What It Means to Be Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law in Texas

What the designation tells you

When you see “Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law” beside a Texas lawyer's name, there is a specific organization behind that statement: the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, usually shortened to TBLS. The attorney has completed its certification process for that field. You can look up the credential and read the standards used to award it.

An ordinary Texas law license does not include this certification. A lawyer applies separately and submits information about practice, trials, education and professional references. Initial certification also includes a written specialty examination. The designation belongs to the attorney who earned it, even when it appears on a firm's website.

For someone choosing counsel after an injury, certification supplies useful information about an attorney's background. It does not tell you what your claim is worth or whether that lawyer is the best fit for your particular problem. Those questions require a conversation about the accident, the evidence and the representation being offered.

Aaron A. Herbert holds this certification. This guide explains what TBLS requires and which questions the credential leaves for you to ask. The sections on initial eligibility and renewal serve different purposes; a lawyer's original trial record should not be confused with a count of trials conducted during the latest renewal period.

The field covered by Personal Injury Trial Law

TBLS has recognized Personal Injury Trial Law as a specialty since 1978. Its definition covers litigation involving physical or mental trauma or disability. Vehicle collisions are familiar examples, but the field also includes injury aspects of product claims, professional malpractice, governmental claims, statutory claims, insurance-contract disputes and negligent or intentional acts.

A lawyer can work in this field for plaintiffs, defendants or both. Certification does not identify which side the attorney represents. Defense lawyers can hold the same specialty credential as attorneys who represent injured people.

The breadth of the field matters when you are comparing lawyers. Experience with rear-end collisions may leave unanswered questions about a defective industrial machine. A lawyer who has handled many premises cases may still need to explain what experience the firm has with the particular injury involved in your claim. Ask about the work most closely related to your facts.

Personal injury litigation draws on several kinds of knowledge. A disputed medical opinion presents different questions from a missing surveillance recording. An attorney may need help from an engineer, a physician or an economist, depending on what must be proved. The certification establishes a specialty qualification; it does not certify the lawyer separately in every technical subject that could arise.

Five years of practice comes first

The ordinary initial requirement is at least five years of full-time law practice. The years do not have to be consecutive. Someone who has just passed the bar cannot meet that requirement by doing well on the specialty examination.

TBLS defines the practice of law for this purpose in its general standards. Legal work in government, the military or a corporation may qualify, as can judicial service after admission to the bar. Teaching or legal publication work may be considered in combination with part-time practice under the conditions in those standards. An applicant with an unusual work history needs to examine the applicable provisions rather than count every year of employment as a year of qualifying practice.

There are requirements concerning a Texas office and practice as well. For an initial applicant, the general standard ordinarily calls for a Texas office from which the lawyer personally conducts business an average of at least three days per week during the three years before application and until certification. TBLS may waive that requirement for good cause. Current State Bar membership and good standing are also required.

Five years on a calendar is only one part of the application. A lawyer licensed for decades may have spent most of that time in another field. When a biography gives a number of years of experience, ask what kind of work those years involved and whether the number refers to one lawyer or several lawyers combined.

How much of the practice must involve injury work?

During each of the three years immediately before an initial application, at least 25 percent of the attorney's practice time must have been devoted to Texas Personal Injury Trial Law. Each year matters. A heavy concentration in the final year does not necessarily make up for a year below the threshold.

This is a minimum for certification, not a statement about every certified lawyer's current caseload. Some attorneys devote much more of their practice to injury matters. A prospective client can ask what portion of the lawyer's work involves cases like theirs and how often that lawyer personally handles the important tasks.

TBLS can look beyond totals when assessing experience. The nature of the work, its complexity, how long it took and the applicant's responsibility can all matter. A name on a pleading does not explain whether the lawyer developed the evidence, handled a contested issue or merely assisted someone else.

The ordinary renewal rule continues the 25 percent requirement through each year of the five-year certification period. This ties renewal to ongoing practice. A certificate first earned many years ago is not, by itself, proof that all current maintenance obligations have been met.

The initial trial requirement: cases and days

The Personal Injury Trial Law standard calls for at least ten contested civil cases tried as lead counsel in Texas courts of record. Those cases must have been submitted to the trier of fact—the judge or jury deciding the facts. At least five must be personal injury jury trials.

