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State Bar Assn. certifies 27 lawyers as specialists
ANNIE YAMSON
Special to the Legal News
Published: January 13, 2017
The Ohio State Bar Association recently announced that it has certified 27 lawyers as specialists in their practice areas.
The attorneys, including seven Columbus-based lawyers, join a total of 696 Ohio State Bar Association Certified attorneys in various specialty areas around the state.
In a statement, the state's bar association president Ronald Kopp said that "becoming certified as a specialist helps attorneys strengthen their practice skills in a particular area of the law and earn an additional professional credential."
"They can also use this designation to inform their clients of their legal expertise," Kopp said. "The Ohio State Bar Association congratulates these attorneys who have successfully completed the certification process."
All attorneys licensed to practice law in Ohio must have graduated from an accredited law school, passed the bar exam and must attend continuing legal education courses as required by the Ohio Supreme Court.
"Attorneys who devote a large part of their practice to a particular area of the law may choose to go beyond these requirements to earn specialty certification," according to the bar association.
In order to become certified, attorneys must demonstrate "substantial and continuing involvement in a particular field of law, meaning they must devote at least 25 percent of their practice to that area of law."
Attorneys seeking certification must also submit five professional references attesting to their competency in the specialty area.
They must have earned a minimum of 36 hours of intermediate or advanced continuing legal education credits in the specialty area over the course of the past three years as part of the CLE requirements for all attorneys and passed a written examination.
The attorneys must also prove financial responsibility by maintaining minimum professional liability insurance coverage and remain in good standing with the Supreme Court of Ohio.
After earning specialty certification, ongoing responsibilities include filing annual reports attesting to compliance with the program requirements.
The lawyers must also be recertified at least every four to seven years by meeting all of the original requirements for certification, with the exception of the written exam.
The Ohio State Bar Association is an accredited certifying agency.
The Ohio Supreme Court established the Commission on Certification of Attorneys as Specialists in order to identify specialties and set minimum standards for specialty certification. The commission, in turn, accredits the certifying agencies.
The Ohio State Bar Association is the largest certifying agency in the state and is accredited to certify attorneys in 11 areas of law.
Columbus attorneys who were certified this year include Angela Sullivan and Levi Tkach in administrative agency law, John Johnson and Elizabeth Zuercher in family relations law, Stacy Pollock in labor and employment law, Katherine Ivan in workers' compensation law, and Matthew Brown in insurance coverage law.
Other areas of law in which attorneys were certified this year include elder law and estate planning, trust and probate law.
The bar association is also accredited to certify attorneys in appellate law, federal taxation law, real property for business, commercial and industrial law and real property for residential law.
Attorneys who wish to become certified in 2017 may apply for certification online through the bar association's website between January and June at www.ohiobar.org/certification.
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