What is board certification?
Civil Trial Law Certification
Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers
EAGLE
Florida Bar Board Certification is a program that was approved by the Supreme Court of Florida in 1982 to help legal consumers identify the qualifications of lawyers in practice areas such as civil trial, family law, wills, trusts and estates, real estate, and 15 other fields.
A board-certified lawyer is recognized by The Florida Bar as a specialist with the requisite knowledge, skills and experience to be confirmed by peers and the Bar as having, maintaining and employing the highest professional and ethical standards in the practice of the specialty. Requirements include specialized experience and education, peer review by other lawyers and judges, and passage of a rigorous examination. Every five years, board-certified lawyers must re-qualify for certification. There are approximately 4,000 board certified attorneys in Florida.
Civil trial law is the practice of law dealing with litigation of civil controversies in all areas of law before state courts, federal courts, administrative agencies, and arbitrators. In addition to actual pretrial and trial process, civil trial law includes evaluating, handling, and resolving civil controversies prior to the initiation of suit.
In order to be certified in civil trial law, a lawyer must be a member in good standing of The Florida Bar and must have practiced law for at least five years, devoting at least 30 percent of his or her practice to civil trial law during that time, including a minimum of 15 contested civil cases. The applicant must have passed a comprehensive written examination and peer review, and have completed 50 hours of continuing legal education specific to civil trial law.
ACADEMY OF FLORIDA TRIAL LAWYERS
The Academy is a statewide association extremely active in the legislative and public opinion arenas. AFTL is dedicated to strengthening and preserving the laws that protect Florida families and make Florida a safer, cleaner and better place to live.
AFTL believes that every year, the safety of Florida's families is placed in jeopardy as the medical, insurance and business interests of this state unite to try to strip away the rights of injured victims and escape responsibility for their misconduct. AFTL educates trial lawyers about how to best do their part to protect and defend the rights of the families of our state. The Academy and its members are committed to fighting for the justice and safety of all Floridians.
In 1984, AFTL leadership created EAGLE, the fundraising arm of the Academy and of it’s political action committee, the Florida Lawyers Action Group (FLAG). FLAG’s aggressive fundraising efforts and its political program support lawmakers who insist on good public policy and champion the rights of the people they are elected to represent. EAGLE members work with FLAG to expand the pro-consumer, pro-safety base in the Florida Legislature and to pursue the Academy’s goal of protecting the rights and safety of all Floridians.
In the years since its creation, EAGLE has grown into a powerful team of more than 600 lawyers, and has been joined by businesses and concerned citizens.
Through EAGLE membership, the attorneys at Platt, Jacobus, Fielding & Torres receive the tools needs to communicate effectively with legislators, the media and allied citizens’ advocacy groups across the state. While EAGLE membership comes with various benefits, perhaps the greatest reward EAGLE team members receive is the knowledge that they are making an enduring difference in the lives of Florida citizens.