The Florida Bar defines the specialty of civil trial law as “the practice of law dealing with litigation of civil controversies in all areas of law before state courts, federal courts, administrative agencies and arbitrators.” Civil trial law involves disputes between individuals or businesses that do not involve a criminal penalty. Civil trial lawyers help their clients by prosecuting or defending their cases in court. A civil trial lawyer can file a lawsuit to compel a person or a business to do what the law says they are required to do. A civil trial lawyer may also defend a client from a lawsuit that has been brought against them. Examples of cases that a civil trial lawyer would handle are automobile accidents, personal injury claims, workplace accidents, business disputes, property disputes, defamation claims, lien claims, contract disputes, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, business torts.

To become Board Certified in Civil Trial Law, a lawyer must meet very high standards to show that they have exceptional knowledge, skill and experience in helping clients with their cases. Before a lawyer can be recognized by The Florida Bar as an expert in Civil Trial Law, they must meet the following requirements: do the following:

1. The lawyer must, before even applying for to become board certified, have practice in the area of civil trial law for three years preceding the application;

2. The lawyer must have conducted at least 15 contested civil cases, including cases before a jury as the lead attorney;

3. The lawyer must pass a six hour written examination demonstrating knowledge, skills and proficiency in the field of civil trial law;

4. The lawyer must have completed 50 hours of continuing legal education within the three years preceding applications;

5. The lawyer must satisfy a peer review assessment of their competence in the specialty field plus character, ethics and professionalism in the practice of law.

While many lawyers advertise that they “limit their practice” to trial law, very few actually meet the requirements to be recognized by the Florida Bar as experts in the area of civil trial law. During 2009, there were only slightly more than 1,000 lawyers in Florida who were board certified in the area of civil trial law. This represents a small amount of the numbers of lawyer who are licensed to practice law in the State of Florida.