For initial certification, the ordinary TBLS requirement is 60 hours of education in the specialty. For five-year recertification, it is generally 100 hours. A lawyer needs to check the credit period as well as the total; a course taken outside the permitted period may not help with the application at hand.
The initial application window
Pull out the course certificates before adding up the hours. For an initial application, the permitted period begins three years immediately before application and runs through December 31 of the application year. TBLS needs qualifying specialty credits from that period.
A course can sometimes satisfy both the State Bar's general education requirement and the TBLS specialty requirement. The numbers should not automatically be described as 60 extra hours on top of all ordinary continuing legal education. Whether a particular course counts depends on its subject and eligibility for the credit being claimed.
The renewal deadline is December 31 of year five. Up to 15 excess hours can carry forward under TBLS rules.
What kinds of study count?
Approved courses can be attended in person or through qualifying online, recorded and remote formats. Teaching, speaking and professional writing may also receive credit under the rules. The activity must relate to the specialty and meet the relevant approval requirements.
Self-study has a limit: the general standards allow five hours per calendar year. Reading cases on one's own therefore cannot supply all the required hours. A generic entry in an education log may also need more detail before TBLS can determine whether it qualifies for specialty credit.
Why clients may ask about continuing education
A court may change how a disputed issue is analyzed after a lawyer earned certification. Courses give practitioners an opportunity to study decisions like that and discuss their effect on pending cases. Still, a client is entitled to ask how the lawyer will research a new issue. Completing a course cannot answer every question that later comes up.
Course attendance also cannot replace the practice and reference requirements for renewal. A lawyer needs to satisfy those parts of recertification separately.
Common questions
Can a lawyer use the same course for general and specialty credit?
Potentially, yes. Check the course's eligibility for each program instead of assuming every credit transfers.
Can writing an article count?
Professional legal writing may qualify under TBLS procedures. Publication alone doesn't establish how many hours will be allowed.
Where are the controlling credit rules?
Consult the current TBLS general attorney standards and Attorney Rules and Regulations, along with the lawyer's reported education record.
Explore the TBLS Personal Injury Knowledge Hub and requirements for Personal Injury Trial Law board certification.
Check the current TBLS standards
For current standards and attorney certification searches, visit the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
ABOUT THE ATTORNEY
Aaron A. Herbert
Founding Attorney
Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law
Aaron founded The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert in 2010 to focus on developing each client's case and seeking its maximum value. For over a decade, he has represented people seriously injured in major accidents and industrial catastrophes, pursuing trial verdicts and settlements while working to reduce the stress of litigation.
Education
- Texas A&M University · B.S., Criminal Justice, 1999
- University of Oklahoma College of Law · J.D., 2002; graduated in the top of his class
Trial experience & approach
Aaron earned numerous jury verdicts at boutique personal injury litigation firms. According to his biography, he spent a year as the top-earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently appeared in verdict searches as having one of the highest numbers of trial wins in Texas. At another Dallas personal injury firm, he moved from managing pre-litigation attorney to managing litigation attorney over seven years as the firm grew into one of Dallas's largest personal injury firms.
His biography describes a reputation as one of America's most aggressive trial lawyers, with noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries and substantial pretrial settlements. Most of those settlements included confidentiality agreements requested by the defense. Aaron has said the recoveries were justified by the injuries and losses involved, which no amount of money could make someone choose to experience.
His approach combines passion, preparation, persistence and courtroom imagination. He believes a well-supported, engaged and motivated team working cooperatively helps deliver strong representation, with the goal of achieving the best possible result for every client.
Dallas roots, military service & publication
Born and raised in Dallas, Aaron enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. He completed his university and law degrees after his military service and became a lifelong Sooners football fan in law school.
Publication: “Litigating Dog Bite Cases,” Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas, 2009.
Professional affiliations & recognition
Professional affiliations and recognition listed in Aaron’s biography:
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice)
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers
Trial experience & approach
Aaron earned numerous jury verdicts at boutique personal injury litigation firms. According to his biography, he spent a year as the top-earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently appeared in verdict searches as having one of the highest numbers of trial wins in Texas. At another Dallas personal injury firm, he moved from managing pre-litigation attorney to managing litigation attorney over seven years as the firm grew into one of Dallas's largest personal injury firms.
His biography describes a reputation as one of America's most aggressive trial lawyers, with noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries and substantial pretrial settlements. Most of those settlements included confidentiality agreements requested by the defense. Aaron has said the recoveries were justified by the injuries and losses involved, which no amount of money could make someone choose to experience.
His approach combines passion, preparation, persistence and courtroom imagination. He believes a well-supported, engaged and motivated team working cooperatively helps deliver strong representation, with the goal of achieving the best possible result for every client.
Dallas roots, military service & publication
Born and raised in Dallas, Aaron enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. He completed his university and law degrees after his military service and became a lifelong Sooners football fan in law school.
Publication: “Litigating Dog Bite Cases,” Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas, 2009.
Professional affiliations & recognition
Professional affiliations and recognition listed in Aaron’s biography:
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice)
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers