Senior Assistant County Attorney Sylvia Torres has achieved Board Certification in City, County and Local Government Law from the Florida Bar. Florida Bar Board Certification is the highest level of evaluation for the competency and experience of an attorney in their area of the law. To become board certified in City, County and Local Government Law, an attorney must be a member in good standing of The Florida Bar, must have practiced law for at least five years and must have demonstrated substantial involvement — 40 percent or more — in the practice of city, county and local government law during the three years preceding application. In addition, the attorney must receive satisfactory peer review of their competence in this specialty as well as of their character, ethics and professionalism in the practice of law, pass a comprehensive written examination, and complete 60 hours of continuing legal education in the specialty within the three years immediately preceding application.
In speaking of Ms. Torres’, County Attorney Michele Lieberman said, “Board certification is the highest recognized level of expertise, ethics, and professionalism. I am very proud of Ms. Torres’ achievement and the hard work and dedication involved. Her accomplishment is a testament to the superior quality legal services the County Attorney’s Office provides and our staff’s dedication to its clients and those whom our clients serve.”
Ms. Torres becomes the third attorney in the County Attorney’s Office to be board certified in this area of law. County Attorney Michele Lieberman has been board certified in City, County and Local Government Law since 2005, and Senior Assistant County Attorney Michael Durham has been board certified in this area since 2008. Only 7% of Florida Bar members who are eligible, approximately 4,800 lawyers, are board certified. Of those, only 247 Florida lawyers are board certified in the area of City, County and Local Government Law.
The mission of the Alachua County Attorney’s Office is to serve the citizens of Alachua County by providing legal representation of the highest quality to the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners, its departments, boards and committees, Alachua County’s Constitutional Officers, the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization and the Alachua County Library District.
For more information, contact the Alachua County Attorney’s Office at 352-374-5218.
