial
Ellis Fernandez, Fernandez Trial Lawyers
Richard Ramsey, Wicker, Smith, O’Hara, McCoy & Ford
Construction Law
Michael Barker, Barker & Barker
James Birr III, Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart
Stuart Poage, Kubicki Draper
Cheryl Worman, Rogers Towers
Criminal Trial
Sheila Loizos, State Attorney’s Office
Intellectual Property Law
Katharine Rowe, Smith, Gambrell & Russell
Thomas Saitta, Rogers Towers
International Law
Phillip Buhler, Mosely, Prichard, Parrish, Knight & Jones
Marital and Family Law
Marla Buchanan, Rogers Towers
Charles Willmott
Tax Law
Kristopher Robinson, Frazier & Frazier