The State Bar certifies legal specialists who have gone beyond the standard licensing requirements.
To be certified, attorneys must complete 45 hours of education in their specialty field during the three years before they apply to the certified legal specialization program.
The State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization must approve each attorney’s application. Organizations whose certification program is State Bar-accredited can also certify attorneys, but their certification requirements must equal or exceed those of the State Bar of California’s program.
Other attorneys and judges must also give applicants a favorable evaluation.
Once certified, attorneys must maintain their certification by completing and reporting 36 hours of education every three years along with their MCLE compliance group.
If you are in Compliance Group 3 and have not yet reported your 36-hours of legal specialist education, the deadline has been extended to Aug. 31 to complete and report your education.
Full details about qualifying equivalents are available in this informational letter. To report compliance, complete and submit the Group 3 compliance card to legalspec@calbar.ca.gov.”