November 2013

Published by biennially since 1983, the Best Lawyers in America is widely regarded as the preeminent referral guide to the legal professional in the United States. The Best Lawyers lists, representing 57 specialties in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., are compiled through an exhaustive peer review survey in which thousands of the top lawyers in the U.S. confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current edition of Best Lawyers (2007) is based on more than 400,000 detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. Because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee for a basic listing, Best Lawyers has gained the respect of the legal profession, the media and clients and the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere. It has received accolades from presidents of the American Bar Association, been frequently featured in the U.S. media and excerpted in more than 50 major metropolitan newspapers and magazines.

This unique referral guide is subscribed to by more than 4,000 of the leading law firms in the U.S. and abroad, and by more than 1,000 of the world’s largest corporations. For twenty years, they have used Best Lawyers to locate counsel in unfamiliar jurisdictions for major legal matters.

Because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee for a basic listing, Best Lawyers has gained the respect of the legal profession, the media, and clients as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere. It has received accolades from presidents of the American Bar Association, been frequently featured in the U.S. media and excerpted in more than 50 major metropolitan newspapers and magazines.

Super Lawyers Selection Process

The Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ are an objective indicator of a lawyer’s high ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada. LexisNexis facilitates secure online Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings surveys of lawyers across multiple jurisdictions and geographic locations, in similar areas of practice as the lawyer being rated. Reviewers are asked to assess their colleagues’ general ethical standards and legal ability in a specific area of practice.  Legal Ability ratings are based on performance in five key areas:•    Legal Knowledge – Lawyer’s familiarity with the laws governing his/her specific area of practice(s)•    Analytical Capabilities – Lawyer’s creativity in analyzing legal issues and applying technical knowledge•    Judgment – Lawyer’s demonstration of the salient factors that drive the outcome of a given case or issue.•    Communication Ability – Lawyer’s capability to communicate persuasively and credibly•    Legal Experience – Lawyer’s degree of experience in his/her specific area of practice(s)

AV Preeminent® is a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.

The objective of the Super Lawyers selection process is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to assist attorneys and sophisticated consumers in the search for legal counsel.

In December 2006, Key Professional Media, Inc., retained Global Strategy Group (GSG), one of the nation’s leading market research and consulting firms, to provide an independent assessment of the Super Lawyers selection process. The GSG report concluded that the process is scientific and objective and went on to state:

“The broad range of sources used to obtain a large and representative nominee pool, the comprehensive data search on each candidate, the protocols used to evaluate nominees, the expert panel system, and the meticulous checks and balances built into the process … leave little to chance or idiosyncratic influence.”

No other legal publisher goes through the unique multi-step process that Super Lawyers employs to find evidence of peer recognition and professional achievement.

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The Million Dollar Advocates Forum (which includes the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum) is the most prestigious group of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. The organization was established in 1993 and there are over 3000 members throughout the country. Fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members.

The quality of our membership is very impressive and includes many of the top trial lawyers in the country. Many of our members have achieved numerous million and multi-million dollar results (several members have won billion dollar cases). Their practice areas include most areas of litigation, including: major personal injury, products liability, malpractice, construction, environmental, employment, insurance and business litigation. The common fact is that they have each demonstrated, in an objective and tangible way, their ability to accomplish superior results in complex cases. Certification by the Million Dollar Advocates Forum provides recognition of such accomplishment and a national network of experienced colleagues for information exchange, assistance and professional referral.

Certified Civil Trial Attorney is a designation granted by the New Jersey Supreme Court to attorneys who are able to demonstrate sufficient levels of experience, education, knowledge, and skill in civil trial practice. The Supreme Court, through its board on attorney certification, designates only those lawyers who apply for certification and how are able to meet the rigorous pretesting standards set by the board, pass a comprehensive written exam and are approved by the Supreme Court. In order to become certified, a lawyer must be a member of the New Jersey Bar for at least five years, must have a substantial involvement in the preparation of litigated matters and demonstrate primary responsibility for a significant number of completed trials in New Jersey. The applicant must demonstrate an unblemished reputation by submitting a list of attorneys and judges who will attest to the applicant’s character and ability and must pass a written examination covering many aspects of trial practice. In New Jersey, of the approximately 70,000 lawyers practicing, less than 2 percent were certified.

To learn more about New Jersey Certified Civil Trial Attorneys, click here