Methodology | Best Law Firms - U.S. News

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class="main-nav" style="margin-left: 20px"> <li><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/">Home</a></li> <li> <a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/rankings.aspx">Rankings</a> <ul class="dropdown"> <li><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/rankings.aspx">National Rankings</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/location.aspx">Regional Rankings</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/lfoty.aspx">Law Firms of the Year</a></li> </ul> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/practiceareas.aspx">Practice Areas</a> <ul class="dropdown"> <li><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/administrative-regulatory-law/overview">Definitions</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/practiceareas.aspx">Full List of Practice Areas</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="last"> <a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/methodology.aspx">Methodology</a> <ul class="dropdown"> <li><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/methodology.aspx">How We Rank Firms</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/faq.aspx">FAQs</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/marketing.aspx">Marketing Opportunities</a></li> </ul> <div id="section-search" class="form-inline"> <input name="ctl00$TextSearchFirmName" type="text" value="Type Firm Name" id="TextSearchFirmName" class="search-input autocomplete firm" style="color:#999999;"/> <select name="ctl00$DropDownListSearchSpecialty" id="DropDownListSearchSpecialty"> <option value="">Select Specialty</option> <option value="2">Administrative / Regulatory Law</option> <option value="137">Admiralty & Maritime Law</option> <option value="76">Advertising Law</option> <option value="16">Antitrust Law</option> <option value="50">Appellate Practice</option> <option value="47">Arbitration</option> <option value="9">Banking and Finance Law</option> <option value="11">Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law</option> <option value="99">Biotechnology Law</option> <option value="17">Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)</option> <option value="109">Civil Rights Law</option> <option value="15">Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law</option> <option value="18">Commercial Finance Law</option> <option value="51">Commercial Litigation</option> <option value="19">Commercial Transactions / UCC Law</option> <option value="3">Communications Law</option> <option value="126">Construction Law</option> <option value="92">Copyright Law</option> <option value="21">Corporate Compliance Law</option> <option value="20">Corporate Governance Law</option> <option value="14">Corporate Law</option> <option value="40">Criminal Defense: Non-White-Collar</option> <option value="41">Criminal Defense: White-Collar</option> <option value="22">Derivatives and Futures Law</option> <option value="43">DUI/DWI Defense</option> <option value="140">Economic Development Law</option> <option value="23">Education Law</option> <option value="89">Elder Law</option> <option value="127">Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law</option> <option value="132">Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law</option> <option value="105">Employment Law - Individuals</option> <option value="104">Employment Law - Management</option> <option value="85">Energy Law</option> <option value="4">Energy Regulatory Law</option> <option value="72">Entertainment Law - Motion Pictures & Television</option> <option value="73">Entertainment Law - Music</option> <option value="78">Environmental Law</option> <option value="24">Equipment Finance Law</option> <option value="123">Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law</option> <option value="87">Family Law</option> <option value="88">Family Law Mediation</option> <option value="5">FDA Law</option> <option value="10">Financial Services Regulation Law</option> <option value="144">First Amendment Law</option> <option value="25">Franchise Law</option> <option value="26">Gaming Law</option> <option value="27">Government Relations Practice</option> <option value="28">Health Care Law</option> <option value="106">Immigration Law</option> <option value="95">Information Technology Law</option> <option value="12">Insurance Law</option> <option value="48">International Arbitration - Commercial</option> <option value="49">International Arbitration - Governmental</option> <option value="29">International Trade and Finance Law</option> <option value="102">Labor Law - Management</option> <option value="103">Labor Law - Union</option> <option value="128">Land Use & Zoning Law</option> <option value="114">Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants</option> <option value="113">Legal Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs</option> <option value="32">Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law</option> <option value="58">Litigation - Antitrust</option> <option value="59">Litigation - Banking & Finance</option> <option value="65">Litigation - Bankruptcy</option> <option value="67">Litigation - Construction</option> <option value="66">Litigation - Environmental</option> <option value="53">Litigation - ERISA</option> <option value="54">Litigation - First Amendment</option> <option value="55">Litigation - Intellectual Property</option> <option value="64">Litigation - Labor & Employment</option> <option value="69">Litigation - Land Use & Zoning</option> <option value="56">Litigation - Mergers & Acquisitions</option> <option value="70">Litigation - Municipal</option> <option value="63">Litigation - Patent</option> <option value="60">Litigation - Real Estate</option> <option value="57">Litigation - Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy)</option> <option value="52">Litigation - Securities</option> <option value="61">Litigation - Tax</option> <option value="62">Litigation - Trusts & Estates</option> <option value="116">Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants</option> <option value="115">Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs</option> <option value="75">Media Law</option> <option value="46">Mediation</option> <option value="118">Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants</option> <option value="117">Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs</option> <option value="30">Mergers & Acquisitions Law</option> <option value="81">Mining Law</option> <option value="142">Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law</option> <option value="130">Municipal Law</option> <option value="31">Mutual Funds Law</option> <option value="79">Native American Law</option> <option value="80">Natural Resources Law</option> <option value="133">Non-Profit/Charities Law</option> <option value="82">Oil & Gas Law</option> <option value="93">Patent Law</option> <option value="112">Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants</option> <option value="111">Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs</option> <option value="33">Private Funds / Hedge Funds Law</option> <option value="120">Product Liability Litigation - Defendants</option> <option value="119">Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs</option> <option value="122">Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants</option> <option value="121">Professional Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs</option> <option value="34">Project Finance Law</option> <option value="35">Public Finance Law</option> <option value="138">Railroad Law</option> <option value="125">Real Estate Law</option> <option value="36">Securities / Capital Markets Law</option> <option value="6">Securities Regulation</option> <option value="37">Securitization and Structured Finance Law</option> <option value="74">Sports Law</option> <option value="134">Tax Law </option> <option value="98">Technology Law</option> <option value="83">Timber Law</option> <option value="94">Trademark Law</option> <option value="139">Transportation Law</option> <option value="135">Trusts & Estates Law</option> <option value="7">Utilities Law</option> <option value="38">Venture Capital Law </option> <option value="84">Water Law</option> <option value="108">Workers' Compensation Law - Claimants</option> <option value="107">Workers' Compensation Law - Employers</option> </select> <input type="submit" name="ctl00$ButtonSearchSubmit" value="Go" id="ButtonSearchSubmit" class="button" style="position: relative;top: 6px;height: 26px"/> </div> <div style="clear:both"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="breadcrumbs"> <span id="LabelBreadCrumb"><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/default.aspx">Best Law Firms</a> > Methodology</span> </div> <div id="content-wrapper" class="layout-cr" style="padding-top: 10px"> <div class="content"> <h1>Methodology</h1> <p> The <i>U.S.News – Best Lawyers</i> “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process. To be eligible for a ranking in a particular practice area and metro region, a law firm must have at least one lawyer who is included in Best Lawyers in that particular practice area and metro. For more information on Best Lawyers, please visit <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20141007050021/http://www.bestlawyers.com/">bestlawyers.com.</a> </p> <p> For the 2014 "Best Law Firms" list, the methodology for the initiative remained the same as in the previous three years. </p> <p> Clients were asked to provide feedback on firm practice groups, addressing expertise, responsiveness, understanding of a business and its needs, cost-effectiveness, civility, and whether they would refer another client to the firm. Clients also had the option to write in the names of law firms they’ve worked with on other matters and within practice areas beyond those they were asked to comment on by the submitting firm. Some clients chose to write a comment about their experience with the law firm. These comments are for reference only and were not used as data points in the formal evaluation process. </p> <p> Lawyers also voted on expertise, responsiveness, integrity, cost-effectiveness, whether they would refer a matter to a firm, and whether they consider a firm a worthy competitor. We asked this group to vote on law firms that have a preeminent national presence within specified legal practice area(s) they know well. For the first time, a Law Firm Leaders survey was implemented to provide personal insight on the legal landscape surrounding the nationally ranked practice areas. In addition to information from these surveys, the rankings incorporate the 4.9 million evaluations of 50,834 individual leading lawyers collected by Best Lawyers in its most recent annual survey. </p> <p> In addition to lawyer and client feedback, law firms were asked to provide us with general demographic and background information on the law firm and attorneys. This survey also gave firms an opportunity to share information on client profile, monetary and transactional values (where meaningful and applicable), and other data that speaks to the strengths of a law firm's practice areas. </p> <p> All of the quantitative and qualitative data were combined into an overall “Best Law Firms” score for each firm. This data was then compared to other firms within the same metropolitan area and at the national level. Because firms were often separated by small or insignificant differences in overall score, we use a tiering