Sources of Certification
Here is a current listing of lawyer specialty certification programs sources offered to lawyers in various parts of the country. Check our Find a Certification Program page for limitations which state ethics rules place on public disclosure of certification.
General questions?
Programs
Click on a program listing for a summary description of its offerings.
Private Organizations with ABA-Accredited Certification Programs - Offer certification of specialists directly in various fields of law to lawyers nationally. Check state regulations for disclaimer requirements.
- American Board of Certification
- American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys
- National Association of Counsel for Children
- National Association of Estate Planners & Councils Estate Law Specialist Board, Inc.
- National Board of Legal Specialty Certification (formerly the National Board of Trial Advocacy)
- National College for DUI Defense, Inc.
- National Elder Law Foundation
State Sponsored Certification Plans (generally State Bar Associations) - Offer certification of specialists directly in various fields of law to lawyers licensed in their state.
- State Bar of Arizona Legal Specialization and MCLE
- State Bar of California Office of Certification
- Florida Board of Legal Specialization and Education Certification Program
- Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- New Jersey Board of Attorney Certification
- New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization
- North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization
- Ohio State Bar Association
- South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on CLE and Specialization
- Tennessee Supreme Court Commission on CLE & Specialization
- Texas Board of Legal Specialization
State Sponsored Plans to Accredit Private Certifiers (generally State Supreme Court Commissions) - Approve certification programs offered by state bar sections and other organizations to lawyers in their state.
- Alabama State Board of Legal Specialization
- Idaho State Bar
- Indiana Commission for CLE
- Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar
- Minnesota State Board of Legal Certification
- Ohio Commission on Certification of Attorneys as Specialists
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Tennessee Supreme Court Commission on CLE and Specialization
Directory of Programs
ABA-Accredited Private National Programs
American Board of Certification
Dian Gilmore, Executive Director
101 Second Street SE, Suite 904
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Phone: 319/365-2222
Specialty Programs: Business Bankruptcy; Consumer Bankruptcy; Creditors Rights
American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys
Gail Campbell, Executive Director
34 Connie Drive
Crawfordville, FL 32327
Phone: 850/528.7137
Fax: 850/926.8477
Specialty Programs: Legal Professional Liability; Medical Professional Liability
National Association of Counsel for Children
Marvin Ventrell, Executive Director
1825 Marion Street, Suite 320
Denver, CO 80218
Phone: 303/864-5322
Specialty Programs: Juvenile Law-Child Welfare
National Association of Estate Planners & Councils
Estate Law Specialist Board, Inc.
Eleanor Spuhler, Administrative Director
1120 Chester Ave., Suite 470
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Phone: 216/696-3225
Specialty Programs: Estate Planning Law Specialist
National Board of Legal Specialty Certification (formerly the National Board of Trial Advocacy)
Roberta A. Hugus, Executive Director
200 Stonewall Blvd.
Wrentham, Massachusetts 02093
Phone: 508/384-6565
Specialty Programs: Civil Trial Advocacy; Criminal Trial Advocacy; Family Law Trial Advocacy; Social Security Disability Law
National College for DUI Defense, Inc.
Rhea C. Kirk, Executive Director
445 S Decatur Street
Montgomery, AL 36104
Phone: 334/264-1950
Specialty Programs: DUI Defense Law
National Elder Law Foundation
Lori Barbee
6336 North Oracle Road, Ste. 326, #136
Tucson, AZ 85704
Phone: 520/881-1076
Specialty Program: Elder Law
lori@nelf.org
State Certification Plans
State
Bar of Arizona Legal Specialization and MCLE
Cristie Seaton, Administrator
111 W. Monroe, Suite 1800
Phoenix, Arizona 85003-1742
Phone: 602/340-7326
Specialty Programs: Bankruptcy; Criminal; Estate & Trust; Family Law; Injury and Wrongful Death; Real Estate; Tax; Workers' Compensation
State Bar of California - Office of Certification
Phyllis J. Culp, Director
180 Howard Street
San Francisco, California 94105
Phone: 415/538-2118
Specialty Programs: Appellate; Criminal; Estate Planning, Trust & Probate; Family; Immigration & Nationality; Personal & Small Business Bankruptcy; Taxation; Workers' Compensation
Connecticut State Bar Association
Sarah Farkas, Law-related Education & Certification Coordinator
30 Bank Street, PO Box 350
New Britain, CT 06050-0350
Phone: 860/612-2032
Specialty Programs: National Board of Trial Advocacy for civil trial practice and criminal law; the American Board of Certification for business bankruptcy and consumer bankruptcy; and the Connecticut Bar Association's Standing Committee on Workers' Compensation for workers' compensation law.
