Family Law Standards

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1. General Principles
2. Certification Standards
3. Recertification Standards
4. Annual Reporting
5. Denial or Revocation of Certification.

Family Law Standards for Certification

1. Good Standing and Period of Practice
   1. The applicant shall furnish evidence of his or her good standing in the state of his or her admission, or if admitted in more than one state, in the state of his or her principal practice.
   2. (2)Immediately preceding application, the applicant must have spent five (5) years in the actual practice of family law.
2. Substantial Involvement
   1. The applicant must make a satisfactory showing of substantial involvement in family law practice, with at least thirty (30) percent of his or her time spent practicing family law litigation, during the three (3) years preceding the filing of the application.
   2. (2)Within the applicant’s career, the applicant must make a satisfactory showing of substantial involvement by personal participation that he or she has appeared as lead counsel for a party or parties in family law trial advocacy, in not less than fifteen (15) trials of family law matters to verdict or judgment, including not less than 30 days of trial (a “day” of trial is not less than six hours).
   3. (3)Within the applicant’s career, the applicant shall also have actively participated in twenty (20) additional contested matters. This may include trials (jury or non-jury); evidentiary hearings or depositions; and motions heard before or after trial.
   4. Within the applicant’s substantial involvement and contested matters, one of the following four conditions must be met three years prior to application:
      1. eight (8) days of trial; or
      2. active personal participation in ten (10) litigated matters, either directly handled to conclusion as lead counsel or in a supervisory capacity to lead counsel, or
      3. participation in eighteen (18) performances (evidentiary hearings or depositions which either oral argument was made or testimony was taken, or motions heard before or after trial), or
      4. a combination of trial days, participation in litigated matters or performances which demonstrates substantial involvement in the specialty equivalent to one of the three subsections above as approved by the Standards Committee.
3. Educational Experience
   1. (1)The applicant must demonstrate substantial participation in continuing legal education and the development of the law relevant to the field of family law, in the three year period immediately preceding application either:
      1. By attendance and/or electronic participation at not less than forty-five hours in programs of continuing legal education relevant to family law practice, approved by the Standards Committee. (20%) Twenty percent of the continuing legal education may be in ethics.
      2. By equivalent participation through, but not limited to, the following means, approved by the Standards Committee:
         1. Teaching courses or seminars in family law or ethics;
         2. Participation as panelist, speaker, or workshop leader, at educational or professional conferences in family law or ethics;
         3. Authorship of books, or of articles published in professional journals, on family law or ethics;
         4. By combination of the three subsections above.
4. Peer Review
   1. The applicant shall submit the names of ten to twelve references, not present partners, associates, or relatives of the applicant. These references shall be substantially involved in family law trial advocacy, and familiar with the applicant’s practice in that field. References satisfactory to the NBTA must be received from at least three judges before whom the applicant has tried a matter in the field of family law, not more than three years before application; and at least three shall be lawyers with whom, or against whom, the applicant has tried a matter in family law within three years of application.
   2. NBTA will solicit confidential statements from all persons listed as references and may solicit confidential statements of reference from other persons, familiar with the applicant’s practice, not specifically named by the applicant. All reference statements received will be reviewed by the NBTA to assess whether the applicant has demonstrated an enhanced level of skill and expertise in the family law trial practice area, integrity and consideration for the interests of clients and their clients’ children.
5. Examination
   1. The applicant must pass a written examination to test his or her proficiency, knowledge, and experience in family trial law, so that the applicant may justify his or her representation of specialization to the public.
6. Legal Writing Document
   1. The applicant shall submit a copy of a legal writing document, no more than three (3) years before the date of application which he or she has prepared and submitted, but not published. This will be a substantial document in family law, containing concise and accurate writing, stating facts (either actual or hypothetical), stating applicable law, analysis of how the law applies to the facts, written in an appropriately argumentative manner and well constructed (i.e. organized, grammatical, demonstrative of good syntax and usage). The quality of the legal document will be evaluated on those criteria and will determine whether the applicant is qualified for certification.
7. Disclosure of Conduct
   1. In order to assist the evaluation of whether the applicant possesses an enhanced level of skill and expertise in family law trial advocacy and has demonstrated integrity and dedication to the interest of clients and their clients’ children, the applicant shall, to the extent known, disclose to the National Board of Trial Advocacy as soon as permitted by law:
      1. The filing of any criminal charges against the applicant together with all details called for by the Disclosure of Conduct Form;
      2. The filing or submission of any allegation of unethical or inappropriate professional conduct with any court, grievance committee or disciplinary board or body together with all details called for by the Disclosure of Conduct Form.
      3. The assertion of any claim of professional negligence or professional liability, whether or not suit has been filed, which is based in any part on alleged acts or omissions of the applicant or member or on the acts or omissions of any other attorney over whom the applicant or member had any responsibility together with all details called for by the Disclosure of Conduct Form.
   2. The National Board of Trial Advocacy shall determine, in accordance with its standards and procedures whether the conduct is such that certification should be granted, denied, suspended or revoked, or whether action should be deferred pending receipt of additional information. The NBTA will take into consideration any findings made by other bodies concerning such conduct, but is not bound by any such findings and will make its own independent assessment concerning how such conduct bears on whether an attorney is qualified to obtain or maintain certification.
   3. The failure of an applicant to disclose such conduct is a material misrepresentation and may be cause for rejecting an application or refusing to grant certification, or for suspending or revoking a certificate. The applicant shall have a continuing duty to disclose such matters to the board.

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