California Criminal Law Specialists

What is a Criminal Law Specialist?

I. What is a California Certified Legal Specialist?

Basically, a legal specialist is an attorney who has been certified by the California State Bar as an expert in the area of criminal law. In order to become a California criminal law specialist, the attorney must first take and pass an intensive written examination demonstrating exceptional knowledge in the area of criminal law. The attorney must also demonstrate a high level of experience in the practice of criminal law and must be favorably evaluated by other defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges familiar with their work. The attorney must also fulfill ongoing educational requirements in the field of criminal law to remain certified.

Certified specialists must go through a re-certification process every 5 years.

Attorneys may identify themselves as a certified specialist in California only if they are certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.(Source: The State Bar of California web site.)

II. How many Criminal Law Specialists are there?

There are 357 certified criminal law specialists in California. There are over 222,000 lawyers licensed to practice law in the State of California. (Source: Statistics as of January, 2010 from the State Bar of California.) Therefore, only one out of every 616 lawyers in California is a certified criminal law specialist.

III. Do I need a board certified Criminal Law Specialist?

First, it is important to understand that the only way to officially verify an attorneys experience and expertise is through the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. This is the only way that you can be 100% certain that the lawyer you hire to represent you has the necessary skills and knowledge to handle your criminal case.

Under the rules of the State Bar of California, any lawyer who is a member of the State Bar can represent a client on any type of case, regardless of the lawyers level of experience. Unfortunately, an attorney is not required to pass a specialized test or to demonstrate any level of knowledge or experience in an area of law in order to practice in that area. Hiring a Criminal Law Specialist will provide you with the confidence that your attorney has proven expertise and experience in criminal law.

Many organizations, magazine inserts and advertisements will claim that a particular attorney is an expert or a super lawyer. However, these are mostly marketing ploys for which lawyers can pay for membership or inclusion. A Criminal Law Specialist cannot simply pay money for that label. The lawyer must first demonstrate a high level of knowledge and experience that is verified by the California State Bar before he can become board certified.

If you had a serious medical condition, would you seek the opinion of a doctor who specialized in that area of medicine, or would you simply go to a general practitioner? If your answer is that you would prefer a specialist, then you should only retain a certified Criminal Law Specialist to handle you criminal case!

For more information, please contact the Special Admissions Dept. of the State Bar of California at 1-888-800-3400 ext. 2100 or go to www.californiaspecialist.org.