Tad Bartlett and Jason Burge Achieve LBLS Appellate Practice Specialization Certification

Fishman Haygood is proud to announce that Tad Bartlett and Jason Burge have successfully completed all criteria for certification as specialists in appellate practice. The goal of this certification, and others like it, is to promote and improve the availability, accessibility, and quality of legal services to better serve the public interest. The typically year-long process, which is regulated and administered by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization (LBLS), involves submitting an extensive application ensuring compliance with detailed appellate experience benchmarks, providing reference statements, and taking and passing a two-part written examination that includes both a brief-writing exercise and a multi-hour proctored exam on federal and state appellate procedure, among other requirements. Once achieved, certification is effective for five years, after which time attorneys may recertify. Read more about lawyer specialization here.

The purpose of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Plan of Legal Specialization is to assist consumers in finding a lawyer who has demonstrated ability and experience in specialized fields of law. Appellate applicants must have served as lead counsel for (or had substantial responsibility in) 20 or more appellate matters, must have presented at least five oral arguments in an appellate court, and must certify that a minimum of 25% of their law practice is in the field of appellate practice for four out of the five years prior to application. They also consent to a confidential inquiry by the LBLS and/or the Appellate Practice Advisory Commission. In addition, appellate practice specialists are required to obtain 15 hours of CLE credits each year specifically approved for appellate specialization credit.

There are only 19 appellate practice specialists in Louisiana, with 13 in New Orleans. Tad and Jason are two of five approved for certification this cycle. Click here to see the full list. Notably, with Tad and Jason certified, Fishman Haygood is one of only two firms in the state with multiple certified appellate specialists.

Tad heads Fishman Haygood’s Appellate Section. After clerking for the Hon. James L. Dennis on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Tad has continued to develop and nurture an appellate-focused practice, assisting clients on appellate matters in all Louisiana state courts, as well as in matters before the U.S. Second, Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, and in certiorari practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. He runs the Take the Fifth blog, which digests all opinions released by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, summarizes all opinions designated for publication, and tracks statistics on opinion releases from the Circuit. Read more about Tad here.

Jason served as a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and often represents clients in appeals in the U.S. Second, Fifth, and Ninth Circuits, as well as all Louisiana state courts of appeal. Jason’s appellate work has spanned the spectrum from bankruptcy, to both plaintiff and defendant class action issues, to banking law, to complex commercial disputes. Click here to learn about Jason’s practice.

Fishman Haygood handles appeals for both plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation across many subject matters, in review of administrative proceedings, and, as part of our pro bono commitment, in immigration and post-conviction proceedings. The appellate practice at Fishman Haygood is not limited to representation before the appellate courts but also includes advising clients and their trial counsel on litigation issues to ensure proper preservation of appellate issues at the trial court. Read more about our Appellate Practice here.

Congratulations to these outstanding attorneys!