The Florida Bar awards certification to 154 lawyers.

The Board of Legal Specialization and Education congratulates the 154 lawyers who this year earned Florida Bar board certification, a designation that places them among the only group of Florida lawyers who may use the terms "specialist," "expert" or "B.C.S." for Board Certified Specialist when referring to their legal credentials.

Board certification evaluates attorneys' special knowledge, skills, and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice. About 4,600 of Florida's 96,000 lawyers have earned board certification. Florida offers 24 specialty areas for board certification, more than any other state.

Board certified lawyers are: Evaluated for Professionalism and Tested for Expertise.

Florida Bar President Eugene Pettis, a board certified education lawyer who practices with Haliczer Pettis & Schwamm in Ft. Lauderdale, believes that board certification is becoming a standard of preference for an increasing number of clients.

"In an ever-crowded field of over 96,000 lawyers, the achievement of board certification--the Bar's highest evaluation of a lawyer's competence and experience in a particular area of practice--is the only way of distinguishing yourself as an expert or a specialist," Pettis said. "I highly encourage lawyers to demonstrate their competence and experience through seeking board certification in their professional areas."

The following lawyers, listed by specialty areas and cities, have attained board certification:

Admiralty and Maritime Law

Charles Stuart Davant, Ft. Lauderdale

C. Ryan Eslinger, Jacksonville

Christopher R. Koehler, Tampa

Jason R. Margulies, Pinecrest

Eric C. Thiel, Tampa

Adoption Law

Ginger S. Allen, North Miami Beach

Tammi J. Driver, St Petersburg

Leenetta Blanton Grizzard, Tampa

Steven Hurwitz, Tampa

Appellate Practice

Christopher Dale Donovan, Naples

Jessie L. Harrell, Jacksonville

Andrew D. Manko, Tallahassee

Daniel B. Rogers, Miami

Dineen Pashoukos Wasylik, Tampa

Aviation Law

Jonathan Alexander Ewing, Ft. Lauderda

Charles R. Morgenstein, Boca Raton

Business Litigation

Robert N. Clarke, Jr., Tallahassee

Thomas M. Dryden, Ft. Myers

Gilbert L. Feltel, Jr., Jacksonville

Michael Joseph Furbush, Orlando

Gregory S. Martin, Maitland

Brendan A. McQuaid, Sarasota

J. Anthony Penry, Raleigh

Scott K. Petersen, Sarasota

Martin B. Sipple, Tallahassee

Kathryn Diane Weston, Daytona Beach

City, County and Local

Government Law

Derek V. Howard, Key West

Rebecca Marie Kert, Tampa

Andrew Patrick Lannon, Palm Bay

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