My friend and colleague James H. Harris III was recently certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization.  Just over 300 Tennessee attorneys have completed the rigorous certification process established and required by the Tennessee Supreme  Court.

To be certified, Tennessee attorneys must met certain requirements, including a certain number of years of experience in their particular field of certification, demonstration of special education, passage of an examination, and recommendation from other judges and attorneys.

Tennessee attorneys are not required to be certified in a particular field in order to practice in that area, and in fact Tennessee does not have a certification process for every area of legal practice (entertainment law, for example, is excluded).  Currently, certification is only offered in the areas of Civil Trial, Criminal Trial, Bankruptcy, Malpractice, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Family Law and a few other areas. 

Another member of my association, Gail Bradford, is certified in the area of Estate Planning.

Congratulations Jim!