What is a Personal Injury Trial Law Board Certified Attorney?
As provided by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization:
Certified Personal Injury Trial Law specialists have handled various aspects (including jury trials) of matters such as vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, or defective products which cause physical or mental injury to a person
An attorney who is Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Personal Injury Trial Law must have handled jury trials dealing with matters such as truck accidents, vehicle accidents, worker's compensation, premises liability, products liability, statutory tort claims, maritime accidents, or social security claims which involve a physical or mental injury to a person. The attorney must also have extensive knowledge of the law of evidence, procedure, and other substantive law involved in the trial of personal injury cases.
To become Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law, an attorney must have:
- Been licensed to practice law for at least five years;
- Devoted a required percentage of practice to personal injury trial law for at least three years;
- Handled a wide variety of personal injury trial law matters to demonstrate experience and involvement;
- Attended personal injury trial law continuing education seminars regularly to keep legal training up to date;
- Been evaluated by fellow lawyers and judges;
- Passed a day-long written examination.
Initial certification is valid for a period of five years. To remain certified, an attorney must apply for recertification every five years and meet practice, peer review and continuing education requirements for the specialty field.
Michael P. Fleming has been board certified in Personal Injury Trial Law since 1995. For more information about the board certification process - or to see if an attorney has achieved board certification - visit the Texas Board of Legal Specialization website at http://www.tbls.org.
