Dallas Divorce Law Blog by Michelle O'Neil

What does it mean when a lawyer says he or she is ”Board Certified”? Does it matter?

Board Certification is a voluntary designation program for attorneys and paralegals by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. To become Board Certified in a particular area, an attorney must have:

• Been licensed to practice law for at least five years,
• Devoted a required percentage of practice to a specialty area for at least three years,
• Handled a wide variety of matters in the area to demonstrate experience and involvement,
• Been evaluated by fellow lawyers and judges, and
• Passed a six-hour written examination

The initial certification is valid for a period of five years, with recertification every five years thereafter. There are 18 areas of law in which an attorney may be certified in Texas.

Board certified family law specialists have participated in the contested trial of cases involving matters such as divorce, property division, child custody, child support, adoption, paterniety, or other matrimonial matters. There are only 712 attorneys in the entire state of Texas who have achieved board certification in family law. To download a brochure about Family Law Board Certified Attorneys, click here.

While there are many fine attorneys who practice their entire careers without becoming board certified, there are potential advantages to the client who chooses to retain a board certified attorney. For example, the client may be assured that the attorney has already demonstrated experience and involvement in Texas family law. Also, because of that experience and involvement, the board certified attorney may be able to handle complex issues more efficiently than another attorney, saving the client time, aggravation, and money.

Dallas Divorce Attorney Michelle May O’Neil became a board certified family law specialist in 1997, at the first available opportunity in her career. Please contact us if you would like to discuss further how a board certified family law specialist can benefit your case.

Sometimes people ask a family lawyer, “how many cases have you won and lost?” For many reasons, most family lawyers don’t and shouldn’t keep win/loss records.

First, we don’t determine the facts of the case. Our clients make decisions in their lives that affect our ability for success in their case. Also, success is neither easily defined nor the same in each case. For one client, getting a fair amount of child support set defines success. For another client, sole managing conservatorship might be a must-win. Lastly, in my opinion, keeping win/loss records on matters involving people, often children, and their relationships is tactless and insensitive.

Lawyers’ ethics rules prevent representations that past results are indicative of future success. Thus, it would be even unethical for a lawyer to imply that his or her past record in other cases would, somehow, indicate that he or she would be successful in the client’s particular circumstance.

Although it is understandable that a client would want as much information about the lawyer being hired, there are other, more relevant inquiries. For advice criteria to look at in choosing the right lawyer, see my article “How To Pick A Lawyer” here.

March 4 is Voting Day.  Some call it Election Day, but I see it a little differently.  It is our day to VOTE. The election of someone to a publicly paid-for job is a natural byproduct of our decision to Vote.  Women and minorities should be particularly interested in voting, as many people worked very hard and sacrificed much to give us the right to vote.  Women were only granted the right to vote by the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920 — that’s only 88 years that we’ve been given the right to cast a ballot.  Not that men should take it any less seriously just because they’ve always had the right to vote.

Voting can have an impact on everyone who has a need to have a legal matter resolved through the court system. When two married people decide to get a divorce, unless they can agree on their disputes, a judge will make decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their children. That judge is elected by people who vote!

So,please remember to exercise your right to vote. You have the right to choose which political party you stand with and which of the contested races to vote in, but regardless, educate yourself on the races and go vote.