Juvenile Law Certification.

• Author: Schroth, Deborah A.
• Position: Annual Reports of Committees of the Florida Bar: 2018-2019

Juvenile law is a new area of certification. The committee is pleased to report that after two years of certification examinations in 2017 and 2018, there are 137 lawyers who are certified in juvenile law. We anticipate that between 15 and 20 attorneys will sit for the exam in May and wish each of them success in this endeavor.

There is minimal, if any, professional gain to the attorney certified in juvenile law beyond the sense of professional pride in the accomplishment. This is due to the nature of the work on behalf of children. Our certified attorneys have demonstrated a breadth of knowledge in all areas of the law affecting children, while also demonstrating a depth of knowledge in their juvenile law specialty. All certified attorneys have been peer reviewed for their demonstration of ethical and professional practice.

The committee has been struggling with the requirement that it no longer offer sub-specialty examinations. Although the ideal juvenile law practitioner would have both the breadth and depth of practice over the entire spectrum of areas in which children require legal representation, the reality is that there are far too many legal issues affecting children for this to be true for most juvenile law practitioners. The current reality is that these practitioners typically work for governmental or nonprofit entities, such as the state attorney, public defender, guardian ad litem, legal services, or similar advocacy law firms. With a few exceptions, these attorneys work almost exclusively in a single area of delinquency, dependency, or education and public benefits.

The practical question is whether certification should drive lawyers to achieve the ideal in their practice area, or whether certification should reflect current practice.

Recognizing that all attorneys certified in juvenile law must...