Guidelines for Publicizing Inclusion in Best Lawyers®

We are pleased that you wish to publicize the number of lawyers from your firm included in Best Lawyers.

Best Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America are registered trademarks of Woodward/White, Inc. The names, logo and database are protected under the trademark, copyright, and fair use laws of the United States of America. Any use of same, including in electronic form, must be made only by permission and under the guidelines of Woodward/White, Inc.

Woodward/White has used its best efforts in assembling material for inclusion in Best Lawyers but does not warrant that the information contained therein is complete or accurate, and does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in Best Lawyers whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

In exchange for permission to cite Best Lawyers, a copy of any advertisement must be mailed or faxed to us for approval before it is released in any public medium. In addition, we request one copy of the final advertisement after it is published for our files. These materials should be sent to the attention of the Communications Department, Best Lawyers, 237 Park Avenue, SW, Aiken, SC 29801. Fax 803-641-4794.

Any advertisement or promotion containing information excerpted from and/or referring to Best Lawyers must give the following credit to Woodward/White: The Best Lawyers in America® 2012. Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC; or The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012. Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC.

Listings in Best Lawyers may not be mentioned in the following: billboards and other forms of outdoor advertisements, yellow-page advertisements, and television or radio advertisements. Listed lawyers are permitted to mention in their advertisements that they are included in Best Lawyers or in The Best Lawyers In America or in The Best Lawyers in Canada but not that they are “best lawyers” or to suggest that a listing in Best Lawyers guarantees a desired result in a legal case or that they are necessarily more skilled than lawyers who are not listed in the publication.

Pre-approval of simple announcements or press releases sent to local media by listed lawyers or their respective firms is not required as long as it is worded as follows:

Press release for individual lawyer: Jane Doe was recently selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2012 in the field(s) of ___________ (Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.).

Press release for firms: ___ lawyers from _______________ were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2012 (Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.).

Additional general copy: Since its inception in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 39,000 leading attorneys cast almost 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

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.