There is a separate requirement for time in trial. The submitted cases must account for at least 20 separate trial days, including at least ten days in personal injury jury trials. An applicant needs to satisfy both the case count and the day count.

Consider five personal injury jury trials that each lasted one day. That history would supply five jury cases, but only five of the ten required personal injury jury-trial days. The application needs enough qualifying experience to meet every part of the standard, not just the number that appears in a short biography.

The trials may come from the applicant's entire practice. Ten is an eligibility minimum, so it should not be presented as the lifetime total for every certified lawyer. Someone may have tried substantially more cases. Ask for the attorney's actual experience when the number or kind of trials matters to your decision.

What counts as lead counsel?

“First chair” is a common courtroom expression. TBLS uses “lead counsel” and defines the work the lawyer must have done. That definition makes the attorney's responsibilities more important than a description of where the lawyer sat.

In a jury trial, the applicant must have primary responsibility for representing the client. The required activities include jury selection, either an opening statement or a closing argument, and significant direct or cross-examination of live witnesses. The standard does not require both an opening and a closing, but it does require the other specified work.

In a bench trial, look at who carried primary responsibility for the client and who conducted significant live-witness examination. Those are the required responsibilities. Preparing exhibits for another attorney may have helped the case, but that task alone does not establish the lead-counsel role.

That distinction is useful in a consultation. If a lawyer mentions a trial, you can ask what role the lawyer played. Preparing a brief, taking a deposition before trial and questioning witnesses at trial describe different kinds of experience. None should be passed off as another.

Proceedings that do not satisfy the trial definition

Summary-judgment hearings and other pretrial proceedings do not count. A qualifying trial requires testimonial evidence on contested claims in a judicial court of record.

Filing suit does not establish a qualifying trial. Neither does attending mediation, taking depositions or arguing a pretrial motion. Those tasks may take considerable skill and preparation, but the certification application asks a separate question about trial experience.

A case settled before trial cannot be counted simply because the lawyer expected to try it. If a case settles after proceedings begin, the applicant needs to consider the standard's submission requirement and the actual record. Questions about an unusual proceeding belong with TBLS, which evaluates the application.

The standards also provide limited exceptions for certain judicial or unusual experience at TBLS's discretion. A lawyer should not assume that an exception applies without addressing it through the certification process.

Education before the initial application

The initial education requirement is 60 qualifying specialty hours within the three years immediately before application, through December 31 of the application year.

The subject of the course matters. Attendance at a general program does not necessarily supply Personal Injury Trial Law credit. Applicants should check both the credit designation and the date before relying on a course to meet the requirement.

These hours should not automatically be described as 60 additional hours beyond all regular State Bar education. A qualifying course can count toward both programs when their respective rules allow it. The specialty requirement and ordinary continuing-education requirement still need to be checked separately.

TBLS recognizes several ways of obtaining qualifying education, including live and online courses, approved recorded programs and certain teaching or writing activities. Self-study is limited to five hours per calendar year under the general standards. Reading decisions independently therefore cannot supply every required hour.

Recent education is part of the initial application, alongside the practice record. A client can still ask how the lawyer will research an unfamiliar question. A course completed last year may not address a decision issued last week.

Lawyers and a judge provide confidential references

The initial reference list for this specialty includes four Texas attorneys substantially involved in Personal Injury Trial Law. At least one must have tried a personal injury matter with or against the applicant. The list also includes a Texas judge before whom the applicant appeared as an advocate in a personal injury matter.

The general standards exclude the applicant's partners and associates from the reference pool. For an initial application, the relevant professional dealings must have occurred within the preceding three years. This is a review of the lawyer's work by people who have had the required contact with it.

TBLS sends its form to the reference, and the reference returns the response directly to TBLS. The applicant does not collect a set of edited testimonials for submission. TBLS may contact other lawyers or judges as well.

For initial certification in this specialty, the administrative rules call for five favorable references. TBLS has criteria for a favorable reply: the reviewer must know the applicant's work and give the required assessment of knowledge and skill, including support for certification. An unanswered request contributes no favorable evaluation, however suitable the name on the list may be.

