Peer-reputation selection you cannot buy, wrapped in placements you can.
What it's really for An attorney recognition list chosen by peer nomination, then monetized through profiles and plaques.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its peer-selected 'Super Lawyers' attorney lists, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
- Operating since
- 1991 (35 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- It sells advertising, "platinum"/standard profiles, print-supplement placements, and reprints/plaques/badges to the very attorneys and firms it selects, while the underlying free listing is editorial.
- What they do
- It publishes an annual state-by-state, practice-area directory naming roughly the top 5% of attorneys ("Super Lawyers") and up-and-comers ("Rising Stars"), chosen via peer nomination, staff research on 12 indicators, and a blue-ribbon peer panel.
- What to watch for
- A listing reflects peer reputation and resume indicators, not any test of case outcomes or client results, and the prominent profiles, ads, and "Top Spot" placements you see are paid marketing the lawyer bought, not signs they ranked higher.
- Composite score
- 2.50 / 5.00 → grade C
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a patented multiphase process (peer nominations, independent research on 12 indicators, and a blue-ribbon peer panel); the published process states attorneys cannot pay to be listed: lawyers cannot 'buy one's way onto the list,' and there is no requirement to purchase any product for inclusion. Source: Super Lawyers — The Selection Process (official) →
- Super Lawyers was founded in 1991 by Key Professional Media (Minneapolis) and was acquired by Thomson Reuters in February 2010. Source: LawSites — Thomson Reuters Acquires Super Lawyers (Feb 2010) →
- Beyond the free editorial listing, Super Lawyers sells selected attorneys advertising and marketing products — Platinum Profile, Standard Profile, display ads, and premium 'Top Spot'/'Spotlight' placements — and reported ad/profile costs run as high as ~$20,000 for a one-page platinum profile in a print supplement. Source: ABA Journal — Super Lawyer Ads Cost Super Big Bucks →