What does it mean to be Board Certified in Civil Trial Law?

Board Certification is a mark of excellence and a specific accomplishment. Within the Texas legal community, Board Certification means an attorney has substantial, relevant experience in a select field of law and demonstrated and tested special competence in that area of law. Board-certified lawyers earn the right to publicly represent themselves as specialists in a select area of the law. They are the only attorneys allowed by the State Bar of Texas. This designation sets them apart as an attorney with the highest public commitment to excellence in their area of law.

The Board Certification program is administered by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (“TBLS”). Today, the TBLS is the nation’s largest and most successful legal board certification program.

One of the areas of demonstrated expertise and knowledge is in Civil Trial Law. The TBLS defines that area as “litigation involving contracts, businesses and business owners, negligence, creditors and debtors, fair debt collection, landlord and tenant, and deceptive trade practices act.”

There are more than 90,000 total lawyers in Texas, and only 749 are Board Certified in Civil Trial Law, which is less than 1% of the total.

At the time Mr. Kuykendall became Board certified in Civil Trial Law in Texas in 2013, the requirements were:



a. Have tried a minimum of 20 civil trials in a court of record in Texas, including at least seven jury trials conducted by the applicant as lead counsel;

b. Provided a minimum of 5 references, including four Texas attorneys who are substantially involved in civil trial law with at least one of those attorneys have tried a case with or against the applicant; and one judge whom the applicant has appeared before as an advocate in a civil trial matter;

c. Practice in the area of civil trial law for a specified minimum percentage of the attorney’s work time; and

d. Pass a comprehensive six-hour exam on various areas of civil trial law as determined by the Board of Law Examiners.

Copyright © 2014, Texas Board of Legal Specialization

Standards for this certification have changed since 2014, but Mr. Kuykendall

would have fulfilled the requirements under the new standards.

The requirements now are as follows:

  • Practice law fulltime for at least 5 years as an active member of the State Bar of Texas;
  • At least 3 years of Civil Trial Law experience with a yearly minimum 30% substantial involvement in Civil Trial Law matters;
  • Tried at least 15 civil trials that meet substantive requirements;
  • Qualified vetted references from judges and lawyers in the area;
  • Complete 60 hours of TBLS approved continuing legal education in Civil Trial Law;
  • Meet all of the TBLS Standards for Attorney Certification; and
  • Pass a comprehensive 6-hour examination in Civil Trial Law. 


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