“Board Certified” in Criminal Law – What does that mean?

Approximately ten percent of Texas attorneys are certified by the Texas Board of Legal Certification (the “Board”) as specialists in a particular area of law. In order to obtain a certification as being specialized in criminal law, an attorney must, among other things, submit an application to the Board setting forth the trials and appeals he or she has handled in both state court and federal court, as well as the continuing legal education he or she has received in the field of criminal law. The Board obtains evaluations about the attorney from judges, prosecutors and other criminal defense lawyers. Finally, the attorney must pass a rigorous examination testing his or her knowledge of both state and federal law. In short, an attorney “Board Certified” in criminal law is an attorney recognized by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization as specializing in criminal defense. Many competent criminal defense lawyers are not board certified. However, most excellent criminal defense lawyers are board certified. David Finn is board certified in criminal law.