What Does It Mean to Be Board-Certified in Criminal Trial Law?

Requirements for Board Certification

In order to be certified, and recertified every five years, an attorney needs to demonstrate:

• A minimum of five years in the actual practice of criminal law — not simply five years as a lawyer.
• The lawyer must have personally spent, as lead counsel, at least thirty full days in jury trial, where the lawyer examined, cross-examined, gave opening statements, conducted voir dire, and gave closing arguments.
• In those thirty days of trial, the lawyer must have: 
  • Served as lead counsel in at least 5 jury trials
  • Taken at least 10 jury trials to verdict
  • Conducted direct examination of at least 15 lay witnesses
  • Conducted cross-examination of at least 15 lay witnesses
  • Conducted a total of at least 15 direct/cross-examinations of expert witnesses
  • Presented at least 8 opening statements
  • Presented at least 4 closing arguments
  • Conducted at least 5 full voir dire jury examinations
• In the lawyer's career, outside of the trial requirement, the lawyer must have actively and fully participated in seventy-five contested criminal matters, including evidentiary hearings, sentencing hearings, pretrial motions, motions in limine, and 404(B) hearings.
• In the three years leading up to their application, the lawyer must have also completed at least one of the following (I have all four): 
  • Substantial trial involvement in ten days of trial with personal participation as described in section 3 above
  • Actively litigated twenty-four matters as described above, as either the lead attorney or the supervising attorney
  • Participated in thirty-six evidentiary or oral argument hearings
  • A combination of the days above across all branches
• The lawyer needs to demonstrate substantial participation in continuing legal education by:
  • Completing at least 24 hours of continuing education directly in criminal law
  • Teaching courses on criminal defense
  • Teaching classes in the field
  • Participating as a panelist, speaker, or workshop leader
• The lawyer needs to provide ten references that are in no way related to the lawyer or their practice. These references must include:
  • At least three judges before whom the lawyer has appeared; and 
  • At least five references from opposing counsel (which is perhaps the hardest requirement for those who litigate complicated and difficult matters).
• To become a board-certified specialist, you must also pass a secondary examination that is exceptionally focused and difficult. It is not a general exam like the bar exam, but one specifically focused on criminal trials and the rigors of this field.

Why This Matters to the People We Help

So, what does this all mean for the client? It means their attorney is one of the very few who have actual experience and have gone through a rigorous selection process that very few attorneys can complete. It also requires attorneys to provide proof of their experience, meaning a client can trust that the attorney really has the experience, reputation, and skill they claim. 

Board certification is essentially verifiable proof — not something that's just slapped on a website with a “trust me” claim.

For my clients, most already know who I am and what my firm does. It means that even though I am widely known as one of the most aggressive, skilled criminal defense attorneys in the state, I have still been peer-reviewed by prosecutors and judges I have fought cases against and in front of.

This means I am not simply someone who goes into court yelling and screaming (and I never am), but instead someone who delivers results.

If you need help, give us a call today at (440) 771-1175. It's free to talk to us.