Catastrophic injuries caused by another person’s negligence warrant the services of an experienced personal injury lawyer. Selecting an experienced, competent personal injury attorney may seem like a daunting selection process.
However, several third party organizations exist that provide objective, expert ratings for various law firms and individual attorneys across the country. Injury victims and other prospective clients can visit the websites of these independent credentialing organizations to find a reputable, highly-rated personal injury attorney who may also rank among the top lawyers within a practice area.
Overview of Top Independent Attorney Credentialing Organizations
Several independent agencies evaluate law firms all over the US and award credentials for attorneys who demonstrate outstanding service and ethics:
A. Super Lawyers: Super Lawyers is a rating service of established, industry-recognized lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition as well as professional achievement. Each year, Super Lawyers publishes a list of Top 100 Lawyers by state, naming those who have met the standards of their stringent evaluation process. The selection process is multi-phased and involves independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations.
Evaluation Criteria: Super Lawyers screens and selects attorneys using a proprietary, patented multiphase selection process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with third party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis.
- Creation of the Candidate Pool – Lawyers enter the candidate pool by means of formal nomination by a peer or through identification by the research department during the selection and evaluation process.
- Evaluation of Attorney Candidates – Super Lawyers’ research department then evaluates each candidate based on 12 criteria of peer recognition and professional achievement:
- Verdicts and settlements
- Transactions
- Representative clients
- Experience
- Honors and awards
- Special licenses and certifications
- Position within law firm
- Bar and or other professional activity
- Pro bono and community service as a lawyer
- Scholarly lectures and writings
- Education and employment background
- Misc., relevant outstanding achievements
- Peer Evaluation by Practice Area – In this step, lawyer candidates are grouped according to their primary areas of practice. The candidates in each practice area with the highest point totals awarded from steps 1 and 2 above are asked to serve on a “blue ribbon” panel. The panelists are then provided a list of candidates from their practice areas to review, rating them on a scale of 1 to 10.
- Final Selection – Candidates are grouped one final time into four firm-size categories. Those attorneys with the highest point totals from each category are then selected. This means solo and small firm lawyers are compared with other solo and small firm attorneys, and large firm lawyers compete with other large firm lawyers. The process culminates with five percent of the total lawyers in the state being selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers’ credentialing.
B. AVVO: Avvo’s mission is to help prospective clients make the best informed decisions possible for their legal representation needs. Selecting the right lawyer often comes at a critical time in life, particularly in cases of catastrophic injury when a loved one is recovering in a hospital or rehabilitation center and medical bills are piling up.
Avvo serves the public based on a few general principles of providing an unmatched level of transparency. Many of the online resources available today only show information about the attorneys who pay higher fees to be promoted or “showcased”. Avvo promotes its select attorneys with an unbiased approach and keeps all information objective and on a level playing field. Avvo provides data on all licensed lawyers, enabling people who may know very little about law to make intelligent, informed decisions.
C. Martindale Hubbell: Martindale Hubbell showcases its own list of local lawyers who have attained the highest levels of ethical standards and professional excellence. MDH grants ratings based on a standardized system of ratings criteria. Thousands of people use the network every day to find local attorneys, confirm their credentials, and select firms that provide services for their personal and professional legal needs.
Peer Review Ratings: The Martindale-Hubbell (MDH) Peer Review Ratings is a proprietary, trademarked set of standards. These ratings are an objective indicator of a lawyer’s high ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the US and Canada. The first review to establish a lawyer’s rating usually occurs three years after his/her first admission to the bar.
Rating Categories:
- Legal Knowledge – The lawyer’s familiarity with the laws governing his/her specific area(s) of practice
- Analytical Capabilities – The attorney’s creativity in analyzing legal issues and applying technical knowledge
- Judgment – A lawyer’s demonstration of the salient factors that drive the outcome of a given case or issue
- Communication Ability – An attorney’s capability to communicate persuasively and credibly
- Legal Experience – The Lawyer’s degree of experience in his/her specific area or areas of practice
Rating Grades:
- AV Preeminent® (4.5-5.0) – AV Preeminent® is a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence
- BV Distinguished® (3.0-4.4) – BV Distinguished® is an excellent rating for a lawyer with some experience. A widely respected mark of achievement, it differentiates a lawyer from his or her competition
- Rated (1.0-2.9) – The Peer Review Rated designation demonstrates that the lawyer has met the very high criteria of General Ethical Standing
References:
AVVO
