How can lawyers become specialists

Board-Certified Specialists are Experienced. Board-Certified Specialists are lawyers who have substantial experience, the respect of their peers, and demonstrated special knowledge, skills and proficiency in their area of law. How does it work? An Advisory Commission AC is established for each area of specialization, and the AC is charged with administering the program in its particular field, in cooperation with and under the guidance of the BLS.

Click here to learn more about our Advisory Commissions. Only lawyers who are certified by the Board of Legal Specialization or by a national entity accredited by the State Bar of Arizona may advertise themselves as Board-Certified Specialists in a particular field.

Interested in starting a new area of Legal Specialization? Contact the BLS Administrator at specialization staff. Hay staff. Arizona Attorney Magazine. Public Service Center. Concerns About Your Lawyer? Specialists are listed in the specialization directory which is printed and mailed to libraries and clerks of court and posted on the website.

A board-certified specialist is featured on the homepage of the website and in each issue of the State Bar Journal. All specialist profiles are available online. Specialists receive The Specialist , the monthly newsletter of the specialization program. Certification brings identification and camaraderie with other certified specialists and lawyers practicing in the same specialty field. The board also recognizes service and excellence through awards given at its annual luncheon each spring.

Substantial involvement in the specialty field during the five calendar years prior to the year of application. Completion of a certain number of CLE credit hours in the specialty during the three years prior to application.

Satisfactory peer review by lawyers who are identified by the applicant. Passage of a 6-hour examination in the specialty field. About the Author. Jay Reeves jay. My Policy NEW! I am a bankruptcy litigator, and I get work primarily from other lawyers and occasionally from corporations and wanted a way to tell general counsel in just a snapshot that I was qualified.

Even now, there are not that many more than certified bankruptcy specialists in the state. Many, many more people are qualified to be bankruptcy specialists. One of the reasons people do not get certified is they are afraid of taking another test. What I found to be true when I took [the test] and what I found to be true when I was writing these various exams or contributing to the questions … is they were drafted for people who work in the field every day.

It is usually a horse race because there is a lot to say in a short period of time but it is not an examination that requires deep theoretical study or a semester-long class at law school to do it. It requires practice, regular practice in the field. First and foremost, probably a sense of pride. Third, you will give confidence to your prospective clients that you can get the job done and will do it well. With bankruptcy [certification], when you are applying for fees in bankruptcy court, the court is entitled to take into account the fact that you are a certified specialist in fixing your rate.

I have also had many cold calls from the press, people looking for small tidbits about this development or that development. I have been on television maybe 15 or 16 times talking about different bankruptcy things. It is not. Did your clients and colleagues treat you differently after you became certified?