By William Bill Hurst
2011 marks the 8th consecutive year that Indianapolis Attorney, William Bill Hurst has been selected as an Indiana Super Lawyer. But what exactly is a Super Lawyer? What does it mean to be classified as 
such? Could this be yet ANOTHER venture where lawyers shell out money to boost their advertising campaign? Is the listing legit? Keep reading to find the answers to all those questions and more!
A “Super Lawyer” is one who has “attained a high degree of peer recognition, meets ethical standards and has demonstrated some degree of professional achievement in their field.” SuperLawyers is a state-by-state “rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas.” Their objective: produce a credible and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for other attorneys, businesses and general consumers searching for legal counsel. For that purpose, lawyer ratings are strictly limited to those who can be retained by the public, i.e., private practice and Legal Aid attorneys.
The legitimacy of the Super Lawyers selection process has been recognized by courts and Bar Associations around the country. Super Lawyers does NOT allow a lawyers to “buy their way” onto the list, purchase an advertising page, nor receive inclusion as the result of purchasing a product. The attorney-led research staff reviews a “proprietary listing of more than 150 database and online sources, as well as national and local legal trade publications.” They [the research team] specifically seeks out lawyers that possess what they term as “Star Search Credentials: certification as a specialist in a particular area of practice, admission to a prestigious colleges or academies etc. The three (3) steps of the Super Lawyers selection process are “sophisticated, comprehensive and complex”. Before the final selection , the Super Lawyer’s research staff:
- Checks each candidate’s standing with the local licensing authority.
- Asks each candidate if they have ever been subjected to disciplinary or criminal proceedings.
- Performs Internet searches on each candidate to ensure there are no outstanding matters that would reflect adversely on the lawyer.
- Contact each lawyer to ensure accuracy of all published information.
For a personal injury lawyer who has been selected annually in Indianapolis, Indiana contact William Hurst at 317-636-0808.
