Business litigation.

• Author: Salzman, Gary S.
• Position: Board certification

The Florida Bar's Web site states that "[b]usiness litigation certified lawyers help solve problems arising from business relationships, including resolving disputes. Business litigation includes evaluating, handling and resolving disagreements prior to the filing of an action, preparing for and trying cases and post-judgment proceedings. It includes litigation in state and federal courts, and before administrative agencies, mediators and arbitrators." For the purposes of board certification, business litigation does not include any practice dealing with personal injury, routine collection matters, marital and family law or workers' compensation law.

Business litigators face legal and factual issues that are often unique to the area of practice. The uniqueness of the practice is recognized by the Supreme Court of Florida's approval of board certification, which permits attorneys who substantially practice in the area to distinguish themselves in the field.

The Florida Supreme Court first approved the certification plan for business litigation in 1995, with the first certification exam offered in 1996. For the first class, 60 applications were received and 52 were approved for certification. There are now 226 attorneys certified in business litigation.

In the early 1990s, Maxine M. Long, Ronald B. Ravikoff, and James B. Murphy, Jr., initiated the certification approval process. With the assistance of others, they researched the certification programs of other jurisdictions and outlined recommended certification criteria for Florida. That outline became the certification proposal that was presented to BLSE for approval. At the BLSE level, however, the plan was sidetracked for about a year so that a special panel could study whether business litigation should be a separate certification area or a sub-certification of civil trial law. During this time, it was determined that many business litigators would not have sufficient trials necessary for certification in civil trial law. Most businesses are very reluctant to take a case to trial before a jury and would rather settle a dispute. The proliferation of mediation, arbitration, and other alternative dispute resolution models have also contributed to the reasons why many business litigators do not have the necessary number of trials for certification under civil trial law. In addition, certification in civil trial law has evolved to include primarily personal injury and premises liability...