Best Lawyers® - About Us

Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. For a quarter century, we have helped lawyers and clients find legal counsel in unfamiliar jurisdictions or unfamiliar practice areas. Best Lawyers compiles lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. In the U.S., Best Lawyers publishes an annual referral guide, The Best Lawyers in America, which includes 39,766 attorneys in 80 practice areas, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The current, 16th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2010), is based on more than 2.8 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. We also publish peer-reviewed listings in more than 48 countries around the world. The Best Lawyers Board of Advisors includes legal luminaries from almost every major world economy as well as general counsel from global companies with business on every continent. Because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be included, a listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded within the legal profession as a signal honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers. For more than 25 years, Best Lawyers lists have earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public, as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere. Best Lawyers listings also reach a broader and more important audience than any other lawyer-rating publication. Internationally, more than 200,000 individuals, 1,800 law firms, and 4,500 general counsel subscribe to BestLawyers.com. Our website hosts more than 9.4 million page views a year, many of them by Fortune 1000 companies. More than 88,000 top general counsel see our lists in Incisive publications such Corporate Counsel and The American Lawyer, while more than 16 million readers see the lists in dozens of city and regional publications in the U.S. including The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and New York Magazine as well as in major business and general publications around the world, from Business Day in South Africa to Expansion in Spain, from the Australian Financial Review to the National Post in Canada. In addition, Best Lawyers lists are available on all Bloomberg Professional terminals, reaching more than 350,000 top business people across the globe. Best Lawyers also publishes Legal Updates, written by listed lawyers on recent developments in their practice areas and in their jurisdictions, which are delivered digitally to a vast legal audience of more than 20,000 general counsel and more than 50,000 leading private practice lawyers. Summaries are also delivered in print form to a large group of potential legal clients with the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, among other leading publications. It is important to note that the lawyers listed in Best Lawyers have no say in deciding which practice areas they are included in. They are voted into practice areas entirely as a result of the votes they receive from their peers. The subspecialties listed after their names are based on information from a variety of sources. Since many state bar associations have a board certification process and rules governing legal specialties, please be aware that the practice areas and subspecialties listed in our publications are based on information from the general legal community and that a listed lawyer may or may not be board certified in a specialty or subspecialty. Clients are urged to check a lawyer's firm web page to determine whether he or she is board certified in the specialty or subspecialty.

Comments

“Best Lawyers is a shorthand way of knowing a person is possessed of all the skill, the integrity, and the qualifications to serve and meet the highest ideals of a lawyer. A professional's professional.”

Bernice B. Donald U.S. District Court Judge United States District Court, Western District of Tennessee

“Best Lawyers, one of the country’s few legitimate lawyer-rating services”

Larry Bodine Strategic Marketing Consultant and Business Development Advisor http://blog.larrybodine.com

“The Best Lawyers in America has successfully established itself as a reputable and reliable clearinghouse of well-regarded attorneys. Inclusion is exclusive and coveted, and there is regular turnover in the attorneys listed. Woodward/White notes that Best Lawyers lists have been featured in more than 50 major metropolitan magazines in the past two years, an indication of how widely publicized the individual listings have become. ... This kind of exclusivity, and the solid reputation that the directory's selection process has achieved, make the directory a valuable resource for users.”

The North America Guide to Law Firm and Lawyer Directories Deborah McMurray and E. Leigh Dance ELD Project Marketing, Inc.

“I always encourage my attorneys to put themselves or their colleagues in for consideration for Best Lawyers. I believe Best Lawyer is a cut above the other "lists" and other attorneys often use the Best Lawyer site for information and referrals. This past year one of the founders of the firm and our president received the coveted letter announcing that he had been named. As soon as he shared the news with me I lobbied for our firm to take advantage of the link to Best Lawyers and we did so that day. I was pleasantly amazed and seriously delighted to learn the very next day that he had had a call directly from the Best Lawyer site and better yet, had landed a matter from that call. The client told him his attorney had a conflict and he knew he was on Best Lawyers so that is where he searched for a replacement. He chose our firm. I really can't ask for better than that.”

Amy Smith-Pike Marketing Director, DurretteBradshaw, Richmond, VA

"Many lawyers appreciate the ground-breaking work which is done by The Best Lawyers in America. Most people ignore the numerous copycats which have followed in your footsteps."

Jeffrey M. Smith Greenberg Traurig Atlanta, Georgia

“There are several groups who publish top lawyer lists; however, we consider your publication the 'best of class.’”

