Best Lawyers and U.S. News & World Report publicly announce the Thirteenth Edition of the “Best Law Firms” rankings. Butler Spink LLP was included in this elite and extremely impressive group, JoAnn C. Butler in Land Use and Zoning Law, and Michael T. Spink in Litigation – Real Estate and Real Estate Law. Both JoAnn and Michael have been listed in Best Lawyers® since 2006.
AUGUSTA, Ga., November 3, 2022 — U.S. News & World Report, and Best Lawyers®for the 13th consecutive year, collaboratively announce the release of the U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings.
“U.S. News is committed to providing consumers with the data and information they need to make some of life’s biggest decisions,” said Morgan Felchner, executive editor at U.S. News. “This commitment extends to the ‘Best Law Firms’ rankings, evaluating law firms in their efforts to bring important services to companies and individuals alike.”
The 2023 edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” recognizes the most elite firms across the nation, identified for their professional excellence with consistently positive feedback from clients and peers. To become eligible for a “Best Law Firms” ranking, at least one lawyer at the firm must be recognized in the latest edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, an exclusive award presented to only the top 5% of lawyers in the United States.
“The legal community views ‘Best Law Firms’ rankings as the top marker of excellence for the reason that our methodology is comprehensive, rigorous and historically proven,” says CEO of Best Lawyers Phillip Greer. “Our extensive process guarantees this designation is bestowed upon only the best legal practices.”
To produce the 13th edition, the Best Lawyers research team analyzed almost 124,000 client responses, 12.2 million evaluations of more than 115,000 lawyers from more than 22,000 firms and conducted hundreds of interviews with law firm leaders. This process resulted in 2,071 firms earning a national recognition, and 15,825 firms earning a metropolitan recognition. Of those, only 571 firms earned a national Tier 1 recognition and only 64 firms earned a “Law Firm of the Year” designation.
Law firms receiving the “Law Firm of the Year” designation have an outstanding overall performance in our research of a given specialty. All the same factors for determining national rankings also apply to these awards. Client reviews, peer-attorney feedback and the “Law Firm Leader Surveys” single-out the top firm in each of the 75 nationally ranked practice areas. Additionally, a firm can only win in two categories in a particular edition.
Achieving a tiered ranking in U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. Ranked firms, presented in three tiers, are recognized on a national and regional-based scale. All three tier rankings represent the highest-level feedback a firm can receive and demonstrate the best in the legal industry across the United States.
National and metropolitan Tier 1 rankings will be featured in the physical edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms”, which will be distributed to more than 30,000 in-house counsel.
The 2023 U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” publication can be viewed online here, and rankings can be viewed in their entirety by visiting bestlawfirms.usnews.com.
ABOUT “BEST LAW FIRMS”
The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “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 the field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process. To be eligible for a 2023 ranking, a law firm must have at least one lawyer recognized in the 28th edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for that location and specialty.
ABOUT U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. A digital news and information company focused on Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars and News, USNews.com provides consumer advice, rankings and analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all stages of life. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
ABOUT BEST LAWYERS
For more than four decades, Best Lawyers has assisted those in need of legal services to identify the lawyers best qualified to represent them in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be recognized; therefore, recognition by Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.