The Florida Bar, Board of Legal Specialization and Education
Dawna G. Bicknell, Director
661 E. Jefferson St.
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300
Phone: 850/561-5850
Specialty Programs: Adoption Law; Admiralty & Maritime; Antitrust & Trade Regulation; Appellate Practice; Aviation; Business Litigation; City, County and Local Government; Civil Trial; Construction Law; Criminal Appellate; Criminal Trial; Education Law; Elder Law; Health Law; Immigration & Nationality; Intellectual Property Law; International Law; Labor & Employment Law; Marital & Family Law; Real Estate; State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice; Tax; Wills, Trusts & Estates; Workers' Compensation
Louisiana State Bar Association, Board of Legal Specialization
Catherine S. Zulli, Executive Director
601 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
Phone: 504/566-1600
Specialty Programs: Business Bankruptcy; Consumer
Bankruptcy; Estate Planning & Administration; Family Law;
Tax Law
Minnesota State Bar Association
Meaghan Harper, MSBA Section Services Director
600 Nicollet Mall #380
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Phone: 800/882-MSBA
Specialty Programs: Civil Trial, Real Property
New Jersey Board on Attorney Certification
Wendy L. Weiss, Staff Attorney
CN 970, Trenton, New Jersey 08625
Phone: 609/984-3077
Specialty Programs: Civil Trial; Criminal Trial; Matrimonial; Workers' Compensation
New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization
Jennifer Gardner, Court Related Programs Assistant Director
5125 Masthead NE
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87109
Phone: 505/821-1980
Specialty Programs: Appellate Practice; Bankruptcy; Civil Trial; Consumer; Criminal Trial; Employment & Labor Law; Environmental; Estate Planning, Probate & Trusts; Family Law; Federal Indian Law; Local Government Law; Natural Resources; Real Estate; Taxation; Workers' Compensation
North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization
Alice Neece Mine, Executive Director
P.O. Box 25908
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611
Phone: 919/828-4620
Specialty Programs: Business Bankruptcy Law; Consumer Bankruptcy Law; Criminal Appellate Practice; Federal Criminal Law; State Criminal Law; Estate Planning & Probate Law; Family Law; Immigration Law; Real Property Law: Business, Commercial & Industrial; Real Property Law: Residential Transactions; Workers' Compensation Law
Ohio State Bar Association
Melissa Quick, Specialization and Certification Manager
P.O. Box 16562
Columbus, Ohio 43216-6562
Phone: 800/282-6556
Specialty Programs: Family Relations Law; Federal Taxation;
Workers' Compensation Law in Ohio; Labor and Employment Law;
Estate Planning Trust and Probate Law
South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on CLE and Specialization
Mary A. Germack, Executive Director
P.O. Box 2138
Columbia, South Carolina 29202
Phone: 803/799-5578
Specialty Programs: Bankruptcy and Debtor-Creditor
Law; Employment and Labor Law; Estate Planning &
Probate Law; Taxation
Tennessee Supreme Court Commission on CLE & Specialization
Dave Shearon, Executive Director
221 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 300
Nashville, TN 37219
Phone: 615/741-3096
Specialty Programs: Accounting Professional Liability; Business
Bankruptcy; Civil Trial Advocacy; Consumer Bankruptcy; Creditors' Rights; Criminal Law Trial Advocacy;
Elder Law; Estate Planning; Family Law Trial Advocacy;
Legal Professional Liability; Medical Professional Liability
Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Gary W. McNeil, Executive Director
505 E. Huntland Drive, Suite 400, L.B. 28
Austin, Texas 78752
Phone: 512/453-7266
Specialty Programs: Administrative; Business
Bankruptcy; Consumer Bankruptcy; Civil Appellate; Civil
Trial; Commercial Real Estate; Consumer and Commercial; Criminal;
Estate Planning & Probate; Family;
Farm & Ranch Real Estate; Immigration & Nationality; Juvenile;
Labor & Employment; Oil, Gas & Mineral; Personal Injury
Trial; Residential Real Estate; Tax
State Accreditation Plans
Alabama
State Bar Board of Legal Specialization
Contact: Edward Patterson, Director of Programs
Phone: 334/269-1515
Idaho
State Bar
Contact: Michael Oths, Bar Counsel
Phone: 208/334-4500
Indiana
Supreme Court Commission on CLE & Specialization
Contact: Julia Orzeske, Executive Director
Phone: 317/232-1943
Maine
Board of Overseers of the Bar
Contact: Karen G. Kingsley, Assistant Bar Counsel
Phone: 207/622-7523
Minnesota
Board of Legal Certification
Contact: Maragaret Fuller Corneille
Phone: 651/297-1857
Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Certification of Attorneys as Specialists
Contact: Diane Chesley-Lahm, Administrator
Phone: 614/644-9002
Pennsylvania Bar Association
Contact: Jennifer Zimmerman, Deputy Director for Committee
Phone: 717/238-6715
Tennessee Supreme Court Commission on CLE and Specialization
Contact: David N. Shearon, Executive Director
Phone: 615/741-3096
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