In 1983, the State Bar of Texas established a plan for the recognition and regulation of specialization in the law. The Texas Board of Legal Specialization was established for the recognition and regulation of those lawyers who have special competence in a particular field of law. Currently 16 areas of special competence are recognized. Less than 10% of the lawyers in the State of Texas have achieved Board Certification. Most of those lawyers are Board Certified in only one area. I was certified in Personal Injury Trial Law in 1985 and have maintained my certification ever since.
To be Board Certified, an attorney must meet the following requirements:
Licensed for at least five years;
Three years of practice in specialty;
Devote 25% to 50% of practice to the field of specialty;
Handle a wide variety of cases in the field to demonstrate substantial involvement;
Attendance at continuing legal education seminars;
Approval of judges and colleagues;
Passage of written examination.
Currently, the Texas Board of Legal Specialization recognizes the following fields of law for board certification:
Administrative Law
Business Bankruptcy Law
Civil Appellate Law
Civil Trial Law
Commercial Bankruptcy Law
Commercial Real Estate Law
Criminal Law
Estate Planning and Probate Law
Family Law
Farm and Ranch Real Estate Law
Immigration and Nationality Law
Labor Law
Oil, Gas and Mineral Law
Personal Injury Trial Law
Residential Real Estate Law
Tax Law
Board certification is for five years, after which time the attorney may apply for recertification if the attorney continues to meet the requirements of continuing legal education and substantial involvement in the specialty field on an ongoing basis.