TBLS may investigate a concern raised in a reference, even after receiving enough favorable replies. The responses remain confidential. Clients can verify certification without access to those comments.

The written specialty examination

Applicants who are approved to take the examination must pass it as part of ordinary initial certification. The purpose is to test the knowledge needed for a representation of special competence in the field. Trial experience does not, by itself, replace this requirement.

Candidates should consult the examination information TBLS supplies for their year. That material governs the subjects, format and administrative arrangements. An overview for prospective clients is not an examination syllabus.

The published framework provides an examination opportunity in the application year and, subject to review and reapproval, another in the following year. A candidate who fails three times in a specialty becomes ineligible for the next three years' examinations in that specialty. Returning applicants need to check their own status before planning another attempt.

Rules also address examination security, fees and accommodations. A candidate requesting an accommodation should follow the current procedure and deadlines. Certification depends on completing the application requirements as well as passing the exam.

Professional standing and disclosure

Applicants must disclose the professional-conduct and other matters identified in the standards and rules. These can include specified disciplinary proceedings, judicial misconduct and serious criminal matters. Certified attorneys have continuing reporting obligations, too.

The underlying event and a failure to report it can raise separate issues. TBLS may request documents or other information and can deny, suspend or revoke certification as its rules permit. An applicant should read the disclosure provisions directly to determine which events and deadlines apply.

Before the consultation, look up the attorney's State Bar record. If a disciplinary entry raises a question, bring it along and ask about it. The credential offers no guarantee about the lawyer's future conduct.

Renewal every five years

The ordinary certificate runs for five years. During that period the lawyer has annual obligations; at its end, recertification is required. A biography that says when a lawyer first became certified needs to be read alongside the current TBLS record.

The ordinary five-year requirements include 25 percent involvement in Texas Personal Injury Trial Law each year and 100 qualifying specialty education hours by December 31 of year five. TBLS allows up to 15 excess hours to carry forward under its rules.

References are reviewed again. The specialty standard requests at least five names, while the administrative rules ordinarily require at least three favorable reference responses for recertification. The relevant dealings are those since certification or the most recent renewal. The names submitted and the favorable replies received are two different requirements to keep track of.

Annual fees are listed as $200 per specialty in the March 2025 rules, plus $100 for recertification in the renewal year. Check current TBLS notices before making a payment; the amounts may change.

Reports and payments are required to maintain certification. For a client checking an attorney's qualifications, the current TBLS record is the appropriate starting point.

Renewal does not impose five new jury trials

The ten-case requirement, including five personal injury jury trials, is for initial certification. The ordinary renewal standard does not impose those counts again.

Renewal instead examines continued involvement, education, references and compliance with the applicable rules. A lawyer may keep trying cases, but the current certification alone does not disclose how many trials occurred in the last year or last five years.

Ask directly about recent courtroom work. It is also useful to discuss cases that required substantial preparation but settled. The work done in such a case may be relevant to your choice of counsel even though the case does not add a completed trial to a numerical count.

A reader should therefore avoid two assumptions: that the certified lawyer has tried only the minimum ten cases, or that the lawyer must try five new jury cases each renewal cycle. The standards establish neither proposition.

Changes in practice and certification status

TBLS has provisions for circumstances such as judicial service, a hold on certification and certain changes in an attorney's practice. These provisions can affect maintenance requirements or use of the designation. A lawyer should follow the rule for the actual status involved.

An internal senior-status designation is available under specified conditions, including age, years of continuous certification and practice commitments. It is not an additional advertising title. The full eligibility and renewal provisions should be checked before an attorney relies on that status.

An intention to renew is not an active certification. TBLS decides extension and exception requests under its rules. Ask about any difference between the official record and the status advertised by a firm.

Comparing certification with awards and memberships

A lawyer's website may show several badges. Each needs its own explanation. An association membership, a private award and a directory rating can use very different criteria, and none should automatically be assumed to verify the trial history required by TBLS.

Follow the badge to its issuer and read the selection criteria. Look specifically for any examination, review of courtroom experience and renewal requirement. If those details are missing, ask the attorney where they can be found before treating the badge as evidence of a particular qualification.

