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MSBA CERTIFIES MT&C ATTORNEY AS REAL PROPERTY LAW SPECIALIST

The Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) announced that attorney Jeffrey C. O'Brien of Mansfield Tanick & Cohen, P.A., has been certified as a real property law specialist. Specialist certification refers to an attorney who has completed a rigorous approval process in addition to passing the Bar exam, to establish full qualification for reliable experience and skills as a legal specialist in a specific legal area. This certification makes O'Brien one of a limited number of attorneys in Minnesota to have earned the credential. While 2,000 attorneys belong to the MSBA real property law section, only 349 are currently board certified as real property law specialists.

Certification is recognized in many professions as a reliable way to identify practitioners who have demonstrated superior knowledge, skill and integrity in a specific field. Although relatively new to the legal profession, the medical profession has been certifying specialists for close to 100 years. "Specialist certification helps prospective clients identify an attorney who can assist them in a highly professional manner and has grown in importance as the number of lawyers continues to increase and the areas of law become ever more complex," states James H. Gilbert, former associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

With his certification, O'Brien brings the number of certified Mansfield Tanick & Cohen attorneys to two, as founding shareholder Marshall H. Tanick is an MSBA board certified civil trial specialist.

To earn the real property law specialist credential, an attorney must pass an examination in real property law, demonstrate a substantial level of experience and legal education in real estate matters, pass a disciplinary check and successfully obtain objective review by attorneys familiar with their expertise. Compliance with certification standards is audited every year. Every six years the specialist must be recertified to insure the attorney has maintained his expertise.

The Minnesota State Bar Association has been accredited by the Minnesota State Board of Legal Certification to certify attorneys as real property law specialists since 1989. More information about the MSBA Board Certified Legal Specialists is available at http://www.mnbar.org/.