In 1980, the state Supreme Court established a Board on Attorney Certification to implement a new civil certification program designed to raise the level of competence of attorneys in the state. The court, unlike in most other states where lawyers were certified in substantive areas of the law, decided to proceed with a certification process in the procedural categories of civil trial practice and criminal trial practice. Certification was and is extended only to attorneys who have demonstrated proficiency in civil litigation, the carrot to certification, being that they can accept referrals and be able to reward the referring attorney a percentage of the fee charged the client without participation in the matter by the referring attorney.