Specialty Certification, 1117 ALBJ, 78 The Alabama Lawyer 444 (2017)
| Author | By Angela Parks |
| Position | Vol. 78 6 Pg. 444 |
By Angela Parks
A quick glance through the "Attorneys" section of any yellow page directory will make it clear that many lawyers specialize in one or more kinds of legal matters. In fact, most specialize to some degree by limiting the range of matters they handle. An increasing number of lawyers are choosing to be recognized as having special knowledge and experience by becoming certified specialists in certain fields of law. Specialty certification could be part of your professional goals.
Lawyers who are certified as specialists have been recognized by independent professional certifying organizations as having an enhanced level of skill, as well as substantial involvement in established legal specialty areas. Certifying organizations require lawyers to demonstrate special training, experience and knowledge to ensure that recognition as a certified specialist is meaningful and reliable.
Specialty certification programs available to lawyers are growing both in numbers and variety. In 1993, the American Bar Association (ABA) adopted a set of voluntary national standards, along with a set of procedures to accredit specialty certification programs. The standards were designed to establish reasonable and valid criteria to accredit programs that grant specialty certification to qualified lawyers and to provide state authorities with a basis for approving programs which seek recognition in their jurisdictions.
What Does ABA Accreditation Mean?
ABA accreditation signifies that a certifying organization's program has been reviewed by the ABA and found to meet the Standards for Accreditation of Specialty Certification Programs for Lawyers. The accreditation standards were developed to provide both lawyers and clients with a way to identify those certification programs that employ adequate methods and criteria to reliably recognize experienced legal specialists. To obtain ABA accreditation for a program, a c ertifying organization must show, among other things, that: • It is dedicated to the identification of lawyers who exhibit an advanced level of skill and expertise, and that it is dedicated to the development and improvement of the professional competence of lawyers.
• It possesses the organizational and financial resources to carry out its...
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