Update on La. appellate specialization

Today Louis LaCour, chair of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Appellate Section, reported by e-mail to section members that “[the] proposal for the creation of a new specialty with the Louisiana Board of Specialties will be put before the House of Delegates at its June meeting. The Board reviewed the submitted documents last week, and while they have some questions and concerns that will need to be addressed, they felt comfortable pushing it to the next step.” For those of us who focus our practices on appellate advocacy, this is good news.

I encourage everyone who has an interest in this potential new specialty to get involved in the process. It’s important to have a fair cross-section of the appellate bar weigh in: big firms to solo practitioners, plaintiffs’ side and the defense side, criminal and civil. As Louis’s e-mail suggests, the standards for specialization are a continual work in progress. Your voice will help shape them.