I feel that the services who rate me give me very high grades. I will talk about that in a minute.
But I would not pick a lawyer based on his or her evaluation by a ratings service. Rating services tell you something, but they are not the best way to pick a lawyer.
If I needed a lawyer in a given location, I would try to find the best lawyer I knew who was familiar with the location. Then, I would call that lawyer and tell him what kind of case I had, and ask him who he would recommend.
I would do this because good lawyers recommend good lawyers, and take seriously any request for advice. A good divorce lawyer in Hamilton, Ohio probably would not want to handle a personal injury lawsuit himself, unless he also practices in that area – but he would sure know the best personal injury lawyers in Hamilton.
Having said this, a number of rating services have awarded me the highest rating which they can award.
AVVO, a website that rates attorneys on a scale of 1 to 10, has awarded me a 10. My Avvo page is here.
Martindale-Hubbell.com, a rating service which rates attorneys as AV, BV or not at all, has awarded me its AV, or Preeminent rating. There is no higher rating. In the words of Martindale Hubbell:
“An AV Rating shows that a lawyer has reached the height of professional excellence. He or she has usually practiced law for many years, and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity”
My peers (other lawyers) and clients both rate me at 5 on a scale of 5 on other rating scales published by Martindale – Hubbell. (In essence, Martindale rates lawyers on three separate scales – its own scale, peer evaluations, and client evaluations.) Here is my page with Martindale.
And I have been listed as one of Ohio’s Super Lawyers for 2014. From the Super Lawyers website:
Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
No more than five percent of the attorneys in a state can qualify to be Super Lawyers. The list is published once a year. To see my Super Lawyers Page, click here.
Of the ratings, I guess Super Lawyers is the best – not as many attorneys are listed, and the process is very selective. But Martindale Hubbell is the oldest. I think more people are familiar with AVVO, partly because it is simpler to understand, and because more people know about it.
Ratings are like the “Good Housekeeping” seal of approval –you’re better off with it than without it. But you can get good products that don’t have the seal, and you can get a bad product that does have the seal.
Lawyers are like that. Each ratings service collects data to determine how well a lawyer is thought of by other lawyers – and that can give you some indication of how well equipped that lawyer is to represent you.
As I said, if I was looking for a lawyer, I would call another lawyer first.
But if you’re reading this, you obviously are interested in what you see. And if you’ve gotten this far, you’ve already done more research than about 95% of the people who hire lawyers. So why don’t you give me, a Cincinnati injury lawyer, a call.
Other lawyers refer their clients to me all the time. And if you decide you‘d rather hire someone else, that’s OK. My phone is 513-621-4775.
Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed. All discussions are limited to Ohio law unless otherwise indicated. And past performance cannot be used to predict future results.
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