Board Certification in Appellate Practice is awarded by the Florida Board of Legal Specialization and Education (BLSE). Rule 6-13.1 provides that "[a] lawyer who is a member in good standing of and meets the standards prescribed below may be issued an appropriate certificate identifying the lawyer as "Board Certified in Appellate Practice."
The purpose of The Florida Bar's Appellate Practice specialization standards is "to identify those lawyers who engage in appellate practice and have the special knowledge, skills, and proficiency, as well as the character, ethics, and reputation for professionalism, to be properly identified to the public as board certified in appellate practice."
Lawyer Legion maintains a directory of board certified Appellate Practice specialists in Florida along with a broader directory of certified and non-certified lawyers in Florida and throughout the U.S. This directory provides the public with a valuable resource allowing them to narrow their search to local attorneys who have earned their status as board certified in Appellate Practice by The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization.
Lawyer Legion is the only commercial lawyer directory to properly acknowledge all ABA-accredited specialization programs and provide a dynamic directory of virtually every lawyer who has earned each certification.
Use this directory to connect with lawyers who are board-certified Appellate Practice specialists in Florida. Start by choosing your county from the list below.
Rule 6-13.2 defines terms related to appellate practice including:
(a) Appellate Practice.
"Appellate practice" is the practice of law dealing with the recognition and preservation of error committed by lower tribunals, and the presentation of argument concerning the presence or absence of such error to state or federal appellate courts through brief writing, writ and motion practice, and oral argument. Appellate practice includes evaluation and consultation regarding potential appellate issues or remedies in connection with proceedings in the lower tribunal prior to the initiation of the appellate process.
(b) Appellate Action.
"Appellate action" means an action filed in a state court, a federal district court, a United States court of appeals, or the Supreme Court of the United States seeking review of a decision of a lower tribunal.
(1) Timing of Appellate Actions. Appellate actions in which the applicant filed a principal brief, response or petition as defined in Rule 6-13.2(b), (f) or (g) before the application deadline will be counted as appellate actions regardless of whether the action is settled, dismissed or proceeds to decision on the merits. If the filing date falls outside the time frame for the current filing period, the appellate action will not count towards the required total.
(2) Supreme Court Briefs. A brief on the merits following an acceptance of jurisdiction in the United States Supreme Court may be considered as a separate appellate action.
(3) Consolidated Proceedings. Appellate proceedings with different case numbers that are consolidated by the court will not be considered separate appellate actions for any purposes for which they have been consolidated.
(c) Practice of Law.
The "practice of law" for this area is defined in rule 6-3.5(c)(1).
(d) Appellate Practice Certification Committee.
The appellate practice certification committee may include 1 member presently serving as an appellate court judge from a Florida district court of appeal, the Supreme Court of Florida, a United States court of appeals, or the Supreme Court of the United States. Certification in appellate practice is preferred, but is not a requirement. Appointment otherwise will be consistent with rule 6-3.2.
(e) Primary Responsibility.
Having “primary responsibility" for writing and filing a brief, petition, or response means having the most substantial and direct participation of all the lawyers contributing to that task.
Only 1 lawyer may claim primary responsibility for that task. Where primary responsibility is used to meet a requirement, the applicant must specifically identify any other lawyer who provided substantial assistance with the task and demonstrate that the applicant’s level of participation was primary to the satisfaction of the appellate practice certification committee.
For the purposes of meeting the primary responsibility brief writing requirements under rule 6-13.3(b) or 6-13.4(b), credit for a brief, petition, or response that does not designate the applicant as an author may be considered if accompanied by a certification from at least 1 of the designated authors that the applicant had the most substantial and direct participation in the preparation of the brief.
(f) Principal Briefs in Appeals.
“Principal briefs in appeals” means the primary brief on the merits and excludes reply briefs (including reply briefs that also serve as answer briefs on cross-appeal), jurisdictional briefs, supplemental briefs, and amicus briefs.
For good cause shown, the appellate practice certification committee may treat a reply brief (including a reply brief that also serves as an answer brief on cross-appeal), jurisdictional brief, supplemental brief, or amicus brief as a principal brief for the purpose of these rules, if the brief is substantial and reflects a level of effort and preparation comparable to that required to produce a principal brief. For good cause shown, the committee may treat a combined answer brief and initial brief on cross-appeal as separate principal briefs if the brief reflects a level of effort and preparation comparable to that required to produce separate principal briefs.
(g) Petitions or Responses in Extraordinary Writ Cases.
“Petitions or responses in extraordinary writ cases” refer to a petition or response to a petition that seeks a writ from an appellate court to challenge a ruling or the jurisdiction of a lower tribunal or administrative agency. The term includes a petition or response to a petition for a writ of certiorari filed in the Supreme Court of the United States.
The term does not include any other petition or response to a petition that merely requests discretionary appellate review, such as a notice to invoke the discretionary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Florida, or for permission to appeal to a United States Court of Appeals an order of a district court pursuant to, for example, 28 U.S.C. §1292(b) or Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f).
(h) Good Cause.
"Good cause” exceptions allow the appellate practice certification committee the discretion to waive technical compliance with the relevant requirement. The committee may allow certification or recertification of an individual where the applicant's proffered circumstances demonstrate that the applicant has, in the experience and judgment of the appellate practice certification committee, the special knowledge, skill, and proficiency, or the equivalent, the technical compliance that requirement is intended to demonstrate. The committee will consider a good cause exception only on specific request by the applicant.
Rule 6-13.3 sets out the minimum standards for appellate practice including:
(a) Substantial Involvement.
(b) Appellate Actions.
(c) Oral Arguments.
(d) Education.
During the 3-year period immediately preceding the filing of an application, the applicant must demonstrate completion of 45 credit hours of approved continuing legal education for appellate practice certification. Accreditation of educational hours is subject to policies established by the appellate practice certification committee or the board of legal specialization and education.
(e) Peer Review.
(f) Examination.
Rule 6-13.4 sets out the rules for recertification in appellate practice including:
During the 5-year period immediately preceding application, an applicant must satisfy the following requirements for recertification:
(a) Substantial Involvement.
(b) Appellate Actions.
(c) Oral Arguments.
(d) Education.
(e) Peer Review.
(g) Good Cause.
During a virtual meeting on March 4, 2021, the Program Evaluation Committee approved a Board of Legal Specialization and Education proposal to amend Rule 6-13.4 Recertification (Appellate Practice).
The proposed amendment would reduce the number of oral arguments required for an initial recertification from from five (5) to three (3). The number would drop to two for subsequent recertification cycles.
Applicants, however, would still be required to meet the five oral argument requirement to become board certified.
