The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that considers overall firm performance, client and lawyer evaluations, and peer recognition from leading attorneys across the United States. Firms included in the 2020 “Best Law Firms” rankings are recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers.
The HGD practices recognized in the 2020 edition of “Best Law Firms” include
Metropolitan Tier 1
- Birmingham
- Commercial Litigation
- Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs
- Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
- Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
Metropolitan Tier 2
- Birmingham
- Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs
Metropolitan Tier 3
- Birmingham
- Litigation – