When you are being investigated or have been charged with a crime, your life and your liberty hang in the balance. This is not television; this is the real world. If you are being investigated, there is almost no such thing as a “fair and unbiased” investigator. The very fact that you are being investigated or charged means that someone of consequence thinks you are guilty of a crime. With your life and liberty at stake, you should seek the very best representation that is available. This is where board certification comes into play. An attorney who is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization has been recognized by the judges, before whom he practices, and the lawyers with whom he associates, as possessing “special competence.” Any of the 98,671 lawyers in Texas can practice in any field that they choose but only 834 of those Texas lawyers have achieved certification as specialists in criminal law.
In addition to judge and peer approval, this certification requires that the attorney have been licensed to practice law for at least five years and devote a large percentage of his practice only to criminal law matters such as trial and appeal. Certification requires that the attorney have handled a wide variety of criminal law matters and stay current with more than the minimum annual Legal Education Seminars. The lawyer must not only have been evaluated by the judges and his fellow lawyers but must have taken and passed a day long, written examination to prove his competence in the field. The failure rate on this exam is significant. Only after having been evaluated, examined and found specially competent by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization is an attorney allowed to include on any advertising or media that he is board certified. You seldom see the designation of board certified in criminal law because the road to such certification is so extremely demanding and difficult. It is your life and liberty that is on the line; whether you are charged with drugs, DWI, DUI, murder or any other felony or misdemeanor, you should seek proven, competent representation. Tim James is not only state certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization but he has also achieved national certification with the National Board of Trial Advocacy in criminal law.
