RAMSAY NAMED “SUPER LAWYER” FOR SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR Minnesota Law & Politics, Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine, and Twin Cities Business Monthly have again named Charles Ramsay as a Minnesota "SuperLawyer" for 2006. Minnesota’s top lawyers are chosen by their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics. This year’s selections are based on surveys of approximately 16,500 active lawyers across the state. The goal was to select as Super Lawyers the top 5 percent of Minnesota attorneys in more than 60 practice areas. No other legal publisher uses a multi-step process to identify qualified candidates that incorporates peer recognition and professional achievement. The system of balloting, peer evaluation, and internal research acts as a system of checks and balances that produces a diverse and comprehensive listing of outstanding lawyers. The Super Lawyers process includes the following: Step One: Creation of the Candidate Pool -- Statewide survey of lawyers Each year, Law & Politics conducts a statewide survey of lawyers. It sends ballots to lawyers who’ve been in practice at least five years. It has lawyers nominate the best attorneys they’ve personally observed in action. Nominees need not be in private practice. Lawyers may nominate legal aid attorneys, prosecutors and in-house counsels. Lawyers may nominate attorneys in their own firm, but these nominations count only if each in-firm nomination is matched by at least one out-firm nomination. Each nomination carries a point value. An out-firm vote has substantially greater point value than an in-firm vote. Lawyers cannot vote for themselves. With its database, Law and Politics is able to keep track of who votes for whom. This helps detect any excessive "back-scratching" (lawyers voting for each other) and "block voting" (where members of the same law firm all cast identical ballots. "Star Search" process It adds additional names to the candidate pool through its "Star Search" process.
The attorney-led research staff searches for outstanding lawyers in a state or region by:
• Reviewing national and local periodicals as well as legal trade journals
• Searching numerous databases and on-line sources
• Conducting in-person and telephonic meetings with law firms
• The Star Search step is designed to identify practitioners who may have
been missed in the balloting process. Examples of lawyers often
overlooked in balloting:
– lawyers with national litigation practices who rarely appear in the courts
of their home jurisdiction
– outstanding but low-key, low-profile lawyers
– lawyers practicing in less visible or highly specialized practice areas Step Two: Evaluation of Lawyers in Candidate Pool The research department examines the background and experience of each candidate, searching for evidence of peer recognition and professional achievement. Factors considered in evaluating and awarding points to candidates:
• Verdicts and settlements
• Transactions
• Representative clients
• Experience
• Honors and awards
• Special licenses and certifications
• Position within law firm
• Bar and or other professional activity
• Pro bono and community service
• Scholarly lectures and writings
• Education and employment background
• Other outstanding achievement Step Three: Peer Evaluation by Practice Area This is called the "Blue Ribbon" review process. Law & Politics divides candidates into their primary areas of practice. Those with high point totals from the balloting and qualitative evaluation steps are asked to be on a blue ribbon panel for their practice area. Panelists review and score a list of candidates from their practice area. Panelists may add names to the list. These are passed along to research for evaluation. Final Selection Candidates are divided according to their firm size: large, medium and small (size categories vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction). Those with the highest point totals are selected from each category. Only 5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are named Super Lawyers. Before Publishing Law & Politics checks each candidate’s standing with the local licensing authority and asks each candidate to aver that they have never been subject to disciplinary or criminal proceedings. It then performs internet searches on each Super Lawyer before publication to ensure there are no outstanding matters that would reflect adversely on the lawyer. |
