With more than 50,000 attorneys currently licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, only a select number have earned the right to be publicly recognized as certified specialists in specific areas of law through the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania does not certify attorneys as a specialist. Instead, it accredits "certifying organizations." The four organizations approved to certify lawyers in specialty areas of the law include the PBA Workers Compensation Law Section, the American Board of Certification, the National Elder Law Foundation, and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Any accreditation of one of these organizations is effective for up to five years. The accreditation can be renewed upon recommendation of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA). These programs provide the public with an important tool when they begin their search for an attorney. If you need to find an attorney in Pennsylvania in a specialty practice area of the law, then consider beginning your search by looking at the attorneys who have earned specialty certification.
The Specialty Areas that are approved by the Pennsylvania State Bar include:
Under Rule 7.4, an attorney may communicate whether he or she practices in a particular field of law. However, the lawyer shall not state that he or she is a "specialist" except when the lawyer has been certified by an organization approved by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania as a certifying organization.
The rules also provide that a lawyer may communicate that he or she is certified in a field of practice only when that communication is not false or misleading and that certification is granted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
The rule was intended to comply with the requirements for advertising claims of specialization set forth in Peel v. Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of Illinois, 496 U. S. 91, 110 L.Ed.2d 83, 110 S.Ct. 2281 (1990).
Rule 7.4(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct allows attorneys to advertise certain specialties, including patent and admiralty law. The rule also allows the Supreme Court to approve other certifications by certain agencies.
The four organizations approved to certify lawyers in specialty areas of the law include the PBA Workers Compensation Law Section, the American Board of Certification, the National Elder Law Foundation, and the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
Any accreditation of one of these organizations is effective for up to five years. The accreditation can be renewed upon recommendation of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA).
At Lawyer Legion, we understand the importance of specialty certification programs in Pennsylvania. Specialty certification programs at the state and national level can help the public make a more informed decision when they begin their search for an attorney.
Our directory also helps the public find a qualified workers' compensation attorney in Pennsylvania by ranking certified specialist higher in our online attorney directory.
Lawyer Legion maintains a statewide directory of attorneys who are board-certified by the Pennsylvania Bar Association. The public is able to browse the directory and narrow their search by specialty area, county or city to and connect with board certified lawyers to help with their case. Lawyer Legion is the only commercial lawyer directory to properly acknowledge all ABA-accredited specialization programs for both national and state-level board certifications, including those granted by the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
Use this directory to find board certified lawyers who are specialized in their respective areas of law. Start by choosing your county from the list below.
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