A client review saying the office returned calls promptly answers a service question. An award for a particular piece of professional work may answer another. Read those sources for what they describe; neither necessarily establishes that the lawyer met the TBLS trial requirements.

The specialty name is important as well. Civil Trial Law, Personal Injury Trial Law and other TBLS fields have distinct standards. A lawyer certified in one should identify that field accurately instead of implying certification in every related subject.

Firm-wide claims need a closer look. “Combined experience” adds the years of several people. A past verdict may involve a lawyer who no longer works at the firm. Ask about the attorney assigned to your case, including that person's role in any experience being described.

What the credential cannot settle for you

Certification does not rank every certified lawyer above every lawyer without it. Texas permits properly licensed lawyers to practice personal injury law without this voluntary credential. An uncertified attorney may have extensive experience or particular knowledge that is relevant to a client's claim.

Nor does the credential establish that the lawyer has enough time or resources for a new case. Complex litigation can involve expert expenses, a large document record and substantial attorney work. Ask how the firm would handle those demands and who would take responsibility for them.

For attorneys evaluating a referral, see our guide to preparing complex Texas injury cases.

Communication needs a separate discussion. An attorney can have significant courtroom experience while using an office arrangement that does not suit your expectations. Find out how you will receive updates, whom you can call and how important decisions will be discussed.

Finally, no certification determines what a jury will decide. The facts, available proof, legal issues and decisions made during litigation all affect the case. A useful consultation should explain uncertainties instead of promising that a credential will overcome them.

Insurance companies and opposing lawyers

There is no automatic increase in a settlement offer when a claimant retains a board-certified attorney. A certification cannot create coverage, fill a gap in medical proof or establish who caused an accident. Those matters must be addressed in the claim itself.

An insurer or defense attorney can verify a lawyer's TBLS status and learn that the attorney met the specialty's requirements. Whether that information changes a particular decision is not something the credential can tell us. It would be misleading to attach a promised settlement premium to it.

Have counsel explain the insurer's objections to the demand. If the adjuster points to an earlier injury, for example, ask how the medical evidence addresses that history. The next step may involve records or a medical opinion. The certification record cannot answer the medical question.

Once a case is underway, opposing counsel sees the discovery responses and the arguments made in court. Those exchanges give the other side much more information about the file than an attorney biography does. The claim has to be supported through the work on that file.

Some defense attorneys hold the same certification. The standards apply to the specialty rather than to one side of a case. A client should be wary of any suggestion that the designation, by itself, causes an insurer or another lawyer to concede a dispute.

Why trial experience can matter before settlement

A witness may support your account of an accident but remember only part of it. Counsel needs to determine what the person saw before relying on that account. The same is true of a document: it may look helpful, but there could be a question about whether the court will admit it. That investigation affects advice about an offer.

Courtroom experience can help an attorney recognize questions like these. TBLS certification includes a verified qualifying trial history, but the next question is how the attorney will apply experience to this particular file.

Preparation can begin well before a trial date. Preserving a recording, obtaining medical records or identifying an expert may improve the information available for negotiations. The same work may also be necessary if no agreement is reached.

Readiness for trial does not require rejecting a fair offer. Ask the lawyer to explain the likely deductions from a settlement, the additional cost of proceeding and the uncertainties that remain. The amount offered and the amount the client receives are not necessarily the same.

Ask counsel to explain any recommendation you do not understand. You need to know the reasons for accepting or rejecting the offer before deciding.

Preparing a serious injury case

The first investigation may need to address evidence that will not remain available indefinitely. Vehicles can be repaired. A store's camera system may overwrite older recordings. Witnesses may become harder to locate. Tell counsel what you know about the event and any records or physical evidence that may exist.

The attorney must also investigate who did what. In a truck collision, ownership, employment, maintenance and loading may involve different businesses. A property claim may involve an owner, tenant or contractor. A connection to the event does not automatically establish liability, so the inquiry has to follow the evidence and applicable law.

Medical records require more than collection. A lawyer may need to address whether the event caused the condition claimed, how earlier health problems affect the analysis and what supports future-care expenses. The experts needed depend on those questions. Their opinions should address the disputed issues rather than merely add volume to the file.

