South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on CLE and Specialization

Under South Carolina Appellate Court Rule 408, on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization, all lawyers seeking to become certified must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Be a regular member of the South Carolina Bar, in good standing;
• Have practiced law for five years, unless meeting certain specific experience requirements for their specialty field;
• Give at least five attorney references;
• Show substantial involvement in the specific area of practice, as defined by the Specialization Advisory Board;
• Complete instructional programs in their specialty;
• Pass an exam; and
• Pay any fees required.

Rule 7.4 of the South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC), Rule 407, SCACR, provides:

RULE 7.4. Communication of Fields of Practice and Specialization

(a) A lawyer who is certified under the Rule on Lawyer Competence, Rule 408, SCACR, is entitled to advertise or state publicly in any manner otherwise permitted by these rules that the lawyer is certified as a specialist in the pertinent specialty field by the Supreme Court of South Carolina.

(b) A lawyer who is not certified as a specialist but who concentrates in, limits his or her practice to, or wishes to announce a willingness to accept cases in a particular field may so advertise or publicly state in any manner otherwise permitted by these rules. To avoid confusing or misleading the public and to protect the objectives of the South Carolina certified specialization program, any such advertisement or statements shall be strictly factual and shall not contain any form of the words “certified,” “specialist,” “expert,” or “authority” except as permitted by Rule 7.4(d).

(c) A lawyer admitted to engage in patent practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office may use the designation “Patent Attorney” or a substantially similar designation. A lawyer engaged in the trademark practice may use the designation “trademarks,” “trademark attorney,” or “trademark lawyer” or any combination of those terms.

(d) A lawyer engaged in admiralty practice may use the designation “admiralty,” “proctor in admiralty” or a substantially similar designation.

Rule 7.4 took effect on September 1, 1990, and was amended effective October 1, 2005.