Gary S. McKitterick Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis Irvine, California

“Our firm recently received a call from a prospective client who had found us via the Best Lawyers Web site. They told us that they were impressed that our firm had so many attorneys listed. We met with them, presented our credentials, and got the business, thanks in part to the initial contact through The Best Lawyers in America.”

Jennifer P. Habib Director of Business Development and Marketing, Bass, Berry & Sims PLC, Nashville, Tennessee

“I have used this volume on quite a number of occasions and find the information to be quite complete and informative.”

Daniel Cooperman Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary Apple Inc.

"Your book makes the search for an appropriate lawyer in some broad practice areas much more accessible... As such, it clearly performs a needed function, and I wish you every success in its wide use and circulation."

David R. Brink Past President of the American Bar Association

“We recently visited an energy client who, when told about the number of our attorneys listed in Best Lawyers, commented, 'Now, that really means something to me.'”

Betsy Beorn Spellman Director of Client Services, Steptoe & Johnson, Clarksburg, West Virginia

“When Stein Mart seeks counsel to represent its interests in various parts of the country, we generally consult Best Lawyers before making our selection and have found it to be quite reliable.”

Mitchell W. Legler General Counsel of Stein Mart

“I believe Best Lawyers is an effective tool for the selection of counsel. My experience has been that it is carefully prepared and reflects accurate opinions.”

William R. Newlin Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Dick's Sporting Goods

"I have found Best Lawyers to be reliable as well as accurate, and in many offices I visit, I find it being used frequently."

John Shepherd, Past President of the American Bar Association

“The most respected list of attorneys in practice.”

The American Lawyer

“A thorough, reliable and valuable resource for all who seek the best in our profession.”

Jerome J. Shestack, Past President of the American Bar Association, 1997-1998

“A tremendous honor, bestowed by a lawyer’s peers.”

Charlie Crist Governor of Florida

“When I need a lawyer or to refer a lawyer in another city, and I don't already know someone in whom I have confidence, I turn to Best Lawyers. It is the source for exceptional attorneys.”

Marc E. Grossberg Thompson & Knight, Houston, Texas

“Whenever I have had the opportunity to select or recommend an attorney outside of our firm, I invariably consulted Best Lawyers and always found it to be an extremely valuable and dependable resource.”

Thomas A. Mason Thompson Hine, Cleveland, Ohio

“As a nationally recognized honor of achievement to the recipient, Best Lawyers is a valuable resource in locating highly qualified attorneys throughout the country.”

Michael F. Schaff Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, Woodbridge, New Jersey

"A handy guide... I practiced law in Nashville, Tennessee, and when I looked at the Nashville list, there were all the right lawyers."

Fred Graham, Court TV (when Law Correspondent for CBS News)

“On many occasions I have had an opportunity to use Best Lawyers for co-counsel and client referral purposes in other jurisdictions and in other areas of the law, both for myself and for others in our 40-attorney boutique practice. Every one of these referrals has worked out well with competent counsel and service. Your publication has served us well for quite a while. Our experience with it exemplifies the quality of its content and of counsel listed. Thank you for a truly useful reference.”

David S. Stallard Wood, Herron & Evans, Cincinnati, Ohio

“As a regional law firm, we sometimes need to find counsel for our clients in other parts of the country. Best Lawyers is the first place I look to get a roster of qualified, trustworthy attorneys.”

John C. Sikorski Robinson Donovan, Springfield, Massachusetts

“When asked for a referral, Best Lawyers is the resource to which I invariably turn. I have a high confidence level in attorneys listed in the book, even without knowing them. The organization of attorneys by geographic location and legal practice area makes the publication very user-friendly.”

Thomas E. Boyle Buchanan Ingersoll, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

“Best Lawyers is the most reliable and, in my judgment, the most respected lawyer designation directory in the U.S. A listing in Best Lawyers carries a great deal of weight within and without the Bar.”

Robert S. Campbell Van Cott Bagley Cornwall & McCarthy

The Editors

The editors and founders of Best Lawyers are Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, both graduates of the Harvard Law School, class of 1977. Before turning to publishing and writing, Mr. Naifeh worked briefly at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in New York and Mr. Smith at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco. Together, they have written twelve nonfiction books including four national bestsellers. Their book Jackson Pollock: An American Saga won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1991 and was a finalist for the National Book Award. It was also the basis of the Academy-Award winning film “Pollock” starring Ed Harris. In addition to founding and editing Best Lawyers, Smith and Naifeh founded and served as Chairman and CEO of Best Doctors, Inc., from 1994 until 2000. Naifeh and Smith have been profiled in many publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, USA Today, Harvard Magazine, and People, as well as on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” They have appeared on many television programs, including “Oprah,” “Larry King Live,” “Donahue,” “The Today Show,” and “Charlie Rose.” Since 2001, they have been working on a biography of Vincent van Gogh, which will be published by Random House in 2010.

