U.S. News-Best Lawyers 2011-2012 Best Law Firms Rankings
Cellino & Barnes is once again listed in the U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers 2011-2012 Best Law Firms rankings.
U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers released its 2010 Best Law Firms rankings and Cellino & Barnes has ranked in the top tier (Tier 1) for law firms practicing plaintiffs' personal injury litigation.
The national first-tier rankings will be featured in the October 2010 print issue of U.S.News & World Report. According to US News & World Report, "Achieving a high ranking is a special distinction that signals a unique combination of excellence and breadth of expertise."
Best Law Firm's Mission
The mission of Best Law Firms from the start has been to help guide referring lawyers and clients - from the country's largest companies needing corporate legal advice to individuals needing to get a divorce or write a will - issues that have a bet-the-company implication (in the case of a corporation) or a potentially life-changing result (in the case of an individual).
The Selection Process
The selection process for the U.S. News - Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" involved surveying thousands of law firm clients; leading lawyers and law firm managers; partners and associates; and marketing officers and recruiting officers. Each were asked what factors they considered vital for clients hiring law firms, for lawyers choosing a firm to refer a legal matter to, and for lawyers seeking employment.
Client and lawyer surveys collected mostly reputational data. Using a scale of 1 (weakest) to 5 (strongest), clients voted on expertise, responsiveness, understanding of a business and its needs, cost-effectiveness, civility, and whether they would refer another client to a firm. Lawyers voted on expertise, responsiveness, integrity, cost-effectiveness, and whether they would refer a matter to a firm and whether they consider a firm a worthy competitor.
Marketing-officer and recruiting-officer surveys provided the following demographic data: number of lawyers in the firm; number and location of firm offices; number of lawyers who held senior positions in the office of the U.S. Attorney General or a State Attorney General; number of lawyers who clerked for federal or state judges (and at what level); number and percentage of lawyers who are members of the American College of Trial Lawyers or the American Law Institute; number of lawyers who have held senior positions at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the U.S. Tax Court, the IRS, and a range of federal regulatory agencies
The level of response was great: 1,859 firms participated in the marketing-officer and recruiting-officer surveys;
9,514 clients including
every Fortune 100 company and 587 of the Fortune 1000 companies provided 194,370 firm practice-area evaluations; 6,190 clients provided 11,181 comments about law firm practice areas and individual lawyers; and
8,842 lawyers provided 594,012 firm practice-area evaluations.
To learn more about U.S. News - Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" selection process, click here.