The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education certifies lawyers as specialists in the area of haealth law. Rule 6-14.1 provides that "[a] lawyer who is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar and meets the standards prescribed below may be issued an appropriate certificate identifying the lawyer as 'Board Certified in Health Law." The purpose of health law specialization is "to identify those lawyers who practice in the area of health law and have the special knowledge, skills, and proficiency to be properly identified to the public as board certified in health law."
Lawyer Legion maintains a directory of board certified Health Law specialists in Florida amongst a broader directory of certified and non-certified lawyers practicing 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 board certification in Health Law 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, including board certification in Health Law offered by The Florida Bar.
Use this directory to connect with lawyers who are board certified specialists in Health Law. Start by choosing your county from the list below.
Rule 6-14.2 sets out the definitions for specialty certification in health law including:
(a) Health Law.
"Health law" means legal issues involving federal, state, or local law, rules or regulations and health care provider issues, regulation of providers, legal issues regarding relationships between and among providers, legal issues regarding relationships between providers and payors, and legal issues regarding the delivery of health care services.
(b) Practice of Law.
The "practice of law" for this area is defined as set out in rule 6-3.5(c)(1). Notwithstanding anything in the definition to the contrary, legal work done primarily for a purpose other than legal advice or representation (including, but not limited to, work related to the sale of insurance or retirement plans or work in connection with the practice of a profession other than the law) shall not be treated as the practice of law.
The minimum standards for certification in health law are set out in Rule 6-14.3.
(a) Minimum Period of Practice.
Every applicant shall have been engaged in the practice of law in the United States, or engaged in the practice of United States law while in a foreign country, and shall have been a member in good standing of the bar of any state of the United States or the District of Columbia for a period of 5 years as of the date of application.
(1) The years of practice of law need not be consecutive.
(2) Notwithstanding the definition of "practice of law" in rule 6-3.5(c)(1), receipt of an LL.M. degree in health law (or such other related fields approved by the board of legal specialization and education and the health law certification committee) from an approved law school shall be deemed to constitute 1 year of the practice of law for purposes of the 5-year practice requirement (but not the 5-year bar membership requirement) under this subdivision.
However, an applicant may not receive credit for more than 1 year of practice for any 12-month period under this subdivision; accordingly, for example, an applicant who, while being engaged in the practice of law, receives an LL.M. degree by attending night classes, would not receive credit for the practice of law requirement by virtue of having received the LL.M. degree.
(b) Substantial Involvement.
Every applicant must demonstrate substantial involvement in the practice of health law during the 3 years immediately preceding the date of application. Upon an applicant's request and the recommendation of the health law certification committee, the board of legal specialization and education may waive the requirement that the 3 years be "immediately preceding" the date of application if the board of legal specialization and education determines the waiver is warranted by special and compelling circumstances.
Substantial involvement means the applicant has devoted 40 percent or more of the applicant's practice to matters in which issues of health law are significant factors and in which the applicant had substantial and direct participation in those health law issues. An applicant must furnish information concerning the frequency of the applicant's work and the nature of the issues involved.
For the purposes of this subdivision the "practice of law" shall be as defined in rule 6-3.5(c)(1), except that it shall also include time devoted to lecturing and/or authoring books or articles on health law if the applicant was engaged in the practice of law during such period. Demonstration of compliance with this requirement shall be made initially through a form of questionnaire approved by the health law certification committee but written or oral supplementation may be required.
(c) Peer Review.
Every applicant shall submit the names and addresses of 5 other attorneys or judges who are familiar with the applicant's practice, not including attorneys who currently practice in the applicant's law firm, and who can attest to the applicant's reputation for involvement in the field of health law, as well as the applicant's character, ethics, and reputation for professionalism, in accordance with rule 6-3.5(c)(6).
The board of legal specialization and education or the health law certification committee may authorize references from persons other than attorneys in such cases as they deem appropriate. The board of legal specialization and education and the health law certification committee may also make such additional inquiries as they deem appropriate.
(d) Education.
Every applicant must demonstrate that during the 3-year period immediately preceding the date of application, the applicant has met the continuing legal education requirements in health law as follows. The required number of hours shall be established by the board of legal specialization and education and shall in no event be less than 60 hours, at least 18 hours of which must be obtained through attendance at continuing legal education seminars as described in subdivision (1) below.
Credit for attendance at continuing legal education seminars shall be given only for programs that are directly related to health law. Subject to the requirements and limitations set forth above, the education requirement may be satisfied by 1 or more of the following:
(1) attendance at continuing legal education seminars meeting the requirements set forth above;
(2) lecturing at and/or preparation of outline material of such continuing legal education seminars;
(3) authoring articles or books published in professional periodicals or other professional publications;
(4) teaching courses in "health law" at an approved law school or other graduate or undergraduate level program presented by a recognized professional education association;
(5) completing such home study programs as may be approved by the board of legal specialization and education or the health law certification committee, subject to the limitation that no more than 50 percent of the required number of hours of education may be satisfied through home study programs; or
(6) such other methods as may be approved by the health law certification committee.
The board of legal specialization and education or the health law certification committee shall, by rule or regulation, establish standards applicable to this rule, including, but not limited to, the method of establishment of the number of hours allocable to any of the above-listed subdivisions. Such rules or regulations shall provide that hours shall be allocable to each separate but substantially different lecture, article, or other activity described in subdivisions (2), (3), and (4) above.
(e) Examination.
Every applicant must pass a written examination designed to demonstrate sufficient knowledge, skills, and proficiency in the field of health law to justify the representation of special competence to the legal profession and the public.
Rule 6-14.4 sets out the rules for recertification in health law. To be eligible for recertification, an applicant must meet the following requirements:
(a) Substantial Involvement.
Applicants must demonstrate a satisfactory showing, as determined by the board of legal specialization and education and the health law certification committee, of continuous and substantial involvement in the field of health law throughout the period since the last date of certification. The demonstration of substantial involvement shall be made in accordance with the standards set forth in rule 6-14.3(b), except that the board of legal specialization and education and the health law certification committee may accept an affidavit from the applicant attesting to the applicant's compliance with the substantial involvement requirement.
(b) Continuing Legal Education Requirement.
Applicants must demonstrate the completion of at least 100 hours of continuing legal education since the filing of the last application for certification (or recertification). The continuing legal education must logically be expected to enhance the proficiency of attorneys who are board certified health law attorneys. If the applicant has not attained 100 hours of continuing legal education, but has attained more than 60 hours during such period, successful passage of the written examination given by the board of legal specialization and education to new applicants shall satisfy the continuing legal education requirements.
(c) Peer Review.
Peer review shall be conducted in accordance with the standards set forth in rule 6-14.3(c).
(d) Examination Requirement.
If, after reviewing the material submitted by an applicant for recertification, the board of legal specialization and education and the health law certification committee determine that the applicant may not meet the standards in health law established under this chapter, the board of legal specialization and education and the health law certification committee may require, as a condition of recertification, that the applicant pass the written examination given by the board of legal specialization and education to new applicants.
