from staff
Thirteen Jacksonville lawyers are among the 91 Florida lawyers statewide who have 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.
The following lawyers, listed with their specialty areas, have been certified as legal experts:
Adoption law (first-in-the-nation legal specialty)
• Charlene Francis
• Brian Kelly
• Michael Shorstein
Appellate practice
• Gray Thomas
Civil trial
• Joseph Camerlengo Jr.
• Albert Lechner
• Michelline Haynes Ruth
Labor and employment law
• Latasha Garrison-Fullwood
• Jonathan Oliff
• Ray Poole Jr.
• Edward Trent
Marital and family law
• Asad Sam Jubran
Tax law
• Kevin Kane
The Florida Bar annually certifies lawyers in two cycles. The first concludes in June and the second in August.
The 91 newly certified lawyers attained board certification in 11 of the 12 first-cycle specialties, including adoption law and education law, both first-in-the-nation legal specialties.
According to The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education, the governing body for the certification program, the total number of lawyers who earned board certification in 2010 increased 18 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 specialization board Chair Richard C. 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 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 4,468 of Florida’s 90,000 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.
• 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.
• A passing grade on the examination required of all applicants.
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.
For more information, visit The Florida Bar website at www.Floridabar.org/certification or call The Florida Bar’s Legal Specialization and Education Department at (850) 561-5842.