Methodology

REPUTATION FOR INTEGRITY   Founded in 1981 and first published in 1983, Best Lawyers is the oldest lawyer-rating publication in the U.S., and the gold standard for accuracy and integrity. The popularity and notoriety of our publication have made it possible for us to obtain trademark and service-mark protection for the marks “The Best Lawyers in America” and “Best Lawyers.” On the basis of extensive documentation, the USPTO had determined that the phrases “The Best Lawyers in America” and “Best Lawyers” have acquired secondary meaning in the minds of the legal profession as well as the general public. Such official recognition shows that inclusion in our publication represents a unique and substantial achievement. Both founder/editors of Best Lawyers are graduates of the Harvard Law School and Pulitzer Prize-winning, best-selling authors. SOPHISTICATED METHODOLOGY   Because we have been surveying lawyers for almost a quarter of a century, we have developed a sophisticated methodology that is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of top lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and practice area. Voting areas vary according to size and population but are designed to correspond to the relevant legal community – i.e., the community of lawyers who are most likely to know each other's work. We generate a different customized ballot for each geographic area and, within each area, a different ballot for each practice area. Which nominees are listed on a ballot depends on both the size of the jurisdiction and the size of the practice area. Unlike other listings, Best Lawyers does not allow lawyers to provide the names of the individuals who will be asked to rate them. Lawyers cannot arrange with other lawyers to vote each other onto the list. Every year, over 50% of Best Lawyers' 26,500 voters complete and return their ballots. Because of this unprecedented return rate, the current edition of Best Lawyers is based on more than 2.8 million confidential evaluations by only the top attorneys in the U.S. and Canada. TRANSPARENT PROCESS   Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. We poll only a select group of prominent and respected attorneys. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer-review survey is no better than the quality of its voting pool. Even some of the most legitimate other rating publications do not release the names of the individuals who rate attorneys for them. Except for newly added practice areas, all of the voting for Best Lawyers is done by the lawyers in the previous edition, creating an unparalleled level of transparency in our polling process. Unlike other directories, whose selection methodologies utilize anonymous researchers, panelists, and correspondents, our pool of voters is available for inspection. To allow virtually any lawyer in a community to vote, as some surveys do, introduces a host of potential distortions to the selection process. Lawyers of any skill level can arrange reciprocal voting pools. In a survey open to all accredited lawyers in a state, a mere handful of such “arranged” votes can result in inappropriate inclusions. NO COMMERCIAL DISTORTIONS   Our publications are and have always been advertisement-free. Lawyers who are listed in Best Lawyers are not required to or allowed to make payments to be listed. They are not required to make any purchases to be listed. After our listings are announced each year, lawyers can purchase books or plaques if they choose, but we neither solicit nor receive any money from any lawyer or any law firm prior to the announcement of the final list for each edition. We independently verify all of the information included in our listings. Lawyers are not required to verify or respond in any way to be listed. Unlike other publications, we do not remove a lawyer from our list simply for failure to verify contact information. If a list is to have integrity, all lawyers who have been chosen by a vote of their peers must be included, whether or not they have cooperated in the creation of the list. When our lists are excerpted as part of special advertising sections in other publications, we take no role in the soliciting of advertisements, the writing of text, or the assembling of contents. These tasks are the sole responsibility of our licensees. Our own print publication is entirely advertisement-free. This strict separation between the process of compiling the lists and the process of marketing advertisements and/or paid profiles is an important distinction between Best Lawyers and other publications. Best Lawyers is also the only lawyer-rating publication that makes its lists available free to dozens of publications every year. Unlike other publications, Best Lawyers does not set artificial quotas or target percentages for the size of its lists – an obvious temptation to maximizing revenue. In the U.S. and Canada, only about 2.4 percent of practicing lawyers are listed in Best Lawyers. One well-known peer-review publication states as its target 5% of lawyers in every jurisdiction and another gives more than half the practicing lawyers in the U.S. a high rating. Because Best Lawyers' voting pool is carefully selected and voters can only vote within their own geographic area and practice area, its lists are not subject to the distortions of “open” voting. A large and open voting pool not only encourages collusion between lawyers to secure votes, it also self-selects lawyers who are likely buyers of advertisements. INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION   Lawyers selected through our voting process are checked against state and provincial bar association sanction lists to make sure that every lawyer is in good standing with the ethics committee of his or her state or provincial bar. We do not rely on (or require) the representations of selected lawyers that they are in good standing, as other publications do.