Discovery should serve an identified purpose. A deposition can help resolve who knew about a hazard. Electronic records may clarify when an inspection entry was made. An expert's underlying data may help test an opinion. Ask how the proposed work will help prove or evaluate the claim.

Some claims face obstacles that cannot be fixed by choosing a lawyer with a particular credential. Missing evidence, disputed causation, limited coverage or the cost of litigation may affect the available options. A candid evaluation should identify those problems before the client forms expectations about a recovery.

None of these practices is exclusive to certified lawyers. The credential verifies defined qualifications. The attorney's explanation of the proposed investigation tells you how those qualifications may be used in your case.

Questions to bring to a consultation

Get the name of the lawyer who would take responsibility for your file. Ask which work that attorney would handle and which work would be assigned to other staff. If trial becomes necessary, find out whether the same attorney expects to try the case.

Next, discuss comparable experience. Describe the kind of accident, injury and defendant involved. Ask about similar cases and the lawyer's actual role in them. Recent experience may help answer questions that a certification date alone cannot.

Tell counsel about records or physical evidence that might be lost. Ask which deadlines need attention and what the firm needs from you to evaluate the claim.

Read the fee agreement before signing. Ask about the percentage, expenses, repayment obligations and any changes as the matter proceeds. If the calculation is unclear, request an example with hypothetical numbers. Also ask what happens if there is no recovery.

Find out whom you can call for an update and how the office will send important documents or offers. If you expect direct contact with the attorney, discuss that expectation before hiring the firm.

Aaron A. Herbert's certification

The State Bar of Texas directory lists Aaron Alan Herbert, Texas Bar No. 24036761, as Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law. It lists his Texas license date as November 6, 2002. The firm's biography identifies 2008 as the year he became board certified.

Prospective clients can verify those records and ask about his experience with the issues in their claim. Certification belongs to Aaron individually. It should not be interpreted as a statement that every employee or attorney at The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C. holds the same credential.

For a consultation, bring the information you have about the accident and injury. The firm can discuss the facts and explain whether it can offer representation. The certification provides background for that conversation; it cannot determine the result of a claim that has yet to be investigated.

Frequently asked questions

Is certification required to handle injury cases?

Texas does not require this voluntary credential before a properly licensed lawyer can practice in the field. Ask an uncertified lawyer about relevant experience just as you would ask a certified lawyer about your particular case.

Does “first chair” mean the same thing as lead counsel?

People use first chair informally. For an application, use the TBLS definition. It asks about primary responsibility and specified trial activities, including witness examination, rather than relying on the informal label.

Are five jury cases enough by themselves?

The ordinary initial requirement includes ten qualifying civil trials overall, at least five of them personal injury jury trials, plus the separate day counts. Five jury cases alone do not establish that the full trial requirement has been met.

Can a motion hearing count toward the trial total?

The specialty standard excludes summary-judgment hearings and other pretrial proceedings. Applicants should read the qualifying-trial definition before adding a proceeding to their list.

Does a lawyer need new jury trials at each renewal?

The ordinary renewal standard does not repeat the initial numerical trial requirement. To learn about recent trials, ask the lawyer directly.

Can education credits count toward both State Bar and TBLS requirements?

Some can, if they qualify under both sets of rules. The specialty content, reporting details and credit period still need to be checked.

Are the professional references available to clients?

The reference responses are confidential. You can check current certification through TBLS without obtaining the comments submitted during the application.

Does certification guarantee a better settlement?

It does not. The evidence, legal issues, coverage and decisions in the individual matter still have to be evaluated. No fixed settlement increase follows from the designation.

How can I check an attorney's certification?

Look up the lawyer by full name in the TBLS directory. Check which specialty appears. You can contact TBLS if a record is unclear or ask the attorney to explain how it relates to the advertised credential.

Sources and verification

TBLS: Personal Injury Trial Law certification standards.

TBLS: Attorney Rules and Regulations.

State Bar of Texas: Advertising rules.

TBLS: Program information.

State Bar of Texas: Aaron Alan Herbert's profile.

Firm biography: Aaron A. Herbert.

This article provides general information rather than advice about an individual case. Check current TBLS publications for the requirements that apply to a particular application or renewal. Certification does not guarantee a result.