The American Board of Certification announced that Husch Blackwell Sanders Associate Michael D. Fielding has successfully completed the requirements for national certification in business bankruptcy law.* There are only 11 other attorneys in Missouri who are business board certified, including Husch Blackwell Sanders Partners John Cruciani and Mark Benedict.
To become certified, Fielding satisfied the following requirements:
- full time practice of law for at least five years;
good standing in the bars of all states that a license to practice law is held;
- devoted at least 30% of practice time and at least 400 hours to bankruptcy related matters in the last three years;
- documented involvement business bankruptcy by providing information on cases practiced;
- demonstrated commitment to continuing legal education by earning at least 60 hours of bankruptcy education in the past three years;
- passed an extensive, day-long written examination covering business bankruptcy issues.
The American Board of Certification (ABC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the public and improving the quality of the bankruptcy bar. The rigorous ABC certification standards are designed to encourage bankruptcy practitioners to strive toward excellence and to recognize those attorneys who are experts in the bankruptcy field. The ABC offers separate certification programs in business and consumer bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. All three ABC certification programs are accredited by the American Bar Association.
Even Congress has recognized the value of certification by adding it to the list of Section 330 compensation factors in the new bankruptcy law. Legislators and courts recognize that the successful operation of the bankruptcy system depends upon the involvement of professionals with special expertise. This new law recognizes that Board certification provides a simple, meaningful and objective measure of skill and expertise in the bankruptcy field.
The ABC is co-sponsored by The American Bankruptcy Institute and the Commercial Law League of America.
*Neither the Supreme Court of Missouri nor the Missouri Bar reviews or approves certifying organizations or specialist designations.