Certified Legal Specialist

A Legal Specialist certification requires at least ten years' experience in the field of expertise, plus passing a full-day examination through the California State Bar's Board of Legal Specialization. Achieving success in the examination requires in-depth knowledge of the subject area. Retaining the certification requires annually completing seminars and other educational endeavors, over and above the regular attorneys' continuing education requirements.

To become licensed as an attorney in California, the applicant must obtain the necessary education, demonstrate understanding of basic legal principles, including the statutory and case law framework of the law, and meet other requirements. Necessarily, there is no requirement that an applicant have specific in-depth experience in practicing law when he or she takes the Bar Exam. The experience comes later, and it takes many years of practice in only one or two specific areas of law for an attorney to become an expert. The new attorney has a myriad of specific fields to practice in, and the practice of law in California is so broad and detailed that an attorney must specialize and become knowledgeable and experienced in only one or two areas.

When an attorney has the necessary experience, he or she may be able to obtain the additional certification as a Legal Specialist. When Ms. McBride attained this certification in 2009, fewer than 1,000 attorneys in California held the distinction of Certified Legal Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate, and Trust Law. Ms. McBride demonstrated that she had practiced almost exclusively in the field of litigation, administration, and planning regarding decedents' estates, trust, conservatorships, and guardianships since she was admitted to the practice of law in 1996, showed that she had extensive knowledge in the field by passing the rigorous examination administered by the Board of Legal Specialization, presented recommendations from peers, and satisfied other requirements.