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In order to assist my son with a custody issue it has become necessary to hire a lawyer. During my search for the right attorney I learned of the Martindale Hubbell rating system and used that to help narrow the field. I am curious to know what the resident attorneys (and knowledgeable others) think of the system. What I thought funny (actually ha ha funny) was that it basically rates an attorney as an A, B, or C by peer input with A being the highest rating yet the C rating reads "good to high" legal ability. There is no lower rating. Kind of implies that there are no bad lawyers. The fact that there is any type of rating system is a good sign to me but I'm curious as to the value of this system. Any thoughts?
Roguish Lawyer
03-30-2006, 11:04
In order to assist my son with a custody issue it has become necessary to hire a lawyer. During my search for the right attorney I learned of the Martindale Hubbell rating system and used that to help narrow the field. I am curious to know what the resident attorneys (and knowledgeable others) think of the system. What I thought funny (actually ha ha funny) was that it basically rates an attorney as an A, B, or C by peer input with A being the highest rating yet the C rating reads "good to high" legal ability. There is no lower rating. Kind of implies that there are no bad lawyers. The fact that there is any type of rating system is a good sign to me but I'm curious as to the value of this system. Any thoughts?
I would not rely on the rating system. I don't think most lawyers submit applications to be rated (I know I have not). But it is a good directory and provides useful information like educational background, etc.
Feel free to PM me if you need help.
I am not a lawyer, but I seem to require their services frequently. :D
For something like this, I'd recommend good 'ol word of mouth. If your son doesn't know anybody who has emerged from a similar ordeal intact, you might go down to the county courthouse and chat up the clerks. They will usually have an opinion about who seems to get the job done, and will have heard the horror stories (if there are any) about individual lawyers. I know it sounds cheesy, but I have resorted to such tactics myself and, when venturing into their cave, have found it is helpful to bring flowers. They'll have a hard time thinking of it as grease but will still feel the urge to reciprocate.
Thanks for the help guys :). The selection issue is past tense but this is good advice for anybody. The town where this issue will be heard is 4-5 hrs from home and we had a weekend to select a lawyer to meet with on Monday for a court date Tuesday (week before last). We weren't able to nose around the courthouse but we did talk to some people we know in that county as well as getting some recommendations from some lawyer friends here at home and of course the Martindale Hubbell website. The guys we got seem pretty sharp and have a good reputation.
Most of the attorneys here in my town as well as those in the town where we hired were rated by M-H. I would think it somewhat risky for a lawyer to allow him/herself to be publicly rated by their peers. There were quite a few 'C's and not many 'A's.