Civil Pretrial Practice Standards

General Principles for Certification of Civil Pretrial Advocates

1. No standards shall in any way limit the right of a certified Civil Pretrial Practice advocate to practice law in all fields.

2. No lawyer shall be required to obtain a certificate in Civil Pretrial Practice before he or she can practice in either field.

3. Certification is individual and voluntary. Certification is open to all who qualify.

4. A lawyer may have more than one certification from other divisions of the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification.

5. Certification shall be for five (5) years, after which time the certificate cannot be used unless the lawyer is recertified. Certification may be revoked at any time for violations of the General Principles or Standards of the National Board of Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy.

6. Application will be made to the National Board of Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy, on the forms supplied by the Board, and accompanied by the appropriate fee.

7. Applicant must complete all requirements, including the examination, within two (2) years of application. If the certification process is not satisfactorily completed within the two (2) year period, the applicant will need to reapply and re-submit all required fees. An application can be denied at any time within the two (2) year application period for failure to successfully meet the requirements for certification.

8. A certificate will be issued upon a showing by the applicant, and by the Board’s own investigation, that the applicant complies with the standards and regulations for certification.

9. All applications and other information submitted to the National Board of Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy shall be privileged and confidential, except as compelled by law and, except that the Board may reveal the fact of an application for the purpose of verifying information submitted by the applicant, and for the purpose of making such inquiries with respect to the character and professional reputation of the applicant as may be authorized by its rules.

10. The National Board of Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy does not discriminate against any lawyer seeking certification on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or age.

11. The National Board of Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy certification was created out of the recognition that there are many competent, ethical lawyers who are engaged in a Civil Pretrial Practice, desire certification, but lack the number of jury trial days that are necessary for Civil Trial Certification. This certification allows qualified applicants to hold themselves out as a Civil Pretrial Practice Advocate. Of course, any lawyer certified as a Civil Pretrial Practice Advocate shall not by words or actions imply that he or she is a Civil Trial Advocate.

Standards for Certification - rev.5/2012

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. Immediately preceding application, the applicant must have spent five (5) years in the actual practice of Civil Pretrial Practice. For purposes of this certification, “Civil Pretrial Practice” does not include family law litigation or social security litigation.

2. Substantial Involvement

   1. The applicant must make a satisfactory showing of substantial involvement relevant to the particular specialty certification the person is seeking, with at least sixty (60) percent of his or her time spent practicing Civil Pretrial Practice during the three (3) years preceding the filing of the application.

   2. Within the applicant’s career, the applicant must have actively participated in at least one hundred (100) contested matters involving the taking of testimony or motion practice. This may include non-jury trials, evidentiary hearings or depositions; and motions heard before or after trial. It may also include arbitration hearings, welfare hearings and workers compensation matters not tried to court.

   3. Within the applicant’s career, an applicant must meet five of the following categories:

   1. having primary responsibility for qualifying, or opposing the qualification of, an expert in ten Daubert hearings.

   2. having primary responsibility for pursuing or defending ten contested temporary injunction hearings in which testimony is presented.

   3. taking twenty depositions of opposing expert witnesses as lead questioning counsel.

   4. having primary responsibility in representing a party in five contested arbitrations in which the opposing party is represented by counsel.

   5. presenting oral arguments on motions for summary judgment or other dispositive motions in ten cases.

   6. presenting oral arguments in ten appellate cases.

   7. participating as lead counsel in 50 mediations.

   8. announcing ready as lead counsel for trial in a court of unlimited monetary jurisdiction at least 15 times.

   9. having primary responsibility for a party in five class action certification hearings.

   10. having authored any combination of: ten articles in peer review publications or ten articles presented at a CLE function all of which relate to pretrial or trial procedure.

3. Educational Experience

   1. The applicant must demonstrate substantial participation in continuing legal education and the development of the law with respect to the specialty, in the three (3) year period immediately preceding application either:

      1. By attendance and/or electronic participation in not less than forty-five (45) hours in programs of continuing legal education in the specialty or ethics, approved by the Standards Committee, or

      2. By equivalent participation through, but not limited to, the following means, approved by the Standards Committee:

      1. Teaching courses or seminars in litigation or ethics;

      2. Participation as panelist, speaker, or workshop leader, at educational or professional conferences;

      3. Authorship of books, or of articles published in professional journals, on litigation;

      4. By combination of the three (3) subsections above.

4. Peer Review

   1. The applicant shall submit with application the names of ten (10) to twelve (12) references, not present partners, associates, or relatives of the applicant (except as noted). These references shall be substantially involved in the relevant field of Civil Pretrial Practice and familiar with the applicant’s practice in that field. References satisfactory to the NBCPPA must be received from at least three (3) judges before whom the applicant has tried a matter in the relevant field, not more than three (3) years before application; and at least five (5) shall be lawyers against whom the applicant has handled a matter in that field within three(3) years before application.

