When you need the legal representation provided by an attorney you want the best representation that you can get. One of the easiest ways to be certain that you are retaining an attorney who is truly an expert in his or her area of practice is to look for one who is Board Certified. Of the over 90,000 attorneys who are licensed to practice law in the state of Texas, only 7,200 have earned certification by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. That is only 8% of all licensed lawyers in Texas.
Being Board Certified in the state of Texas means that an attorney has gone above and beyond the requirements set up by the State Bar Association for the practice of law, and has acquired, and more importantly proven, significant relevant knowledge and experience in his or her specific area of practice, having the highest commitment to excellence in practice.
Attorneys are not even eligible to begin the voluntary process of Board Certification until after they have been in practice for a total of five years with at least three of those years in the specialty area in which they intend to become Board Certified. Moreover, retaining a Board Certification requires annual Texas Board of Legal Specialization approved continuing legal education classes and periodic submission of references from an attorney’s peers in the area of specialization. Board Certification must not only be earned, it requires a continuing commitment for an attorney’s entire career to maintain.
In order to be eligible to take the Texas Board of Legal Specialization examination to earn Board Certified status in an area of the law, an attorney must first have practiced law in that area for the required amount of time, then complete a minimum of sixty course hours in Texas Board of Legal Specialization approved courses in the specialty area.
The application itself, in addition to the experience and educational requirements, also requires that an attorney furnish extensive documentation showing their relevant experience in both the general practice of law and their practice in the specific area in which they will attempt to become Board Certified, as well as ten qualified references who will speak for the attorney’s experience and character.
Once these requirements have been met, the applicant attorney must sign up to sit for a full day examination that is held once a year. If the attorney passes both the application process and the Texas Board of Legal Specialization exam they will receive a Certificate of Special Competence in that area of law and are considered to be Board Certified.
Becoming a Board Certified attorney is both a time-consuming and expensive process, and because of this only a small percentage of attorneys who hold themselves to the highest professional standards earn the honor of being Board Certified in their area of practice. If you need a criminal defense attorney you want the best representation you can get. In Denton, Dallas, or Tarrant County that is Chris Abel and the Abel Law Firm. Contact us today to discuss your situation and learn about your options.