Why You Need to Take the Specialist Exam or Encourage Someone Else
| Jurisdiction | California,United States |
| Author | Marc Kaplan, CFLS |
| Publication year | 2021 |
| Citation | Vol. 43 No. 2 |
Marc Kaplan, CFLS
Marc Peter Kaplan, CFLS, was formerly a forensic CPA, went to law school to become a family law attorney only to have the courts and the Family Law Bar say that he should be a Special Master instead. Having now served more than twenty five years as a neutral special master, mediator, arbitrator and Privately Compensated Temporary Judge, he is a frequent lecturer/author on financial topics in family law. His professional passions are education and civility for family law attorneys and making a difference. To contact Marc: marc@kaplanspecialmaster.com
(Pass it on, if you are already a specialist, to someone you know will make a great specialist.)
You need to take the upcoming specialist exam. Why? Because the process will make you a better attorney, more educated, more civil, and improve the quality of your practice. Seriously.
I know, you are busy, you have no time, you have too much to do, you are taking care of Charlotte, Francesca, Gregory, the children, the dog, the hamster, and Uncle Fester—you name it. Maybe next year. Of course, you say that every year. Next year you will have new excuses.
Unless you have a long way to go to meet the qualifications,1 you should be thinking very seriously about this, right now.
Reasons why you need to do this:
The Specialization program is about two things—education and an exam. Whether you do the education or both, you will learn so much, remember so much that you forgot, and realize there is a lot of law you didn't really use that you now know. You will appreciate the Family Code like you have never before. Better educated makes for a better lawyer.
True Story: I had a case with an attorney in his early practice, who was a "trash talking," boasting, scary-to-me attorney. Really scary. He took the education, became a Family Law Specialist, and went on to be active in education and publishing family law materials. Thereafter, cases with him showed it was clear he had become a truly great attorney, commanding the law, handling complex cases, and really making a difference to his clients.
Better educated and better prepared will allow you to represent your clients better. Sure, there are some who are not specialists who are excellent attorneys. But they have been working on it for years. You need to fast track this process.
Three insurance carriers were asked, and they said they never heard of that. Check for yourself. Ask your carrier.
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