What “CELA” Stands For and Why I’m So Proud to Be One

In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson, Southern Illinois Elder Law attorney, explains what CELA means and why he is so proud of this special designation from the National Elder Law Foundation.

Transcript:

Hi, I am Wes Coulson from Dent-Coulson Elder Law in O’Fallon, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri and serving clients in both states and this is your Elder Law Minute. If you’ve seen my name at various places, behind it you will see the letters CELA, pronounced Seela. I want to talk to you today about what that means and why I’m so proud of it.

CELA is short for Certified Elder Law Attorney. It is a designation that is conferred by the National Elder Law Foundation, which is the only organization that is accredited by the American Bar Association to confer practice area specialization in the field of elder law. In saying that, I have to make the disclaimer that as in other fields of practice, neither Missouri nor Illinois recognize this practice area as specialization in the field of elder law.

I’m very proud of that designation. First of all, I am one of only a handful of people in both Illinois and Missouri to have attained it, but it’s really difficult to have obtained. First, you have to pass a very grueling examination that has a less than 50 percent pass rate. Second, you have to have established proficiency in a large number of different branches of the discipline of elder law and you have to demonstrate that, not only by saying I’m good at it, but by showing that over the passed five years before application that you have handled a pretty significant number of cases that involve that. You have to be recommended by other existing certified elder law attorneys.

What does that mean in practical terms for you as a client or prospective client? In short, it means that I really know what I’m doing, that I have a lot of experience doing it, and that I have been recognized by my peers as one of the people who is most particularly qualified in the field. I think what that translates for you is into getting very high quality legal representation. That is most certainly our goal. Thanks so much for your time.

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