system rather than ranking law firms sequentially. The first tier in each metropolitan area includes those firms that scored within a certain percentage of the highest-scoring firm(s); the second tier, those firms that scored within a certain percentage of the next highest scoring firm(s), and so on. The national rankings were based on metropolitan rankings as well as on the number of offices each firm had with a metropolitan ranking and on the level of legal activity in each metropolitan area. The number of tiers included in each practice area or metropolitan area ranking varies, and some specialties may not be ranked in metro areas in which there is not enough data to provide rankings in a particular specialty. Of the 12,315 firms that were eligible to submit information for the ranking process, 11,765 firms, including a large number of one-person firms, received rankings, and 6,323 of those firms received Tier 1 national and/or metropolitan rankings. </p> <h2>Metro Areas</h2> <p> Metropolitan areas are defined by assessing the population of eligible law firms geographically to guarantee enough comparative data to produce accurate results. There are 8 states that had a high percentage of eligible law firms located in one large metropolitan area. Because there were also eligible law firms outside of those metropolitan areas, but not enough to create accurate results for separate metropolitan rankings, results were produced for the entire state. The states that fall into this category are: Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Utah. </p> <h2>Practice Areas</h2> <p> Practice area rankings were produced both nationally and within 178 metropolitan areas across the United States. Because some practice areas have minimal presence in particular legal markets, or because there was not enough data garnered for proper evaluation, some practice areas that are covered in our research are not represented in the national rankings or various metropolitan rankings. The 2014 “Best Law Firms” national rankings cover 74 practice areas, while as many as 120 practice areas are covered on the metropolitan lists. </p> <p> For the third year, one law firm in each of 87 practice areas will receive the prestigious 2014 “Law Firm of the Year” recognition. Law Firms receiving the “Law Firm of the Year” designation have an impressive overall performance in our research of a given practice area, representing a significant showing in the 2014 <i>U.S.News – Best Lawyers</i> “Best Law Firms” initiative. </p> </div> <div id="rail-right"> <div class="widget"> <h2>Frequently Asked Questions</h2> <p><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/faq.aspx#2">What makes a law firm eligible to receive a U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" ranking?</a></p> <p><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/faq.aspx#3">Do the "Best Law Firms" rankings affect Best Lawyers traditional listings?</a></p> <p><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/faq.aspx#5">What are the "Best Law Firms" rankings based on?</a></p> <div class="divider"></div> <p><a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/faq.aspx">See all Frequently Asked Questions</a></p> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> $(document).ready(function () { btnPracticeAreaOverview = $('#ButtonPracticeAreaOverView'); ddlPracticeAreaOverview = $('#DropDownListPracticeAreas'); btnPracticeAreaOverview.attr('Enabled', false); ddlPracticeAreaOverview.change(function () { if (ddlPracticeAreaOverview.val() != '') { btnPracticeAreaOverview.attr('Enabled', true); btnPracticeAreaOverview.removeClass('disabled'); } else { btnPracticeAreaOverview.attr('Enabled', false); btnPracticeAreaOverview.addClass('disabled'); } }); btnPracticeAreaOverview.click(function (e) { if (ddlPracticeAreaOverview.val() == '') { e.preventDefault(); } }); }); </script> <div class="widget"> <h2>About the Practice Areas</h2> <p>See overviews for the practice areas included in our Best Law Firms research.</p> <p> <select name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$PracticeAreaSelectMethodology$DropDownListPracticeAreas" id="DropDownListPracticeAreas" style="width:80%;"> <option value="">Select Practice Area</option> <option value="2">Administrative / Regulatory Law</option> <option value="137">Admiralty & Maritime Law</option> <option value="76">Advertising Law</option> <option value="16">Antitrust Law</option> <option value="50">Appellate Practice</option> <option value="47">Arbitration</option> <option value="9">Banking and Finance Law</option> <option value="11">Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law</option> <option value="99">Biotechnology Law</option> <option value="17">Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)</option> <option value="109">Civil Rights Law</option> <option value="15">Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law</option> <option value="18">Commercial Finance Law</option> <option value="51">Commercial Litigation</option> <option value="3">Communications Law</option> <option value="126">Construction Law</option> <option value="92">Copyright Law</option> <option value="21">Corporate Compliance Law</option> <option value="20">Corporate Governance Law</option> <option value="14">Corporate Law</option> <option value="40">Criminal Defense: Non-White-Collar</option> <option value="41">Criminal Defense: White-Collar</option> <option value="22">Derivatives and Futures Law</option> <option value="43">DUI/DWI Defense</option> <option value="140">Economic Development Law</option> <option value="23">Education Law</option> <option value="89">Elder Law</option> <option value="132">Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law</option> <option value="105">Employment Law - Individuals</option> <option value="104">Employment Law - Management</option> <option value="85">Energy Law</option> <option value="4">Energy Regulatory Law</option> <option value="72">Entertainment Law - Motion Pictures & Television</option> <option value="73">Entertainment Law - Music</option> <option value="78">Environmental Law</option> <option value="24">Equipment Finance Law</option> <option value="123">Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law</option> <option value="87">Family Law</option> <option value="88">Family Law Mediation</option> <option value="5">FDA Law</option> <option value="10">Financial Services Regulation Law</option> <option value="144">First Amendment Law</option> <option value="25">Franchise Law</option> <option value="26">Gaming Law</option> <option value="27">Government Relations Practice</option> <option value="28">Health Care Law</option> <option value="106">Immigration Law</option> <option value="95">Information Technology Law</option> <option value="12">Insurance Law</option> <option value="48">International Arbitration - Commercial</option> <option value="49">International Arbitration - Governmental</option> <option value="29">International Trade and Finance Law</option> <option value="102">Labor Law - Management</option> <option value="103">Labor Law - Union</option> <option value="128">Land Use & Zoning Law</option> <option value="114">Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants</option> <option value="113">Legal Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs</option> <option value="32">Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law</option> <option value="58">Litigation - Antitrust</option> <option value="59">Litigation - Banking & Finance</option> <option value="65">Litigation - Bankruptcy</option> <option value="67">Litigation - Construction</option> <option value="66">Litigation - Environmental</option> <option value="53">Litigation - ERISA</option> <option value="54">Litigation - First Amendment</option> <option value="55">Litigation - Intellectual Property</option> <option value="64">Litigation - Labor & Employment</option> <option value="69">Litigation - Land Use & Zoning</option> <option value="56">Litigation - Mergers & Acquisitions</option> <option value="70">Litigation - Municipal</option> <option value="63">Litigation - Patent</option> <option value="60">Litigation - Real Estate</option> <option value="57">Litigation - Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy)</option> <option value="52">Litigation - Securities</option> <option value="61">Litigation - Tax</option> <option value="62">Litigation - Trusts & Estates</option> <option value="116">Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants</option> <option value="115">Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs</option> <option value="75">Media Law</option> <option value="46">Mediation</option> <option value="118">Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants</option> <option value="117">Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs</option> <option value="30">Mergers & Acquisitions Law</option> <option value="81">Mining Law</option> <option value="142">Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law</option> <option value="31">Mutual Funds Law</option> <option value="79">Native American Law</option> <option value="80">Natural Resources Law</option> <option value="133">Non-Profit/Charities Law</option> <option value="82">Oil & Gas Law</option> <option value="93">Patent Law</option> <option value="112">Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants</option> <option value="111">Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs</option> <option value="33">Private Funds / Hedge Funds Law</option> <option value="120">Product Liability Litigation - Defendants</option> <option value="119">Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs</option> <option value="122">Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants</option> <option value="34">Project Finance Law</option> <option value="35">Public Finance Law</option> <option value="138">Railroad Law</option> <option value="125">Real Estate Law</option> <option value="36">Securities / Capital Markets Law</option> <option value="6">Securities Regulation</option> <option value="37">Securitization and Structured Finance Law</option> <option value="74">Sports Law</option> <option value="134">Tax Law </option> <option value="98">Technology Law</option> <option value="83">Timber Law</option> <option value="94">Trademark Law</option> <option value="139">Transportation Law</option> <option value="135">Trusts & Estates Law</option> <option value="7">Utilities Law</option> <option value="38">Venture Capital Law </option> <option value="84">Water Law</option> <option value="108">Workers' Compensation Law - Claimants</option> <option value="107">Workers' Compensation Law - Employers</option> </select> <input type="submit" name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$PracticeAreaSelectMethodology$ButtonPracticeAreaOverView" value="Go" id="ButtonPracticeAreaOverView" class="button btn-secondary btn-size16 disabled" style="width:15%;"/> </p> </div> <div class="widget"> <a href="/web/20141007050021/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/standalone/default.aspx" target="_blank"><img style="border: 1px solid #ddd;margin: 5px 0 10px 2px;" src="/web/20141007050021im_/http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/img/profile/blf_publication.png"/></a> </div> </div> </div> <div id="PanelFooter"> <div id="footer" class="footer footer-money"> <div class="grid-976"> <div class="span12 sep-strong t-slackest"> <div class="span span2"> <h3 class="h h-fancy h-slack sep-strong">News</h3> <ul 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