Please see below for information on the selection process methodology for awards referenced throughout our website.
Best Lawyers, published by BL Rankings
Nomination Process
Best Lawyers does not accept nominations for in-house lawyers. All candidates must be in private practice. Please note that the nominator, or number of nominations received, has no effect on a lawyer’s recognition. All lawyers in the previous edition of Best Lawyers are automatically nominated into their recognized practice areas for the next peer-review process and must garner enough positive feedback to be highlighted in the next edition. While there is no limit to the number of lawyers a firm may nominate, we suggest that nominees be in practice for at least 10 years in order to give them time to build a legal presence in their community and practice areas. Anyone can submit a nomination, but we ask that a lawyer not nominate himself or herself.
Balloting Process
Because Best Lawyers voters provide peer-review within their own geographic region and practice areas lawyers are not allowed to select which nominees (from the entire pool) they want to vote on. Ballots are customized by the Best Lawyers staff based on a particular voter’s geographic region and practice area(s).
Voting Process
Lawyers currently recognized in The Best Lawyers in America are eligible to vote. All ballots and information submitted are strictly confidential. “5” is the highest score and indicates that the voter would certainly refer a case to the nominee. “1” is the lowest score and indicates that the voter would definitely not refer a case to the nominee. The option to choose “Do Not Know” is also available to voters, which signifies that the voter is not familiar with a particular candidate‘s work. Lawyers are not allowed to vote on themselves. In order to avoid this altogether, we remove a lawyers’ name from his or her own ballot.
Verification Process
Contact information for all recognized lawyers is confirmed to ensure accurate information and that clients can reach them.
Announcement Process
Lawyers who are recognized in the new edition are alerted via email and hard-copy letter. Marketing departments at firms also receive a complete list of the lawyers from their firm who will be recognized by Best Lawyers.
For more information, please visit https://www.bestlawyers.com/Methodology
Chambers USA and Chambers High Net Worth, published by Chambers & Associates
Often referred to as ‘the gold-standard’, Chambers delivers insight and analysis on the global legal profession that is unrivalled in its reach and depth. Our independent research collects information about organisations, individuals and the marketplace.
1. Making a submission
What are submissions and why provide one?
Submissions are sets of information provided by law firms and lawyers concerning a specific practice area. They present an opportunity to demonstrate why a firm should be ranked in Chambers.
Who can submit and when?
Chambers identifies the best law firms globally, whether they are multi-national or boutique and submissions are open to any practicing law firm. There is no charge to submit. We have a set of annual submission deadlines for each practice area within our guides.
How to make a submission
There is no ”secret formula” to writing a good submission. We simply want a clear summary of the most significant facts about a practice such as:
- Size of the team
- Key partners and individuals
- Key clients
- Work highlights during the past 12 months
- Industry expertise
- Areas of recent growth
When used in conjunction with other sources, this information supports the research process in determining whether a firm or individual should be ranked within our guides.
Providing client referees
We also require a list of referees, whom we may interview. A referee is usually a client, although it can be anyone who has experience and knowledge of a firm in that practice area over the preceding 12 months. Providing referees allows us to gather feedback on a practice. We use these interviews to understand the views and experiences of clients and this helps to inform our decisions about the rankings. Anonymity is a fundamental principle of our research interviews and the identity of interviewees will never be revealed. Any quotes we publish from our interviews are anonymous.
2. The Research Process
How is research conducted?
We rank lawyers and law firms based on several factors and considerations, all of which are investigated by our research team. They are employed full-time and work throughout the year contacting lawyers and clients directly by telephone and email. Research on each practice area is conducted by a dedicated Research Analyst who reviews the submissions provided by the law firms and carries out interviews with clients and lawyers alike. The work of each Research Analyst is overseen by an experienced Editor or Deputy Editor.
3. How does Chambers research inform the rankings?
- Submissions are primarily used for assessing recent work done and comparing peer-to-peer
- Interviews are primarily used for assessing client satisfaction and reputation in the market.
What does Chambers assess?
During our research we analyse the information gathered via submissions and interviews based on a set of main factors and considerations:
- Technical Legal Ability: Expertise and experience specific to the practice area and jurisdiction
- Client service:
- Speed
- Responsiveness
- Clear business language
- Decisive opinions
- Depth of team: Ensuring strong support at all levels
- Commercial vision and business understanding:
- Awareness of the importance of these matters to a client’s business
- Understanding of the future direction of their industry
- Diligence
- Rigorous attention to detail
- Standards of professional conduct
- Value for money:
- Efficient staffing
- Organisation and innovation to save clients time and money
Law Firms and Departments
A law firm ranking relates to a department within the firm, not to the firm itself. Where a firm has several departments specialising in different areas of law, we may rank some departments and not others. Where a firm has several departments specialising in different areas of law, we may rank some departments and not others.
