1972, April, Pg. 1. Certificate Colorado's Plan for Certifying Lawyers as Specialists.

• Author: James E. Wallace

1 Colo.Law. 1

Colorado Lawyer

1972.

1972, April, Pg. 1.

Certificate Colorado's Plan for Certifying Lawyers as Specialists

11972, April, Pg. 1Certificate Colorado's Plan for Certifying Lawyers as SpecialistsJames E. WallaceJames E. Wallace is Professor of Law at the University of Denver College of Law, and is presently chairman of the Colorado Bar Association's Committee on Specialization.For a number of years the legal profession has been confronted with the fact of specialization within its ranks and the awareness that no longer can the lawyer be deemed to be legally omnicompetent---a jack of all legal trades. The complexity of the law itself requires that lawyers limit their practices to particular areas of law. No one can keep abreast of the developments in every field of law. Consequently, the requirements of competence dictate that lawyers limit their practices to a single or relatively few branches of the law.

Coupled with this awareness is the further fact that people in need of legal services require the means by which to make intelligent selection of counsel to represent them. An alphabetical listing of lawyers from Adams to Zuspann in the yellow pages of the telephone directory does little to aid the layman in selecting a lawyer. Unless a person is looking for a patent attorney, he must play grab bag in selecting his lawyer insofar as public information concerning areas of practice and competence is concerned.

Recognizing the problems relating to specialization in the practice of law is one thing. Responding to them in a realistic manner is quite another, though. Committees of the American Bar Association have been wrestling with this matter since the 1950's. These efforts were brought into focus by the ABA at its 1969 mid-year meeting when it was resolved not to proceed with a national program for the recognition and regulation of specialization in the practice of law, at least for the present time. Rather, encouragement and support should be given at the national level to programs commenced at the state level in order to gain experience and knowledge concerning problems and viable means of certifying law specialists.

At the present time, programs leading to the certification of specialists in law are underway in California, Texas, and Wisconsin. Indeed, according to one recent count, effort toward certifying law specialists was being made in 25 states. Colorado has been a pioneering state in the consideration of this problem. In 1964, a special joint committee of the Denver and Colorado Bar Associations was appointed to study and report upon the certification of lawyers as specialists in designated areas of law within this state. The work of the 1964 committee was picked up in 1969 by the Specialization Committee appointed by the Colorado

2Bar Association. In 1970, that Specialization Committee presented a plan for certifying specialists in law to the Colorado Bar Association's Board of Governors. The Board endorsed the plan "in principle," which meant that the Committee was authorized to: (1) transmit the report and plan to the Colorado Supreme Court for joint study with the CBA and its Specialization Committee; (2) explore the subject matter of the report with various sections of the Colorado Bar Association and other groupings of lawyers who may be interested in specialty certification; and (3) finalize the plan for presentation and recommendation to the Bar Association's Board of Governors.

The PlanWhat is the plan under consideration, and how is it proposed to certify specialists in law in Colorado? The details are given in the appendix to this article, which contains the complete proposed plan. Certain general principles have guided the Specialization Committee in its work on the plan.

1. The certification of specialists in law in Colorado is to be upon a strictly voluntary basis. No one is to be required to be certified as a specialist in an area of law. Thus, certification as a specialist in a particular field of law will not be a prerequisite for a lawyer to practice in that field of law. Any lawyer may practice in any field of law in which he is competent regardless of whether he is a certified specialist in that field of law. The design of the plan is to permit those lawyers who desire to be certified as specialists in particular fields of law to obtain such certification and thereby to hold themselves out as specialists.

2. Certification of a lawyer as a specialist shall not, however, be a limiting factor upon his practice of law. That is to say, a lawyer who is certified in a particular field of law shall not thereby be limited to practicing law within the field of specialty. He may limit himself if he chooses, but he is not required to limit his practice by reason of the fact that he has been certified as a specialist in a particular field of law. He may practice law in any field or fields of law in which he is competent.

3. A lawyer shall not be limited to certification as a specialist to a single field of law. He may be certified in as many specialty areas for which he can fulfill the certification requirements. It should be noted here that in general the requirements for certification as a specialist in an area of law are: (a) a minimal number of years of actual practice of the law; (b) substantial involvement in the particular field of law for which specialty certification is sought; (c) a satisfactory showing of special educational experience in the particular field of law; and (d) passage of appropriate examinations. A grandfather clause permits certification at the inception of the program of lawyers who demonstrably are specialists in their respective fields of law. Recertification of specialists, however, is required at least every five years in order to insure the continued competency and proficiency of the persons so certified.

4. To the extent feasible, the general practitioner shall be protected from client stealing by a certified specialist to whom a client is referred. The plan provides that when a client is referred to a certified specialist by another lawyer, the specialist shall not take advantage of his position to enlarge the scope of his representation. The specialist shall not represent the client in other matters without first obtaining the consent of the client's lawyer who made the referral.(fn1)

5. It is proposed that the certification of specialists in law be accomplished under the aegis of the Colorado Supreme Court pursuant to its power to regulate the practice of law in this state. Accordingly, appropriate rules must be promulgated by the Supreme Court in order to implement the plan. It is also anticipated that specific rules governing the professional responsibility of lawyers certified as specialists will need consideration by the Court. A Council on Legal Specialization shall be established

   3by the Supreme Court which shall have the duty to administer the program, establish and publish standards for testing and certifying law specialists, and issue certificates to legal specialists in the fields of law designated as law...