A Board-Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer
The State Bar of Texas offers more to Texas lawyers than just ensuring they’re allowed to practice law in the state. To encourage everyone to continue on a path toward excellence, specialization certifications are offered for those who meet the requirements.
It’s an elite distinction that the Car Crash Captain has earned. But the road to being among just 2% of all Texas personal injury lawyers wasn’t one that came easily, there’s quite the process behind it.
The Rigorous Professional Path to Certification
There are some professions that give you a stamp of approval if you fill out a form and pay your annual fee.
This is not one of them.
Becoming a board-certified personal injury trial lawyer in Texas isn’t an easy process. And that’s probably why only 2% of lawyer earn this designation. Even just to apply, the qualifications include:
- Practicing law for at least five years.
- At least three years of personal injury trial law experience.
- Tried at least 10 personal injury trial law cases.
- Completed 60 hours of Texas Board of Legal Specialization approved continuing ed.
- Have qualified references from judges and lawyers in the area.
Now, if that was all required, it would be a bit strenuous, but rather attainable for many more lawyers out there. But, as we mentioned, those are the requirements to apply. There’s more to it.
Once that application is accepted, then the lawyer pursuing this designation has to take a test. For a Dallas-based personal injury lawyer, like Zach Herbert, that meant booking some time in Austin and completing a grueling six-hour exam.
The first half of that test is a series of multiple-choice questions. The second half of that test is answering essay questions. Even meeting the qualifications, if you don’t pass you can try again – to an extent. Failing the exam three times means a three year wait before reapplying. Learn more about what it takes to earn this certification on the TBLS website.
The Rigorous Personal Path to Certification
Early in his career, Zach saw one of his senior associates earn the accolades that came with this designation. It was highly celebrated throughout the firm, and Zach was determined that he too would pursue this coveted designation. The requirements to apply were largely completed throughout his journey as a lawyer. Some of his first positions were working for a firm that was heavily involved in trials – that wasn’t as big of an issue as preparing for the test.
Then came the time to study. He was determined to fill evenings and weekends leading up to the test with immersing himself in the study. And, as with all things, that didn’t go quite as easily as he hoped.
Running a busy law firm, four kids at home, and ensuring that his relationship with his wife didn’t suffer meant that studying was often put on the back burner. Dedication to family first meant that even studying for this important test had to be relegated to a different time.
As the day of the testing approached, he found that time, and even headed down to Austin a few days in advance, shut off his phone for most of the day, and poured himself into studying for three solid days.
The big day came. The test was taken. And while he felt good about it, the official stance was – wait a couple months until we tell you whether or not you passed.
“I did a good job of compartmentalizing.” He explains, “I knew results weren’t going to be released until January, so no sense wondering before that time came.” Still, the waiting was the worst part. And once January it was a constant wonder if the results were coming in on that day.
One evening, sitting on the couch with his wife, an email came through on his phone.
He passed.
With much joy and relief, the family celebrated.
What this Means for Herbert Law Group Clients
This isn’t just a personal victory for Zach. It’s a mark of trust and expertise. The legal market is competitive, and in the Dallas area there are a lot of personal injury lawyers. This board certification helps to set him apart. It shows that clients of Herbert Law Group are receiving service from some of the top lawyers in the industry, and they can take comfort in the fact that Zach, and the rest of the team, know what they’re doing.
Herbert Law Group Continues to Serve the Dallas Area
It was a long and often difficult journey. But in the end, it was worth the late-night studying, the sacrificed weekends, and the anxious moments counting down the days until the official word came through.
All the while, Herbert Law Group continued to help those who have been injured due to someone else’s negligence.
If you fall into that category, or if a loved one has passed away in a wreck because someone else was at fault, we should talk about it. Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form, and rest assured that one of the top attorneys in the state will be contacting you shortly.
