from The Florida Bar
Florida Bar members interested in board certification must submit applications by Aug. 31 for 12 of Florida’s 24 legal specialization areas.
Applications are available at The Florida Bar website, at www.floridabar.org, and are due Aug. 31 for the following specialties:
Admiralty and Maritime Law, Adoption Law, Appellate Practice, Aviation Law, Civil Trial, Education Law, Elder Law, Immigration and Nationality, International Law, Labor and Employment Law, Marital and Family Law and Tax Law. Adoption Law and Education Law are first-in-the-nation specialties.
Certified attorneys are the only Florida lawyers allowed to identify or advertise themselves as specialists or experts, or to use the letters “B.C.S” to indicate board certified specialist.
Certification is the highest level of evaluation by The Florida Bar of the competency and experience of attorneys in areas of law approved for certification by the Supreme Court of Florida. Certified lawyers are legal experts dedicated to professional excellence, and attorneys who become board certified are evaluated as to their character, ethics and reputation for professionalism in the practice of law.
The Florida Bar’s board certification program currently offers 24 specialty areas of practice for which board certification is available, the largest number of state-approved certification areas in the nation. Only about 4,300 of Florida’s 88,000 lawyers are board certified.
Lawyers who are members in good standing of The Florida Bar and who meet the standards prescribed by the state’s Supreme Court may become board certified in one or more of 24 certification fields.
While each area of certification may contain higher or additional standards, the minimum requirements for certification are:
• A minimum of five years in law practice;
• A satisfactory showing of substantial involvement in the field of law for which certification is sought;
• A passing grade on the examination required of all applicants;
• Satisfactory peer review assessment of competence in the specialty field as well as character, ethics and professionalism in the practice of law; and
• Satisfaction of the certification area’s continuing legal education requirements.
Board certification is valid for five years, during which time the attorney must continue to practice law and attend Florida Bar-approved continuing legal education courses. To be recertified, lawyers must meet requirements similar to those for initial certification.
Not all qualified lawyers are certified, but those who are board certified have taken the extra step to have their competence and experience recognized.
Applications for Florida’s additional certification practice areas are due Oct. 31. For more information, visit The Bar Web site at www.FloridaBar.org/certification or contact The Florida Bar’s Legal Specialization and Education Department at 850-561-5842.