Dallas County Divorce Attorney

"Not Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization"

What does that mean?

The State Bar of Texas became concerned that persons with little or no experience in a given area of practice (such as personal injury law or family law) were telling the public that they were "specialists" in that area. However, since there were no criteria for determining who is a specialist, there was no criteria for determining who is not a specialist. Consequently, the Board of Legal Specialization was created. If a Dallas County divorce attorney meets all the criteria and goes through the extra work, he can become board certified as a specialist in a given area of law. Among the criteria are that one have practiced law for a given period of time, that at least a certain percentage of his work have been in the intended area of specialization, and that he have had so many contested trials, etc.

Dallas County attorneys licensed by the State Bar of Texas are licensed to practice in all areas of the law, even if they are not specialized. The vast majority of Dallas County divorce attorneys are not board certified as specialists in any area. Reasons for not being board certified include:

Inertia. The attorney has all the work he wants or needs, and there is no benefit to him to obtain another credential.
Practice is too broad. Many Dallas County attorneys enjoy the variety of practicing in a number of areas of the law, and do not have a large enough percentage of their practice in a given area to qualify for board certification.
Not enough trials. Board certification requires a certain number of contested trials in one's area of intended specialization. Most prudent divorce attorneys encourage their clients to settle without the expense and uncertainty of trial. Courts also routinely refer all matters to mediation to encourage settlement. I know of several Dallas County divorce attorneys who are otherwise qualified for board certification but are unable to satisfy the requirement for the number of contested trials.
There is no recognized area of specialization that matches their special skills. A Dallas County attorney may be the world's leading authority on negotiating treaties with foreign nations, but he may not advertise himself in Texas as a specialist in that area, because there is no recognized specialization for treaties.

Dallas County Divorce Lawyer

Advertising Implications

A divorce lawyer may advertise without the disclaimer "Not Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization" if the ad does not mention any particular area of practice. For example, if my ad said, "I'm Hal Davis and I'm a good attorney," then I would not need to display the disclaimer.

A Dallas County divorce lawyer who is board certified in a given area may advertise himself as a specialist in that area. However, if he advertises in an area in which he is not certified (such as a family law specialist advertising that he does wills, when he is not also board certified in Probate Law), then he cannot advertise that he is a specialist in the are in which he is not board certified.

Dallas County Divorce Lawyer Alternative

If you're looking for an attorney who's a specialist ...

Most large city yellow pages will have a section for Dallas County divorce lawyers, followed by sections for attorneys who are board certified in a particular area.

However, if I were looking for a Dallas County divorce lawyer in a given city, I would ask a couple of other divorce lawyer in that city for their recommendations. If I wound up with an attorney who was board certified as a specialist in the area in which I had a need, I would take that as a plus, but I would not make board certification a requirement.

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