Before an attorney in Idaho can advertise that he or she is a "certified specialist" in any area of the law, the attorney must first earn certification as a specialist under Section X of the Idaho Bar Commission Rules.
The Idaho State Bar does not certify attorneys as a specialist. Instead, it approves other organizations to certify attorneys as a specialist in specific areas of the law.
Organizations that want to become approved for specialty certification must file an Application for Accreditation with the Idaho State Bar. The organization must also pay a $200 application fee for each specialty area. To date, seven organizations have been approved by the Idaho State Bar to certify specialists.
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Idaho State BarTo practice law in Idaho, the attorney is not required to be recognized as a specialist in order to practice in the field of law covered by that specialty. In fact, any lawyer has the right to practice in any field of law, even though he or she is not recognized as a specialist in that field.
On a voluntary basis, however, many attorneys in Idaho have taken the steps necessary to become a specialist pursuant to Section X of the Idaho Bar Commission Rules. Some lawyers are recognized as a specialist in more than one field of law.
If the lawyer is certified as a specialist as provided by the Idaho Bar Rules, then the attorney may communicate that fact. Nevertheless, the board certified specialist in Idaho should be careful about the wording of advertisements.
First, when communicating information in an advertisement, the attorney must clearly identify the particular certifying entity that recognizes the lawyer as a specialist. The lawyer is not permitted to:
As of January 28, 2013, seven organizations have been approved by the Idaho State Bar to certify specialists.
These seven certifying organizations have agreed to follow the Standards, Governing Rules, Evaluation Criteria and Procedures for Idaho State Bar Accreditation of Specialty Certification Programs For Lawyers.
For example, pursuant to Rule 5, upon accreditation, an Accredited Organization may state that it is "Accredited by the Idaho State Bar to certify lawyers in the specialty area(s) of ____________________" under the following conditions:
Specialty Practice Areas:
Specialty Practice Areas:
Specialty Practice Areas:
Specialty Practice Area:
Specialty Practice Areas:
Specialty Practice Area:
Specialty Practice Area: Elder Law
Additional Resources
LRS services approved by the Idaho State Bar -
Roster of Attorneys in Idaho -
If you are interested in finding an attorney in Idaho, then consider the benefits of beginning your search by looking for a certified specialist. The specialty certification program in Idaho helps the public find a qualified attorney focused on a particular practice area.
At Lawyer Legion, our online attorney directory uses a ranking system that gives recognition to the board-certified specialist in each particular specialty area of the law.
The Lawyer Legion directory recognizes lawyers who have become certified as specialists pursuant to Section X of the Idaho Bar Commission Rules.
This article was last updated on Friday, January 17, 2020.