Art Laske is proud to be recognized as a Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, along with only approximately 100 trial attorneys in the State of Connecticut.  Attorney Laske was first certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in 1998.  He was recertified for an additional five years in 2003. 

The National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) is a non-profit organization located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1977, NBTA is dedicated to bettering the quality of trial advocacy in our nation's courtrooms and assisting the consumer of legal services in finding experienced and highly qualified trial lawyers. Theodore I. Koskoff was the Founder and, until 1987, served as the President and Chairman of the Board. In addition to being Senior Partner in the Bridgeport, Connecticut law firm of Koskoff, Koskoff and Bieder, Mr. Koskoff was a pioneer in the field of specialization. He was also a Past President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Roscoe Pound Foundation and the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association. NBTA was housed, and fully supported by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America until its move to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1987 when it became an independent nonprofit corporation.

NBTA is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) to certify lawyers in the specialty areas of civil, criminal and family law trial advocacy. The organization went through a rigorous application process wherein panels were chosen by the ABA-Standing Committee on Specialization to evaluate each aspect of NBTA's structure. This review included not only NBTA’s standards and certification policies but also an intensive evaluation of all aspects of the operation from financial solvency to a complete screening of all decision makers.

The NBTA philosophy is that bona fide attorney certification programs--particularly in trial advocacy--can substantially advance the public interest. Over fifteen years ago, then-Chief Justice Burger commented that "some system of certification for trial advocates is an imperative and long overdue step." Burger, The Special Skills of Advocacy: Are Specialized Training and Certification of Advocates Essential to Our System of Justice? 42 Fordham L.Rev. 227 (1973.)

NBTA' s areas of certification are civil, criminal and family law trial advocacy. The standards set forth by the Board of Directors are challenging and meaningful. NBTA is a voluntary certification. It is not a requirement to practice law and, therefore, any lawyer who has taken the extra time and effort to achieve this credential can be justifiably proud. A consumer of legal services who chooses an NBTA member can be sure of obtaining a highly experienced trial law practitioner.

It is important to note that every NBTA board certified attorney has met all the standards (Civil, Criminal, or Family Law) for initial certification and recertification. There have been no exceptions and no attorney has ever been "grandfathered" in or waived from any requirement.

The standards are as follows:

Once an attorney has met and documented the standards for NBTA certification Civil, Criminal, or Family Law), he or she remains an active member for five years, subject to annual reporting which continues to meet the requirements of the Standards Committee. All members have an ongoing responsibility to inform NBTA of any misconduct which may arise during the course of the certification. Good standing is also confirmed on an annual basis by way of a formal annual reporting component of the NBTA certification. All misconduct matters are reviewed and ruled upon in the same fashion as initial certification. Once the five year period is completed, the member is required to apply for recertification.

The requirements for recertification are as follows:

NBTA's certification procedures are widely recognized as exemplary. The Task Force on Lawyer Competence of the Conference of Chief Justices found in a 1982 report that:

The National Board of Trial Advocacy, a national certification program that provides recognition for superior achievement in trial advocacy, uses a highly-structured examination to select its members ...

[Certification by the National Board of Trial Advocacy is an arduous process that employs a wide range of assessment methods and entails considerable cost to the candidate.

Report with Findings and Recommendations to The Conference of Chief Justices, May 26, 1982 (Publication Number NCSC-021).

The Supreme Court of Minnesota has recognized that "NBTA applies a rigorous and exacting set of standards and examinations on a national scale before certifying a lawyer as a trial specialist, either criminal or civil or both." In re Johnson, 341 N.W.2d 282, 283 (Min. 1983); see also ex parte Howell, 487 So2d 848 (Ala. 1986).

As the US Supreme Court stated in their opinion:

"There is no dispute about the bona fides and the relevance of NBTA certification. The [Attorney Registration and Disciplinary] Commission's concern about the possibility of deception in hypothetical cases is not sufficient to rebut the constitutional presumption favoring disclosure over concealment. Disclosure of information such as that on petitioner's letterhead both serves the public interest and encourages the development and utilization of meritorious certification programs for attorneys."

Peel v. Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of Illinois, 110 S.Ct. 2281, (1990).