It is an honor and privilege to serve another two-year term as President of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, a national organization comprised of esteemed and prominent professional negligence attorneys.

Since the ABPLA was first organized in 1972, professional negligence law has become increasingly complex, requiring lawyers to become specialists in the nuances of legal or medical negligence in order to serve their clients competently and effectively. In such an environment, the need is ever greater to provide consumers with an objective standard by which to assess professional negligence attorneys. Board certification provides them with such a benchmark. It is ABPLA’s continuing mission to certify attorneys according to the highest standards of Experience, Ethics, Education, Examination and Excellence. Through this rigorous process, ABPLA offers consumers a clear standard of excellence for selecting malpractice attorneys in whom they can have confidence. For attorneys specializing in professional negligence liability, ABPLA serves as a unifying national voice, which increases our visibility as leaders in the marketplace we serve.

Since 1997, ABPLA has been the only organization accredited by the American Bar Association for certifying professional negligence attorneys. In 2008, the American Bar Association extended its accreditation to ABPLA for an additional five-year term. We have aggressive plans to move the organization forward, broadening its member base while increasing public awareness of the value of board certification. It is our goal to identify and certify exceptional professional attorneys in every state, and to make available to prospective clients the names of those board-certified attorneys.

I encourage outstanding professional negligence attorneys to apply for board certification. When you become an ABPLA diplomate, you will be one of the few able to distinguish yourself to clients as being board-certified in professional negligence. Your name will be included on this website for potential referrals, and to the extent allowed in your state, you will be able to mention your ABPLA board certification on promotional materials and websites identifying yourself as a “specialist” in professional negligence law.

As President, my continued goal is to increase public awareness and appreciation for selecting a board-certified attorney, in much the same way as they would value a board-certified physician. I will continue working to establish ABPLA as a standard of excellence for attorneys specializing in professional negligence liability.

Support for ABPLA has increased over the past few years. In 2008, our ranks grew as twenty-four attorneys undertook the rigorous certification process to become Board Certified Diplomates in either legal or medical professional liability.

I look forward to the future growth of ABPLA, and to continuing its valuable contribution to the public and to the professional negligence bar. I invite and encourage all interested attorneys to join the members of ABPLA for the annual seminar in New Orleans, June 11-14, 2009. In addition to a roster of highly-regarded attorneys speaking on an array of professional negligence topics, the 2009 ABPLA Board Certification examination will be administered on June 12 for those seeking board certification.

If you are interested in attending the annual seminar, or learning more about becoming board certified by APBLA, please contact me at tommym@malonelaw.com or Gail Campbell, Executive Director at gail@abpla.org.

Thomas W. Malone
President, American Board of
Professional Liability Attorneys