The latest group to be certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) was inducted at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center in Austin on March 14. Spanning 36 specialty areas, inductees included 206 attorneys and 49 paralegals.

“Becoming board-certified in your specialty area, you are providing your clients with the best legal representation around, and you are serving the public interest in advancing the standards of our noble legal profession,” TBLS Executive Director Leo Figueroa said. “There is no doubt that you will fulfil that mission with integrity and dedication.”

The ceremony was also a celebration for TBLS, which has been certifying attorneys in Texas for 50 years. Certifying attorneys since 1975, TBLS began with only three specialty areas—criminal law, family law, and labor and employment law—with 23 attorneys making up the inaugural class.

Among those honored were keynote speaker Gerald Harris Goldstein (criminal law and criminal appellate law) and State Bar of Texas Past President Buck Files (criminal law), who were part of the group of lawyers certified by TBLS in 1975.

Goldstein is a criminal defense lawyer who is a past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyersand the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and is fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, American College of Trial Lawyers, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

He remarked on how special it is to earn certification from TBLS, honing on the expertise each law area signifies:

How do you distinguish yourself for lawyers [who] don’t know you? From other cities? Other jurisdictions? Sure, you can buy a bigger billboard and brag about yourself. But you know, when you’re choosing a brain surgeon, to entrust yourself or a loved one to open up your skull, don’t you want someone who’s been recognized by their peers as qualified in that specialty? Whose colleagues have recognized their expertise? What you’ve achieved, what you’re going to be recognized for today is very special indeed. Notice the word ‘special’.

Files received the John F. Sheehy Jr. Distinguished Attorney Award, which honors attorneys certified by the TBLS for more than 25 years. He reflected on preparing for the first certification examination for criminal law. Though Files said he doesn’t remember the exam itself, he did remember his preparation. Joining 65 other attorneys, his study regiment included: four days a week at Southern Methodist University School of Law for a criminal law advanced course, immersing himself in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and Texas Penal Code, and reading Criminal Defense Sourcebook: A Texas Lawyer’s Guide, which was written by TBLS examiner Ray Moses. Addressing those in attendance, he expressed surprise and gratitude for the recognition

Files also served on the TBLS Board of Law Examiners. The experience was rewarding, he said, and he knew that the integrity of the certification process gave certifications credibility and meaning in Texas. Files tasked the new inductees with using their expertise and experience in law practice to help fellow attorneys.

“Welcome to the comparably few, the rightfully proud, certified lawyers and paralegals of the State Bar of Texas,” he said. “To you: Good luck and Godspeed.

Other attorneys were recognized at the ceremony: Glen T. Eichelberger (estate planning and probate law), of Gray Reed in Houston, received the Tom Garner Award for Service; TBLS Board of Directors Chair Cindy Barela Graham was recognized by Figueroa for her six years of service to the board.

For more information on the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, go to tbls.org.