As personal injury attorneys, we usually see people when they are in the middle of the worst period of their lives. They are usually recovering from car accidents, or they have been hurt by a doctor, or they have been hurt by a drug that was supposed to help them, or they are in mourning, or they are being dreadfully taken advantage of by an insurance company.
Injury victims in Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maryland come to us for a few reasons, chief among them being personal references. Many of our clients are friends or relatives of people whom we have helped before. Some of them have seen our advertisements on television or heard our spots on the radio. But more than a few have chosen us due to both our experience and our reputation in the legal community.
That last reason is an important point. If you really want to know what sort of service that an attorney can provide for you, knowing how his peers feel about him is a good way to get a fair assessment of his talents and his ethics.
Unfortunately, there are some attorneys who have a tendency to cloud the issue by overstating their accomplishments. And there are some “awards” that might look impressive to the un-knowing, but are nothing more than window dressing when it comes to being an accurate reflection of an attorney’s skill, talent and reputation.
Let’s say for the sake of argument that you walk into someone’s office and you see a coffee mug on their desk that says “World’s Greatest Grandpa.” It is highly unlikely that a governing body of experts went over all the grandfathers in the world and decided that this person did in fact meet all of the qualifications to be ranked as the best grandfather ever. The more likely scenario is that this person got this mug by sending a company twenty bucks.
Believe it or not, there are several “awards” that work the same way. If you send a company some money, they will in turn send you a certificate or fancy looking plaque that will attest to your skill at basically anything. “Excellence” in customer service, profitability, or even legal acumen can all be yours for a small fee, plus shipping and handling. This will allow you to say that you have “received multiple awards,” and it will at least be in the neighborhood of the truth.
This is why it is important to be aware of which ratings agencies are legitimate and which are not, particularly if you are looking for quality legal representation. There are legitimate ratings agencies and groups which offer reputable and clear reflections about the performance level of attorneys, and they are as follows:
The American Bar Association: The ABA is a crucial organization when it comes to the legal profession. They continue to help set the standards for both ethics and the accreditation of our nation’s law schools. They also rate nominees to the Federal Judiciary. Not having a “Well Qualified” rating by the American Bar Association is viewed as a serious impediment to being appointed as a federal judge.
The American Association for Justice: The AAJ used to be known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. This is the largest trial bar in the world. Membership in the AAJ or any of its state-level subsidiaries means that you take your position as an advocate for injury victims seriously. If an attorney has received awards from the AAJ or is member of one of their committees, this is a sign that this attorney has a high level of professional and ethical standards.
Martindale-Hubbell: This group has provided rankings and recommendations of lawyers and law firms since 1868. The ratings are based on what the attorney has accomplished professionally rather than what organizations or networking clubs they have joined. The best possible ratings are:
CV Peer Review Rating — an excellent first Rating and a statement of a lawyer’s above average ability and very high ethics.
BV Peer Review Rating — an indication of an exemplary reputation and well-established practice. A typical lawyer is in mid-career, with a significant client base and high professional standing.
AV Peer Review 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.
Anyone of those ratings indicates that you have chosen an attorney who is capable of providing you with excellent legal assistance.
Super Lawyers: This is a yearly list that selects outstanding attorneys based on peer review and independent third party research. The nomination process is very rigorous and is specifically designed to avoid “back-scratch” nominations. In other words, they keep a very close eye on who is nominating who.
If you are looking for signs of a successful and reputable attorney, these ratings systems and organizations are helpful as they are independent and non-political.
Greenberg and Bederman is a personal injury law firm located in Silver Spring, Maryland. We offer legal assistance to those in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. who have been injured due to no fault of their own. That includes representing those who have been injured due to medical malpractice, car accidents, dangerous and faulty pharmaceutical drugs, and premises liability cases. If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence of someone else, contact Greenberg & Bederman for a free personal injury case evulation.