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What is Board Certified in Bankruptcy Law & What are the Requirements?

Lawyer Advertising in New Mexico Regarding
"Specialization"

Many successful lawyers seek to distinguish themselves by becoming board certified in various areas of law. The State of New Mexico's Rule of Professional conduct Rule 7.4 sets rules for lawyers who wish to advertise that they have a "specialty" or "specialize" in a particular area of law.

New Mexico offers two paths for an attorney to become specialized in an area of law. The first path is through the New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization, which recognizes specialties in the following areas of law:

1. Appellate Law
2. Bankruptcy Law-Business
3. Bankruptcy Law-Consumer
4. Employment and Labor Law
5. Environmental Law
6. Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law
7. Family Law
8. Federal Indian Law
9. Local Government Law
10. Natural Resources Law
11. Real Estate Law
12. Taxation Law
13. Trial Specialist-Civil Law
14. Trial Specialist-Criminal Law
15. Workers' Compensation Law

New Mexico also recognizes that there are national organizations who accredit attorneys as specialists through strict standards. If a lawyer licensed in New Mexico wishes to apply for such a specialization and obtains it, that is permissible. However, if that lawyer wishes to advertise or place that specialization where the public can be exposed to it, that lawyer must adhere to the requirements of the Legal Specialization Rules. Some of the pertinent rules are:

ARTICLE 2 - Specialization Rules

19-201. Specialization rules; purpose.

The purpose of the Rules of Legal Specialization is to assist in the delivery of legal services to the public by:

A. providing greater access by the public to appropriate legal services;

B. identifying and improving the quality and competence of legal services; and

C. providing appropriate legal services at reasonable cost.
[As amended, effective March 15, 1995.]

19-202. Privileges conferred and limitations imposed.

The board in the implementation of these rules shall not alter the following privileges and responsibilities of certified specialists and other lawyers.

A. Scope of practice. No standard shall be approved which shall in any way limit the right of a certified specialist to practice in all fields of law. A lawyer, alone or in association with any other lawyer, shall have the right to practice in all fields of law, even though the lawyer is certified as a specialist in a particular field of law.

B. Practice of nonspecialist. No lawyer shall be required to be certified as a specialist in order to practice in the field of law covered by that specialty. A lawyer, alone or in association with any other lawyer, shall have the right to practice in any field of law, even though the lawyer is not certified as a specialist in that field.

C. Individual certification. All requirements for and all benefits to be derived from certification as a specialist are individual and may not be fulfilled by nor attributed to the law firm of which the specialist may be a member.

D. Voluntary participation. Participation in the program shall be on a completely voluntary basis.

E. Multiple specialties. A lawyer may be certified as a specialist in more than one field of law. The limitation on the number of specialties in which a lawyer may be certified as a specialist shall be determined only by such practical limits as are imposed by the requirement of substantial involvement and such other standards as may be established by the board as a prerequisite to certification as a specialist.

F. Limited representation. When a client is referred by another lawyer to a lawyer who is a certified specialist under these rules on a matter within the specialist’s field of law, such specialist shall not take advantage of the referral to enlarge the scope of representation and, consonant with any requirements of the Rules of Professional Conduct of this state, such specialist shall not enlarge the scope of representation of a referred client outside the area of the specialty field.

G. Advertisement. Any lawyer certified by the board as a specialist may include the following or similar statement in a legal advertisement or solicitation: "New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization certified specialist in the area of _____________________ (set forth board certified specialty)" to the extent permitted by the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The New Mexico relevant Rule of Professional conduct is Rule 16- 704. These requirements are as follows:

Rule 16-704 Communication of Fields of Practice and Certification

A lawyer may communicate the fact that the lawyer does or does not practice in particular fields of law as permitted by Subparagraph (2) of Paragraph D of Rule 16-702. A lawyer shall not state or imply that the lawyer is a specialist except as follows:

A. Patent Practice. A lawyer admitted to engage in patent practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office may use the designation "Patent Attorney" or a substantially similar designation;

B. Admiralty Practice. A lawyer engaged in admiralty practice may use the designation "Admiralty," "Proctor in Admiralty" or a substantially similar designation;

C. Board Recognized Specialists. A lawyer who has complied with the requirements of the New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization to become a board recognized specialist may indicate that he is a board recognized specialist in his areas of specialty; and

D. Certification by Organization. A lawyer who is certified in a particular area of the law by an organization other than the New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization may so state so long as such certification is available to all lawyers who meet objective and consistently applied standards relevant in a particular area of the law, and the statement is accompanied by a prominent disclaimer that such certification does not constitute recognition by the New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization, unless the lawyer is also recognized by the board as a specialist in that area of law or the board does not recognize specialization in that area.

In New Mexico and in the area of Bankruptcy, an entity that Albuquerque lawyers are able to publicly discuss their certification is a company called the:

American Board of Certification (ABC)
101 Second Street SE, Suite 904
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
(319) 365-2222
www.abcworld.org

They offer a certification in Business Bankruptcy and Consumer Bankruptcy.

If you wish to retain a qualified Albuquerque bankruptcy attorney, it is not essential that they be a "Specialist" in bankruptcy law to do an excellent job. However, if you wish to only choose a lawyer that has earned a "Specialization" from either the New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization and/or the American Board of Certification and you are unsure if they have a specialization, simply ask if they do hold such a specialization.

Serving clients throughout Northern Central New Mexico, including Albuquerque, Belen, Edgewood, Espanola, Gallup, Grants, Laguna, Las Vegas, Los Alamos, Los Lunas, Nambe, Rio Rancho, Santa Domingo Pueblo, Santa Fe, Santa Rosa, Socorro, Taos, Truth Or Consequences, Tucumcari, areas in the vicinity of Albuquerque International Sunport, Kirtland Air Force Base, and other communities in Sandoval County.