Aug 18, 2021 · To earn an AV rating, you’ll need at least 10 years of experience. If you receive an AV rating, it means you’ve been recognized for having high levels of integrity and skill. BV Ratings or “Distinguished”
To obtain an AV Peer-Review rating an attorney must be reviewed objectively by colleges including other bar member attorneys and members of the judiciary. Reviewers are asked to assess their colleagues' general ethical standards and legal ability in a specific area of practice.
Jul 23, 2012 · Additionally, in order to be AV-rated, an attorney must have high ethical standards. When rating attorneys, Martindale-Hubbell surveys lawyers across multiple jurisdictions and asks them to rate their peers from one to five based on the following areas: Legal Knowledge ; Analytical Capabilities ; Judgment ; Communication Ability ; Legal Experience
Apr 12, 2007 · Along the way, they developed a system of rating the attorneys by experience and reputation by soliciting information from fellow lawyers in the same community. THE HIGEST RATING AN ATTORNEY OR LAW FIRM CAN GET IS “AV”.
To qualify for an “A” rating an attorney had to be reported as “Very High” in their legal ability and had been practicing for at least 10 years, a “B” rating meant an attorney was rated “High” and had to be practicing for at least 5 years, and a “C” rating meant that the attorney was rated “fair” with no limitations on how long they were practicing. A second rating was also given to go along with the “A - B - C” rating and that was a “V,” meaning that the attorney's peers stated they had "Very High" ethical standards. Over the years this transitioned to “AV”, “BV”, and “CV” ratings - with an “AV” rating meaning that the attorney had reached the highest of professional excellence and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity.
For more than 130 years, Martindale-Hubbell has been evaluating attorneys for their strong legal ability and high ethical standards through a Peer Review Rating system. Prior to the 1887 edition of Martindale’s American Law Directory, which was the first publication to provide such ratings to attorneys, there was no way of truly knowing if the lawyer you were considering to do business with was trustworthy, ethical, or skilled in the legal field.
Martindale-Hubbell facilitates the awarding of a peer review rating. We contact an attorney’s references as well as other lawyers in the same geography and practice area/s to ask them to provide feedback on the attorney’s ethical standards. All attorneys must have their ethical standards confirmed by their peers before any award can be given.
Now just sit back and wait. We allow at least two weeks to give your references an opportunity to respond. After that time we’ll contact you with status updates as appropriate, either with the results of your review or providing you the opportunity to submit additional names.
James B. Martindale founded The Martindale Directory in 1868 with the goal of furnishing lawyers, merchants, real estate agents, and bankers with the address of a single reliable attorney, real estate office, banker, etc. in every U.S. city.
The Martindale Hubbell rating that most attorneys post on their websites is a peer review rating. In other words, they are based on what other attorneys think of them, not clients.
Martindale ratings used to be entirely based on peer reviews, but this has changed. Consumer preferences demand that there be more opportunities to read about the experiences of former clients as well.
While the Martindale Hubbell rating seems like a lot of effort, it may be worth some of the headaches thanks to the broad reach you’ll receive. Now that a single company owns so many legal directories, Martindale claims that it is posting the same profile information on Lawyers.com as well as Nolo.