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The National Board of Legal Specialty Certification (NBLSC) is a non-profit board certification organization in the United States which administers four national board certification programs for attorneys in Civil Trial Law, Criminal Trial Law, Family Trial Law, and Social Security Disability Law. To become board-certified, an attorney must meet substantial professional requirements and undergo a peer review process. There are currently more than 2,400 attorneys who are certified by the NBLSC. The organization is led by board of directors of noted trial lawyers, law professors, and judges.〔"(About the NBLSC )." National Board of Legal Specialty Certification.〕 Based in Wrentham, Massachusetts, the NBLSC was founded as the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA). It adopted its current name in 2006. The National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) and the National Board of Social Security Disability Advocacy are now two divisions within the NBLSC.〔 The NBLSC's stated mission is to "inform and educate the public concerning legal representation by board certified specialists" and "recognize and promote excellence in legal advocacy through a national program certifying specialists predicated on high standards of demonstrated competence and integrity."〔"(Our Mission )." National Board of Legal Specialty Certification.〕 The NBLSC is the largest and oldest of the seven private board-certification organizations for attorneys that the American Bar Association (ABA) accredits through its Standing Committee on Specialization.〔(Standing Committee on Specialization ), American Bar Association. The others are the American Board of Certification (dealing with bankruptcy law and creditors' rights); the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys (legal and medical professional liability law); the National Association of Counsel for Children (child welfare/advocacy); the Estate Law Specialist Board, Inc., a subsidiary of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (estate law and planning); National College for DUI Defense (dealing with defense of driving under the influence); and the National Elder Law Foundation (elder law).〕 In addition, many state bar organizations maintain certification programs. ==History== In 1973 at the annual Sonnett Lecture at Fordham University School of Law, Chief Justice of the United States Warren Burger stated that "some system of certification for trial advocates is an imperative and long overdue step."〔Warren Burger, The Special Skills of Advocacy: Are Specialized Training and Certification of Advocates Essential to Our System of Justice? 42 ''Fordham L.Rev.'' 227 (1973).〕 Burger stated that the absence of certification programs "has helped bring about the low state of American trial advocacy and a consequent diminution in the quality of our entire system of justice."〔Id. at 230〕 Burger endorsed board certification of trial lawyers as "basic to a fair system of justice" and, referring to barristers, wrote that the idea had "historic recognition in the common law system."〔Id. at 239.〕 By the time Burger promoted the idea, board certification for physicians was already been well-established, with Dr. Derrick T. Vail first proposing certification in his presidential address to the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology in 1908. However, the idea of board certification for trial lawyers was new, and one author describes the reaction of the American legal profession as "startled.".〔Thomas F. Gibbons, The Right to Specialize: Restriction on Lawyer Advertising May Fall, 76 ''A.B.A. J.'' 56 (1990)〕 In response to Burger's call to action, the National Board of Trial Advocacy was founded in 1977 by prominent Connecticut trial attorney Theodore I. Koskoff. Koskoff established the non-profit organization as a group "dedicated to bettering the quality of trial advocacy in our nation's courtrooms and assisting the consumer of legal services in finding experienced and highly qualified trial lawyers."〔Wolfgang Saxon, "(Theodore I. Koskoff, 75, Lawyer )" (obituary). ''New York Times'' March 14, 1989.〕〔"(Theodore I. Koskoff (1913-1987) )." Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, PC.〕 Initially, NBTA was housed within the offices of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. In 1987, the Association moved to Suffolk University Law School in Boston, where the law school provided office space. Shortly thereafter, the NBTA became fully self-supporting and set up offices on Tremont Street one block from Government Center. The NBTA remained in Boston until about 2001, when it moved to its current headquarters in Wrentham, Massachusetts. In 2006, the National Board of Trial Advocacy changed its name to the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification, and the National Board of Trial Advocacy became a division of the renamed organization. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「National Board of Legal Specialty Certification」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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