I read with some interest about the various proposals for solicitors to undergo ‘real time’ peer review to assist in measuring their competence (see [2010] Gazette, 1 April, 1). While the proposals strike me as overly burdensome, the issue of competence is certainly a relevant inquiry.

Here in the US, some state bars, including my home state of Florida, have developed a programme of certification so that lawyers may be designated as ‘specialists’ in certain areas of the law. For example, I am a certified Health Lawyer as I practise in the area of ‘Health Law’.

To become certified, a lawyer must: have practised over 70% of the time in a particular area of the law for a minimum of five years; pass an examination; be recommended by peers practising in the same area of law; maintain certain hours of continuing education in the relevant area of law. The certification is good for five years, at which time the process, minus the examination, begins again.

Many solicitors in the US already undergo a rigorous ‘peer review’ programme as practising attorneys. Perhaps this system is something the Solicitors Regulation Authority would consider as a means of assuring the public of a solicitor’s competence.

Robert A Zack, Certified health lawyer, solicitor of England and Wales, Sarasota, Florida