HOW WE SELECT ATTORNEYS FOR
INCLUSION IN SUPER LAWYERS
NOMINATION, RESEARCH
& SELECTION PROCESS
One of the persistent misperceptions about
Super Lawyers is that attorneys are simply
“voted” onto the list. While it’s true that we
invite lawyers to nominate their peers, as
you’ll see, this is just a part of what we do
in selecting lawyers for Super Lawyers (and
Rising Stars, our listing of top lawyers who
are 40 years old and younger, or who have
been in practice 10 or fewer years).
honors and awards; special licenses and
certifications; position within law firm;
bar and other professional activity; pro
bono and community service; scholarly
lectures and writings; education and
employment background; and other
outstanding achievements.
Super Lawyers selects attorneys using
a rigorous, multistage process in which
peer nominations and evaluations are
combined with our independent research:
1 NOMINATIONS
Each year, we invite lawyers to
nominate the top attorneys they've
personally observed in action. Our
attorney-led research staff also
searches for lawyers who have
attained certain honors or results.
Research evaluations are based on
information gathered from a variety
of sources. Our research department
searches biographies on law firm
websites, online and database sources,
legal periodicals, and any information and
evaluations supplied to us by lawyers at
my.superlawyers.com.
2 EVALUATION OF THE
CANDIDATE POOL
Our researchers evaluate candidates
by 12 indicators of peer recognition
and professional achievement.
3 PEER EVALUATION BY
PRACTICE AREA
Candidates are grouped according
to their primary practice areas.
Candidates in each practice area
who received the highest point totals
in the steps above are asked to serve
on a review panel.
Our process has three distinct phases.
We start with the creation of the
candidate pool, which involves peer
nominations and our research. Our
research department then evaluates
each candidate. The last step is a review
of the candidates by their peers within
their primary area of practice. Together,
these three steps create a system of
checks and balances that produces a
well-rounded list of attorneys. (A more
detailed description of our process is
available at superlawyers.com.)
We evaluate candidates based on 12
indicators of peer recognition and
professional achievement. These include:
verdicts, settlements and transactions;
representative clients; experience;
There are safeguards built into our system
to ensure that large firms don’t dominate
the list and to detect manipulation of the
process (e.g., reciprocal or orchestrated
nominations). We do not select attorneys
by practice area per se; rather, selected
lawyers report to us their primary area of
practice, and that’s how they are listed in
the magazine.
4 FINAL SELECTION
Candidates are grouped into
categories based on firm size. The
attorneys with the highest totals
from each category are selected.
Thus, lawyers are grouped with other
lawyers of comparable firm size.
MY.SUPERLAWYERS.COM
GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK
Did we miss anyone?
Did we include anyone you think
shouldn’t be on the list?
NOMINATIONS ARE
NOW OPEN
Nominate your peers for next year
Evaluate/comment on lawyers
on this year’s list
Tell us about your practice
Note: The list was finalized as of Jan. 6, 2012. Any updates
to the list (for example, status changes or disqualifying
events) will be reflected on superlawyers.com.
DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN SUPER LAWYERS MAGAZINE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, NOR IS SUPER LAWYERS A LEGAL
REFERRAL SERVICE. WE STRIVE TO MAINTAIN A HIGH DEGREE OF ACCURACY IN THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, BUT MAKE NO CLAIM,
PROMISE OR GUARAN TEE ABOUT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR ADEQUAC Y OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MAGAZINE
OR LINKED TO SUPERLAWYERS. COM AND I TS ASSOCIATED SI TES. THE HIRING OF AN ATTORNEY IS AN IMPORTANT DECISION THAT SHOULD
NOT BE SOLELY BASED UPON ADVERTISING OR THE LISTINGS IN THIS MAGAZINE. NO REPRESENTATION IS MADE THAT THE QUALITY OF
THE LEGAL SERVICES PERFORMED BY THE ATTORNEYS LISTED IN THIS MAGAZINE WILL BE GREATER THAN THAT OF OTHER LICENSED
ATTORNEYS. SUPER LAWYERS IS AN INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE PUBLISHER THAT HAS DEVELOPED ITS OWN SELECTION METHODOLOGY.
SUPER LAWYERS IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY STATE OR REGULATORY BODY, AND ITS LISTINGS DO NOT CERTIFY OR DESIGNATE AN
ATTORNEY AS A SPECIALIS T. STATE REQUIRED DISCLAIMERS CAN BE FOUND ON THE RESPECTIVE STATE PAGES ON SUPERLAW YERS. COM.
