A Board Certified Attorney is an attorney who has demonstrated special competence in a particular field in which the Texas Board of Legal Specialization has certified their competence. It means that the State Bar Association says that they know what they are doing! . The Texas Board of Legal Specialization was created by the Supreme Court of Texas and the Board members are appointed by the President of the State Bar of Texas. The Board, in turn, administers the program through which an attorney may demonstrate their special competence in a particular area of law practice.
It is important to remember that in the entire state of Texas there are only approximately 145 attorneys board certified in Consumer Bankruptcy Law. A Board certified attorney will indicate their standing by including that accomplishment in their letterhead, their advertising, and by displaying their certification prominently in their office. This certification is valid for five years. After that time the attorney must be recertified. In order to become a Board Certified in Bankruptcy, an attorney must have 1) Been licensed to practice law for at least five years;2) Practiced Bankruptcy Law for at least five years;3) Devoted a minimum of 30 percent of their law practice to Bankruptcy Law;4) Handled a wide variety of bankruptcy law matters to demonstrate experience and involvement;5) Attended bankruptcy law continuing legal education seminars regularly to keep their legal training up to date;6) Have been evaluated by fellow lawyers and judges;7) They have to have passed a day long written examination.
Finally a lawyer who is Board Certified in consumer bankruptcy must have represented non-business debtors and creditors in all areas of bankruptcy including consumer debtor/creditor relations affected by bankruptcy.