Eight Jacksonville area lawyers are among the 101 Florida lawyers statewide 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.
The lawyers from the Fourth Judicial Circuit who have been certified as legal experts in their respective fields are:
• Geddes Dowling Anderson Jr. – Business Litigation
• Brian Thomas Crevasse – Construction Law
• Jon Patrick DeBardeleben – Health Law
• Eric Scott Kolar – Business Litigation
• Sheila Ann Loizos – Criminal Appellate
• John Joseph Rahaim II – Workers’ Compensation
• Adair Christine Rommel – Criminal Trial
• Mark Joseph Rosenblum – Criminal Trial
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 Florida Bar annually certifies lawyers in two cycles. The first concludes in June and the second in August.
The 101 newly certified lawyers attained board certification in 10 of the 12 second-cycle specialties.
According to The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization & Education, the governing body for the certification program, the number of lawyers who have earned board certification has increased an average of 10 percent each year since 2009.
Florida currently offers 24 specialty areas of practice for which board certification is available, the greatest number of 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 about 4,500 of Florida’s 91,000 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 Web site at Floridabar.org/certification or call (850) 561-5842.