Individual Lawyers
Individual lawyers are ranked in their practice area(s) based on their legal knowledge and experience, their ability, their effectiveness and their client service. Please note that an individual lawyer can be ranked while their law firm is not and vice versa.
Finalising rankings
Researchers, Deputy editors and Editors conduct internal meetings to analyse the research conducted and finalise the ranking tables.
4. Results and awards
Based on the research conducted, Awards are presented to firms to celebrate their achievements and developments, taking into account:
- Notable achievements
- Impressive strategic growth
- Distinguished client service
For more information, please visit https://chambers.com/about-us/methodology
Super Lawyers, published by Thomson Reuters
Every year Super Lawyers selects attorneys from all firm sizes and over 70 practice areas throughout the United States. Learn about this detailed selection process below.
STEP 1: NOMINATIONS / CREATION OF CANDIDATE POOL
Lawyers enter the candidate pool by being formally nominated by a peer or if identified by the research department during the research process.
Formal nominations
Once a year, Super Lawyers invite lawyers in each state to nominate the top attorneys they’ve personally observed in action. Lawyers may nominate attorneys in their own firm, but these nominations count only if each in-firm nomination is matched by at least one out-firm nomination. Each nomination carries a point value and out-firm nominations have a greater point value than in-firm nominations. Lawyers cannot nominate themselves, and must limit their nominations to others who practice in the same state.
The procedures and database have several safeguards that prevent lawyers from “gaming” the system. For example, we track who nominates whom. This helps us detect any excessive “back-scratch” nominations (lawyers nominating each other) and “block nominations” (where members of the same law firm all cast identical nominations). We also prohibit lawyers from engaging in “campaigning” or solicitation of nominations from other lawyers.
While important, the nomination phase is simply the first step in the process. It puts lawyers on our radar for further research and evaluation, and awards points in the rating system. But Super Lawyers limits the value of those points so that no matter how many nominations one receives, it will not guarantee selection.
Research process
The attorney-led research staff searches for lawyers who have attained certain honors, results or credentials, which indicate a high degree of peer recognition or professional competence. For example, certification as a specialist in a particular area of practice, or admission to prestigious colleges or academies, e.g., The American College of Trial Lawyers. The staff identifies these credentials by reviewing a proprietary list of database and online sources, including national and local legal trade publications.
During the research process, they discover outstanding lawyers who have been overlooked in the nomination process. These may include: lawyers with national litigation practices who rarely appear in the courts of their home jurisdiction; lawyers in smaller firms or from smaller communities; and lawyers practicing in less visible or highly specialized practice areas.
Informal nominations
Throughout the year, readers, clients, marketing directors and attorneys who are not eligible to formally nominate (that is, actively licensed to practice in the same state as the nominee) send us names of lawyers we should consider for inclusion. Though no points are awarded, we add these lawyers to the candidate pool for further research and evaluation.
STEP 2: INDEPENDENT RESEARCH BY SUPER LAWYERS
The research department evaluates each lawyer in the candidate pool based on these 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement:
- Verdicts/Settlements
- Transactions
- Representative Clients
- Experience
- Honors/Awards
- Special licenses/certifications
- Position within the law firm
- Bar and/or professional activity
- Pro bono and community service
- Scholarly lectures/writings
- Education/employment background
- Other outstanding achievements
These indicators are not treated equally; some have a higher maximum point value than others.
STEP 3: PEER EVALUATION BY PRACTICE AREA
The third step of the selection process is peer evaluation by practice area, also known as the “blue ribbon review.” The candidates in each practice area with the highest point totals from steps one and two 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 one to five.
STEP 4: FINAL SELECTION
Candidates are grouped into four firm-size categories. Those with the highest point totals from each category are selected. This means solo and small firm lawyers are compared with other solo and small firm lawyers, and large firm lawyers are compared with other large firm lawyers. Five percent of the total lawyers in the state are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers.
Before Publishing
The research staff checks each candidate’s standing with the local licensing authority. Each candidate is asked to aver that they have never been subject to disciplinary or criminal proceedings.
Final Internet searches are performed on each candidate to ensure there are no outstanding matters that would reflect adversely on the lawyer. We also contact each lawyer to ensure accuracy of all published information.
Publication
The final published list represents no more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state. The lists are published annually in state and regional editions of Super Lawyers Magazines and in inserts and special advertising sections in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers. All attorneys selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers, regardless of year, can be found on SuperLawyers.com.
THE RISING STARS SELECTION PROCESS
The selection process for the Rising Stars list is the same as the Super Lawyers selection process, with one exception: to be eligible for inclusion in Rising Stars, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less. All attorneys first go through the Super Lawyers selection process. Those who are not selected to the Super Lawyers list, but who meet either one of the Rising Stars eligibility requirements, go through the Rising Stars selection process. While up to five percent of the lawyers in the state are named to Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list.
For more information, please visit https://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process.html
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