   2. At least two (2) of the satisfactory references must be from National Board of Civil Trial Advocates or from a member of the bar for at least ten (10) years with and “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbel, only one (1) of whom may be a partner, co-shareholder, senior attorney, etc. of the applicant.

   3. NBCPPA 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 NBCPPA to assess whether the applicant has demonstrated an enhanced level of skill and expertise in the practice area, integrity and consideration for the interests of clients.

5. Examination

   1. The applicant must pass a written examination to test his or her proficiency, knowledge, and experience in Civil Pretrial Practice law, so that the applicant may justify his or her representation of specialization to the public.

6. Legal Writing

   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, but not necessarily published. This will be a substantial document in the area for which the applicant seeks certification, 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) . Acceptable documents include, but are not limited to: briefs, motions for summary judgment, bar journal, law review and legal magazine articles, motions in limine, etc. The quality of the legal document will be evaluated on those criteria and will determine whether the applicant is qualified for certification.

Recertification Standards

1. Good Standing

   1. The applicant shall furnish satisfactory evidence of 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. Substantial Involvement

   1. The applicant must make a satisfactory showing of substantial involvement in the specialty with at least sixty (60) percent of his or her time spent practicing Civil Pretrial Practice during the five (5) years preceding recertification.

   2. The applicant must further demonstrate substantial involvement in specialized practice during the five (5) years preceding recertification by showing that he or she has actively participated as counsel in:

      1. Forty (40) contested matters involving the taking of testimony or motion practice. This may include non-jury trials, evidentiary hearings or depositions, and motions heard before or after trial. may also include arbitration hearings, welfare hearings and workers compensation matters not tried to court; and

      2. oral argument in a minimum of ten (10) pre or post trial arguments and;

      3. primary responsibility for the preparation of a minimum of ten (10) pretrial motions or oppositions to motions.

      4. As an alternative to (a), (b) and (c) the applicant may document a combination of fifty (50) substantial examinations as defined in (a), (b), (c) above and reviewed and approved by the Standards Committee.

3. Education Experience
   The applicant must show that he or she participated in and completed at least forty-five (45) hours of educational activity, as set forth in Part C of the Certification Standards, during the five (5) years preceding recertification.

4. Peer Review

   1. The applicant shall submit with application the names of six (6) references, not present partners, associates, or relatives of the applicant (except as noted). These references shall be substantially involved in the relevant field of Civil Pretrial Practice and familiar with the applicant’s practice in that field. References satisfactory to the NBCPPA must be received from at least two (2) judges before whom the applicant has tried a matter in the relevant field, not more than three (3) years before application; and at least two (2) shall be lawyers against whom the applicant has handled a matter in that field within three(3) years before application.

   2. At least one (1) of the satisfactory references must be a National Board of Civil Trial Advocate or from a member of the bar for at least ten (10) years with and “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbel, only one (1) of whom may be a partner, co-shareholder, senior attorney, etc. of the applicant.

   3. NBCPPA 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 NBCPPA to assess whether the applicant has demonstrated an enhanced level of skill and expertise in the practice area, integrity and consideration for the interests of clients.

5. Disclosure of Conduct
   The applicant shall comply with Part G of the Certification Standards in the same manner as an applicant for certification.

Annual Reporting

Annually, members will be required to submit a Disclosure of Conduct form and annual dues. The member’s annual dues and Disclosure of Conduct (Part G of the Certification Standards) must be current before an application for recertification will be granted. Disclosures of Conduct/Liability shall be submitted to the Standards Committee to determine if certification should be continued.

Denial of Revocation or Certification

1. An application for certification may be denied for failure to comply with any of the requirements relating to good standing, substantial involvement, educational experience, peer review, examination, legal writing document, disclosure of conduct, financial responsibility, or any other failure to demonstrate possession of an enhanced level of skill and expertise in trial advocacy and demonstrated integrity and dedication to the interests of clients.

2. An application for recertification may be denied for failure to comply with any of the requirements relating to good standing, substantial involvement, educational experience, peer review, disclosure of conduct or any other failure to demonstrate possession of an enhanced level of skill and expertise in trial advocacy and integrity and dedication to the interests of clients.

3. An existing certification may be revoked for failure to demonstrate maintenance of an enhanced level of skill and experience in trial advocacy and integrity and dedication to the interests of clients as required for certification or for failure to maintain compliance with the financial responsibility requirements.

4. Decisions of the Examination Committee and the Legal Writing Review Committee are final and not subject to further review or appeal. An attorney who is refused certification for any other reason, or who is refused recertification or whose certification is revoked may pursue review under the Appeal Procedures of the NBCPPA. Exhaustion of this right shall be a condition precedent to judicial review.

5. A lawyer who is refused certification or recertification, or whose certification is revoked, may not apply for certification until one year after the date of such refusal, denial or revocation.

6. Suspension of the license to practice law shall operate as an automatic revocation of certification.

7. A lawyer who publicizes a certification or application for certification prior to its being granted, or continues to publish a certification after it has been revoked or suspended, may be barred from certification.