from staff
Thirteen Jacksonville lawyers are among 181 attorneys who recently earned Florida Bar board certification, The Bar’s highest evaluation of attorneys’ competence and experience in one or more of the 24 areas of law approved for certification by the Supreme Court of Florida.
Board certified attorneys are the only Florida lawyers allowed to identify themselves as “specialists” or “experts,” or to use the initials “B.C.S.” to indicate Board Certified Specialist.
Board certification evaluates attorneys’ special knowledge, skills and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice.
Jacksonville lawyers newly certified by The Florida Bar, listed by their specialty areas:
Civil Trial
• Blane McCarthy
• Timothy S. Moran
• Angelo M. Patacca Jr.
• Michael S. Sharrit
Construction Law
• Barry Barnett Ansbacher
• Bryan Robert Rendzio
• Charles R. Walker Jr.
• Brent Taylor Zimmerman
Criminal Trial
• Jeremy Lasnetski
• Jonathan D. Sacks
Intellectual Property Law
• Richard Stuart Vermut
Marital and Family Law
• Lawrence C. Datz
Wills, Trusts and Estates
• Shannon Powell Valentine
According to The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization & Education, the governing body for the certification program, the number of lawyers who earned board certification in 2010 increased 15 percent over 2009.
“We believe that certification numbers are up because lawyers are placing increased value on the benefits of marketing their ‘specialist’ or ‘expert’ statuses,” said BLSE Chair Richard R. McCrea Jr. of Tampa.
“The professionalism and peer review components of board certification provide the public with objective standards by which to evaluate attorneys, and it appears that Florida lawyers are finding that evaluation more relevant to their practices,” he said.
Florida currently offers 24 specialty areas of practice for which board certification is available, the greatest number of state-approved certification areas of any state in the U.S.
A lawyer who is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar and who meets the standards prescribed by the state’s Supreme Court may become board certified in one or more of the 24 certification fields. Only 4,400 of Florida’s 88,000 lawyers are board certified. Minimum requirements for certification are listed below; each area of certification may contain higher or additional standards.
• 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 required of all applicants
• Satisfactory peer review from other lawyers and judges to assess 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. Recertification requirements are similar to those for initial certification. Not all qualified lawyers are certified, but those who are board certified have voluntarily taken the extra step to have their competence and experience evaluated.