Martindale-Hubbell has maintained ratings for the legal community for over a century, and currently completes or assigns ratings for over 65,000 lawyers a year. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of bar members and the judiciary, and attest to the individual lawyer's legal ability and adherence to professional standards of ethics.Exclusive to the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, ratings are accepted as exceptionally valuable benchmarks by members of the legal community, and testify to the unique and respected position the Law Directory occupies in the legal profession. As noted in the explanation accompanying the Martindale-Hubbell® Lawyer LocatorTM, these ratings do not appear in the Internet version of the database.
The Rating Inquiry ProcessMartindale-Hubbell solicits confidential opinions from members of the Bar, including those who have ratings and those who do not. In addition, members of the Judiciary are queried. Opinions are solicited via written questionnaires and by Martindale-Hubbell representatives who conduct interviews.
A Note About ConfidentialityIt is Martindale-Hubbell's policy to treat all phases of its impartial rating process as absolutely confidential. Sources contacted participate with that understanding. Under no circumstances are any ratings review materials released.
Scope of the Ratings SystemRatings fall into two categories: Legal Ability and General-Ethical Standards. Unless a rating is established in both categories, no rating is published.
Legal Ability RatingThe Legal Ability Ratings take into consideration the standard of ability for the area where the lawyer practices, the attorney's expertise, nature of practice and qualifications relevant to the profession. Where a lawyer's practice is limited or specialized, rating opinions are made on the basis of performance in those specific fields of law.
Legal Ability Ratings are:A = Very High to Preeminent
B = High to Very High
C = Fair to High
General Recommendation RatingGeneral-Ethical Standards Ratings cover adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities.
The General Recommendation Rating is:V = Very High
An attorney will not receive a rating at all unless he or she has first received a "V" or General Recommendation Rating. Thus, when both categories of ratings are combined, an attorney will receive an "AV", "BV", or "CV" rating.
