Just the name “Legal Elite” says a lot about the attorneys whose names appear on Florida Trend’s annual list. You could say they’re at the top of their profession. The cream of the crop. Or the best of the best. All of those descriptions are apt.
But the real story is how they achieved this recognition. They weren’t hand-picked by a committee or editorial board. They didn’t have to fill out a lengthy questionnaire. They didn’t pay an entry fee or have to register.
They achieved this recognition by earning the trust, confidence, respect — and votes — of their peers. And who better to name the state’s top attorneys than the attorneys themselves? |
How the Legal Elite Are Chosen
Balloting for this year’s list began last October when Florida Trend invited in-state members of the Florida Bar to participate. Announcements in The Florida Bar Journal and The Florida Bar News publicized the ballot deadline and voting guidelines. We also notified last year’s Legal Elite, the lawyers who participated in last year’s balloting, the top contact at 148 law firms, local bar associations and Florida members of the Association of Corporate Counsel by postcard and e-mail that balloting had begun.
Lawyers were asked to name attorneys they hold in the highest regard or would recommend to others.
The ballots were processed, checked and tabulated by Bradenton-based Outsource America and Suncoast Opinion Surveys in St. Petersburg.
Each lawyer was given a score based on the number of votes he or she received and whether the votes came from within their firm (one point) or outside their firm (three points). Only lawyers who are currently licensed and practicing in Florida were considered eligible. Attorneys were also invited to submit names of lawyers for recognition in a separate Government Attorney category.
The list of top vote-getters was further examined using membership status and practice histories provided by the Florida Bar. A panel of previous Legal Elite winners, representing a variety of practice areas in cities across the state, reviewed the selection process and the list of finalists.
This year’s list of 918 Legal Elite attorneys represents less than 2% of the nearly 63,000 Florida Bar members practicing in Florida.
Hall of Fame
For the first time since we began publishing Legal Elite six years ago, we present the Legal Elite Hall of Fame. To be considered, an attorney must have been a Legal Elite winner for each of the past five years. A panel of lawyers was consulted to evaluate that list and make the final decision.
Florida's Top Law Firms
NEW! Florida's 25 largest law firms, ranked by number of lawyers in Florida— from the September 2009 issue of Florida Trend. Excel file includes data not published in Florida Trend.
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