Feb. 9, 2009
Supreme Court Adopts Specialist Amendment
The Supreme Court of Ohio today announced the adoption of an amendment concerning a rule about how a lawyer may communicate his or her fields of practice. The amendment to Rule 7.4 to the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct becomes effective April 1.
The amendment clarifies the restriction on the use of the term “specialist.” Under the amendment, a lawyer can state that he or she is a specialist in a particular field of law only if the lawyer has been certified as a specialist by an organization approved by the Commission on Certification of Attorneys as Specialists and the name of the certifying organization is clearly identified in the communication.
The amendment does not change a lawyer’s ability to use the designation “Patent Attorney,” “Trademark Attorney,” “Proctor in Admiralty,” or substantially similar designation, as currently set forth in Prof. Cond. R. 7.4. In addition, a lawyer can communicate to the client that he or she practices only in certain fields.
In 1993, the Supreme Court adopted a rule establishing a process for identifying attorneys who have met minimum standards for certification as specialists in certain fields of legal practice. The Supreme Court established the commission to identify the specialty areas and set the minimum standards.
After a specialty area definition recommended by the commission has been approved by the Supreme Court, agencies that have programs of certification in the defined area apply to the commission for recognition that their program meets the minimum standards. By this process, the agency that applied is approved to certify Ohio attorneys as specialists in the field of law. Accredited agencies include the American Board of Certification, the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification, the National Elder Law Foundation and the Ohio State Bar Association.
To access the amendment, visit: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/RuleAmendments/Archive.aspx#bottom.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow at 614.387.9250