A Texas law license permits a lawyer to handle injury cases. Board certification involves a separate application to the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, or TBLS. For Personal Injury Trial Law, that application includes a record of the lawyer's work in court. Settlements alone won't satisfy it.
Start with the practice requirements
The applicant needs at least five years of full-time law practice. Those years need not be consecutive. During each of the three years immediately before the application, at least 25 percent of the lawyer's practice time must have involved Texas Personal Injury Trial Law.
That percentage is a yearly requirement. A lawyer cannot simply point to one unusually busy year of injury work and assume it covers the whole period. TBLS also considers what the lawyer actually did in the matters submitted.
The courtroom record
The published standard calls for ten contested civil trials as lead counsel in Texas courts of record. The cases must have been submitted to a judge or jury for decision. At least five must be personal injury jury trials. There is a day count, too: at least 20 separate trial days overall, including ten in personal injury jury trials.
Suppose a lawyer helped prepare dozens of cases but never took primary responsibility at trial. That work would not, by itself, meet the lead-counsel requirement. In a qualifying jury trial, the lawyer must conduct jury selection, give an opening statement or closing argument, and perform significant direct or cross-examination of live witnesses. The lawyer must also have primary responsibility for the representation. Bench trials require primary responsibility and significant live-witness examination.
A summary-judgment hearing does not count as a trial under this standard. Neither do other pretrial proceedings.
Education, references and the examination
Initial applicants need 60 hours of qualifying specialty education within the prescribed period: the three years immediately preceding application, through December 31 of the application year. Qualifying courses may also count toward the lawyer's regular continuing-education obligations.
The reference list includes four Texas attorneys substantially involved in personal injury trial work and a Texas judge before whom the applicant appeared in a personal injury matter. One attorney reference must have tried a personal injury case with or against the applicant. TBLS obtains confidential evaluations and can request more information.
Applicants must pass the written specialty examination and meet the applicable professional-standing and disclosure requirements. The published standards also describe limited exceptions that TBLS may consider for judicial or unusual experience. An applicant should take that question to TBLS rather than assume an exception applies.
Checking a lawyer's credential
When you look up a law firm, search the individual attorney's name in the TBLS directory. A firm may employ both certified and uncertified lawyers. Ask who would be responsible for your file, and whether that person holds the certification shown in the advertisement. No credential can tell you what a jury will decide.
Common questions
Could someone qualify just after law school?
Under the ordinary requirements, no. The five years of practice come before certification, along with the other required experience.
Where should an applicant check the details?
Go to TBLS and read its Personal Injury Trial Law standards alongside the general attorney standards. Dates, credit rules and exceptions deserve a careful check against those documents. An old biography is no substitute for the rules that apply to the application.
For a broader explanation, read What It Means to Be Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law in Texas.
Aaron A. Herbert
Founding Attorney
Aaron A. Herbert is a Texas attorney, Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
For over a decade he has shown an unwavering commitment to clients who were seriously injured by major accidents and industrial catastrophes. During that time he has earned the reputation as one of America’s most aggressive trial lawyers by achieving noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries, as well as substantial settlements prior to trial, the majority of which contained negotiated confidentiality agreements at the request of the defense. When asked about these cases, Mr. Herbert has said that each case not only justified the recovery level, but that no one would trade places with any one of these victims in return for any amount of money, once they know the facts and severity of the injuries and tragedy involved. According to Mr. Herbert, “there can be no substitute for passion, preparation and persistence in the practice of law”. He is known not only for this tenacious preparation, but also for his imagination in the courtroom. He is passionate and persistent in seeking to obtain the maximum case value for each individual client at trial or through settlement, while reducing the stress of litigation on his clients. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Mr. Herbert enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. After the Marines, he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Texas A&M University, then a Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. There he graduated in the top of his class and became an eternal Sooners Football fan. Aaron has worked as a zealous advocate for injured clients at several boutique personal injury litigation firms where he amassed numerous jury verdicts. After spending a year as the top earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently tops verdict search as one with the highest number of trial wins in Texas, Aaron accepted a position as a the managing pre-litigation attorney at another Dallas personal injury firm. Over the next seven years he transitioned to the managing litigation attorney, and that firm grew to one of the largest personal injury firms in Dallas. In 2010 he formed the Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, to get back to a focus on developing each individual case and maximizing case value for each client. Mr. Herbert practices law with the belief that a well taken care of, highly engaged and motivated team of employees working in a cooperative team environment will result in superior representation and great results for the firm clients. He believes in always setting a goal of achieving the best possible results for each and every client.
Education
Texas A&M University (B.S. Criminal Justice, 1999)
University of Oklahoma College of Law (J.D., 2002)
Professional Associations
Licensed to practice in Texas (2002)
Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law – Texas Board of Legal Specialization (2008)
Member
State Bar of Texas
American Bar Association
American Trial Lawyer Association
Texas Trial Lawyers Association
Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
Dallas County Bar Association
Tarrant County Bar Association
Million Dollar Advocates Forum
Nation Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers
Publications
Litigating Dog Bite Cases, Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas 2009