Expanded Methodology

Nomination Process

  • Best Lawyers does not accept nominations for in-house lawyers. All candidates must be in private practice.
  • Please note that the nominator, or number of nominations received, has no effect on a lawyer's recognition.
  • All lawyers in the previous edition of Best Lawyers are automatically nominated into their recognized practice areas for the next peer-review process and must garner enough positive feedback to be highlighted in the next edition.
  • While there is no limit to the number of lawyers a firm may nominate, we suggest that nominees be in practice for at least 10 years in order to give them time to build a legal presence in their community and practice areas.

Voting Process

  • Previously recognized lawyers are invited to participate in voting.
  • In some instances, such as a first edition, nominees may also be invited to vote.
  • Because Best Lawyers voters provide peer review within their own geographic region and practice areas lawyers are not allowed to select which nominees (from the entire pool) they want to vote on.
  • Ballots are personalized to each individual voter's practice area(s) and geographic area.
  • All ballots and information submitted are strictly confidential.

Voting Instructions

  • "5" is the highest score and indicates that the voter would certainly refer a case to the nominee. "1" is the lowest score and indicates that the voter would definitely not refer a case to the nominee.
  • The option to choose "Do Not Know" is also available to voters, which signifies that the voter is not familiar with a particular candidate's work.
  • Lawyers are not allowed to vote on themselves. In order to avoid this altogether, we remove a lawyer's name from their own ballot.

Verification Process

  • Contact information for all recognized lawyers is confirmed to ensure accurate information and that clients can reach them.

Announcement Process

  • Lawyers who are recognized in the new edition are alerted via email and hard-copy letter. Marketing departments at firms also receive a complete list of the lawyers from their firm who will be recognized by Best Lawyers.