Will you be sued? Well according to a 2007 survey the American Hospital Association there were 37 million people who were hospitalized and, according to Court Statistics Project, Examining the Work in State Courts in 2007, there were 102 million court filings. We know that every court filing has to involve at least two people so the 102 million court filings effected many more than 102 million people. Therefore from this data, we can say that you are about three times more likely to find yourself in court than be hospitalized.

Now that you need a lawyer, who are you going to call? Most people when faced with this situation, don’t really know who to call. You can always open up the phone book to the yellow pages and closes your eyes and pick a lawyer. A lot of people think that a lawyer is a lawyer and doesn’t really matter who you pick! Or does it?

When it comes to law, there are more specialties in the legal profession than there are doctors specializing in the medical field. So just because your relative is a lawyer, doesn’t necessarily mean that he/she is your best choice for your current legal situation.

Just like there are different specialties in law, there are some lawyers and legal firms that are more special than others. A person may have passed the bar, but doesn’t mean that person is the best to represent you and your needs. The TOP Lawyers and Firms usually have a Martindale-Hubbell rating of an AV or BV rating. When interviewing any attorney, make sure you ask to see their Martindale-Hubbell rating.

The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings

After a lawyer’s General Ethical Standards and Legal Ability Ratings are confirmed, his/her ratings are aggregated to create an overall numeric rating for each rated Area of Practice. The numeric rating determines the Peer Review Rating, which includes a rating term and may include a Certification Mark:

AV® Preeminent™ (4.5-5.0) – An AV® certification mark 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.

BV® Distinguished™ (3.0-4.4) – The BV® certification mark is an excellent rating for a lawyer with some experience. A widely respected mark of achievement, it differentiates a lawyer from his or her competition.

Rated (1.0-2.9) – The Peer Review Rated designation demonstrates that the lawyer has met the very high criteria of General Ethical Standing.