With more than 90,000 Texas attorneys currently licensed to practice law in the Lone Star state, only about 7,200 have earned the right to be publicly recognized as Board Certified specialists in one of 22 select areas of law.
Board-certified lawyers in Texas must attend ongoing continuing legal education (CLE) and show continuing involvement within the field of practice in order to maintain the certification.
The Texas Board of Legal Specialization is the largest single-state certification program for lawyers in the United States. TBLS also accredits several national organizations approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) to certify attorneys as specialists.
The Bar Rules in Texas prohibit any attorney from advertising as a "specialist" unless he or she has earned board certification for a TBLS accredited specialty area.
The State Bar of Texas formed TBLS in 1974 with the passage of the Texas Plan for Recognition and Regulation of Specialization of Law. The 12-member board is appointed by the president of the Bar to three-year terms.
Some of the board members must be specialists, and others must be of general practice. The body is under the oversight of the Texas Supreme Court.
The TBLS also certifies paralegals. Today, more than 300 paralegals have distinguished themselves with board certification.
The Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) certifies lawyers in twenty-one (21) areas of practice including:
Lawyer Legion maintains a statewide directory of board certified lawyers in Texas. The public is able to browse the directory and narrow their search by specialty area, county or city to and connect with board certified lawyers to help with their case. Lawyer Legion is the only commercial lawyer directory to properly acknowledge all ABA-accredited specialization programs for both national and state-level board certifications, including those granted by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Use this directory to find board certified lawyers who are specialized in their respective areas of law. Start by choosing your county from the list below.
In Texas, the Texas Board of Legal Specialization ("TBLS") certifies attorneys as a specialist in one of 24 different areas of practice. Approximately 10% of licensed attorneys in Texas are board-certified.
TBLS has certified more than 7,300 Texas attorneys. More than 990 attorneys have multiple certifications. TBLS has issued more than 8,300 Certificates of Special Competence. More than half of the board-certified attorneys in Texas have been certified for more than 10 years.
The Texas Board of Legal Specialization is the largest single-state certification program for lawyers in the United States. TBLS also has the greatest percentage of board-certified specialists in the United States.
To become a certified attorney specialist in Texas, the following general requirements include:
The Texas Board of Legal Specialization may also accredit organizations that are also accredited by the American Bar Association to certify attorneys as specialists. Organizations that currently hold that accreditation include:
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