To the Honorable Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court:
Report of the Board on Attorney Certification on the Status of Attorney Certification and Expansion of
Certification Into the Area of Real Estate Law
INTRODUCTION
In 1999, the New Jersey Supreme Court Board on Attorney Certification (Board) requested that
the Court consider its recommendation that the attorney certification program in New Jersey be expanded
to encompass real estate law. The Board acted in response to the Court’s request in Opinion 26 of the
Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, 136 NJ 323 (1995), that the Board study the Special
Master’s suggestion that certification in residential real estate law might be appropriate. An Ad Hoc
Committee was appointed by the Court to perform that task and quickly concluded that certification in real
estate law would benefit the public. However, the Ad Hoc Committee’s work led it to go beyond
recommending certification solely in residential real estate matters. Instead, the Ad Hoc Committee
concluded that qualified attorneys should be able to obtain certification in up to three real estate
sub-specialties: residential, commercial, and land use. The Board adopted this recommendation, finding
that to adequately satisfy the needs of legal consumers, the three areas of certification were preferred. The
Board was of the view that, if an area of legal specialty is so broad that consumers are likely to have
difficulty identifying a certified attorney with relevant expertise, then the purpose of certification would be
defeated.
In late 1999, the Court declined to approve certification in three sub-specialties of real estate law,
instead asking the Board to submit a more limited proposal. The Board sought the aid of its Ad Hoc
Committee on Real Estate Certification to devise a somewhat hybrid certification plan, which this report
will discuss following a brief overview of the national trend in lawyer specialty certification programs.
NATIONAL STATISTICS ON LAWYER CERTIFICATION