Applications for board certification in Elder Law must be filed by August 31, 2010, for the March 11, 2011, exam.  Applications for board certification in Wills, Trusts & Estates must be filed by October 31, 2010, for the May 13, 2011, exam. By your involvement in The Florida Bar's Elder Law Section, you may be well suited for certification in one of these specialty areas of law. 

Florida's board certification program offers the greatest number of state-approved specialties in the nation and is considered a national leader in legal specialization. Information on Florida's 24 certification areas – standards, test specifications, applications and filing deadlines – is online at FloridaBar.org/certification, along with a directory of other lawyers who have taken this extra step in their professional careers.   Please contact the Board of Legal Specialization & Education at (850) 561-5842 to check your continuing legal education credits and eligibility.

If you're ready to be among the only Florida lawyers who are recognized as "experts" or "specialists," please consider: 

• Board certification establishes an independent measure of competence, professionalism and peer acknowledgment, and helps clients and fellow lawyers set expectations for professional abilities.
• Certification serves both prospective clients and counsel seeking to refer legal matters to an expert. Certification can therefore help lawyers grow their practices with matters in which they best can utilize their expertise. The Florida Bar supports this valuable service by providing a direct URL to its directory of board certified lawyers: FloridaBar.org/certification.

• Certification provides an objective measure that a corporate executive, hiring partner, government official or other leader may justifiably rely upon when selecting a lawyer and explaining the choice to stockholders, clients, citizens or others to whom the leader is accountable.
• Certification enhances the stature of a law firm or office, as tangibly demonstrated by lower malpractice insurance rates for certified lawyers. Certified lawyers foster their firms' well-being and serve as role models.
• Certification demonstrates commitment for practitioners who vary their work styles from the traditional mode. For example, certification helps validate the commitment of a lawyer who chooses to work alternative hours or from home to accommodate health, family or other personal demands.
• Certification is a personally satisfying professional milestone as well as an impetus toward investing energy and thought necessary for future growth and professional contribution. Because continued certification requires satisfaction of specific standards and peer affirmation, the public as well as professional colleagues can be assured that the certified lawyer remains committed to excellence.

Please visit FloridaBar.org/certification to learn more about board certification, The Florida Bar's highest level of evaluation of attorneys' competency and experience in areas of law approved for certification by the Supreme Court of Florida.