Florida is set to become the first state in the country to offer board certification in the
area of international litigation and arbitration, following a ruling by the Florida Supreme Court
yesterday.
Florida has for over a decade had a certification program in international law, which
covers many aspects of transactional work. Now, those who practice primarily in the areas of
international litigation and arbitration will have the ability to obtain board certification, as well.
The movement to create an international litigation and arbitration certification program
commenced nearly a decade ago in the Florida Bar’s International Law Section. Since the late
90’s Florida attorneys have increasingly been handling sophisticated, large scale international
disputes that had been traditionally addressed by attorneys in New York and Washington DC.
With the remarkable growth in the number of highly-skilled attorneys who devote much of their
time to handling international litigation and arbitration matters, in Florida, has come a strong
push for recognition of this specialty.
Gary Davidson, a Partner at Diaz Reus, who headed up the effort to create this new
board certification over the last eight years, explained: “This new program is a recognition of
how important international litigation and arbitration have become to our state.” Davidson
expressed thanks to the many members of the International Law Section of the Florida Bar who
devoted time and energy to this effort: “I particularly want to thank Ed Mullins at Reed Smith and
Ryan Reetz at Bryan Cave who worked tirelessly with me to see this seemingly never- ending
project to completion”.
Ed Mullins pointed out that “Florida is on the cutting edge of legal practice in
international litigation and arbitration and this latest development — the creation of this
recognized specialty in Florida – reinforces that notion”. Ryan Reetz observed that the Florida
legal community has witnessed significant growth in the number of out-of-state and foreign law
firms opening offices in Florida. “This is happening in part because we have devoted a lot of
time and energy to making international legal work a mainstay in our communities; the
establishment of this new certification program is one of many steps that will ensure its
continued vitality”.
For further information please contact Marie Battier at mcbattier@attitudeconsulting.
com; (786) 319-19-70 or Gary Davidson at [email protected]; 305-375-9220.
