Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication company in the legal profession.
Recognition by Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by their peers. For more than four decades, their publications have earned the respect of the profession, the media and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.
The lists of outstanding lawyers are compiled by conducting exhaustive peer review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. If the votes for a lawyer are positive enough for recognition by Best Lawyers, that lawyer must maintain those votes in subsequent polls to remain in each edition. Lawyers are not permitted to pay any fee to participate in or be recognized by Best Lawyers.
Best Law Firms®, ranked by Best Lawyers® and respected for over 14 years, is the most credible ranking of exceptional law firms globally. It is rooted in a rigorous, peer-to-peer, industry-driven evaluation. A ranking from Best Law Firms signifies a high-quality practice and a breadth of legal expertise. Ranked firms, presented in three tiers, are recognized on a national and metropolitan scale, providing legal professionals with an elevated stature from the Best Law Firms recognition.
“Best Lawyers” is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. During the voting process other attorneys are asked, “If you were unable to take a case yourself, how likely would you be to refer it to this nominee?”
Because only lawyers previously selected to “Best Lawyers” may vote, legal professionals regard being selected as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” as a significant honor. “Best Lawyers” compiles lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers.
The Nomination and voting process for “Best Lawyers in America” is a five (5) step process including; nominations, peer review, analysis of feedback, eligibility check, and results released. This five step process is necessary to ensure the quality of the attorneys listed in the publication. We currently have two lawyers recognized as “Best Lawyers in America”, Alexander J. Limontes and William W. Hurst.
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.” Super Lawyers 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 lawyer 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 seek out lawyers that possess what they term as “Star Search Credentials: certification as a specialist in a particular area of practice, admission to prestigious colleges or academies etc.
Since the Million Dollar Advocates Forum was founded in 1993, membership has been based upon strict and objective standards. Each applicant is required to complete a detailed application demonstrating that he or she has met the basic qualification of having acted as Principal Counsel (as that term is defined in the membership application) in one or more cases which resulted in a final judgment (not subject to appeal or modification), award or settlement in favor of his or her client in the amount of one million dollars or more. In 2007, in response to requests from members, the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum was added with regard to cases of two million dollars or more.
Membership invitations are sent only to attorneys who objectively appear to be qualified, including those whose names are proposed for membership from the report of a large case or upon nomination by a current member. Other qualified attorneys may apply for membership.
Our firm has attorneys recognized in both the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates forums as we have obtained several multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts for our clients.
Best Lawyers Ones to Watch is a recognition given out by “Best Lawyers in America” to attorneys who have been practicing for more than five years, but less than 10 years.
The process is the same as for the “Best Lawyers” recognition outlined above.
This award has only been around since 2020. Two of our attorneys have received this award, Charles Hubley and Chase Wilson. Both received it in its inaugural year, along with less than 10 other young lawyers in the state of Indiana.
Super Lawyers, Rising Stars award is much like the Best Lawyers Ones to Watch List. This is Super Lawyers way of recognizing young lawyers who have been successful in their careers and have been voted by their peers as standing out as top attorneys in their field. Young attorneys recognized with this award have often had significant case results or handled difficult matters that have put other lawyers on notice of their accomplishments. Additionally, these lawyers are often extremely involved in their communities and the legal community.
In order to be selected as a Rising Star the attorney must be nominated by an attorney, reviewed by Super Lawyers for eligibility, and received enough votes from their peers to signify that they are indeed worthy of the recognition. Only a small percentage of young attorneys are recognized as Rising Stars each year and this recognition is valued highly in the legal community.
Martindale-Hubbell recognizes lawyers and law firms based on both peer reviews and client reviews. The peer review system gives you a peer-review rating. The highest of which, is AV-Preeminent. We have two attorneys recognized as AV-Preeminent, Alexander J. Limontes and William W. Hurst.
For the client reviewed portion, Martindale-Hubbel awards Client Champion distinctions based on the amount and quality of client reviews each attorney receives. We’ve received the Platinum Client Champion distinction, which is the highest client review distinction given by Martindale-Hubbel.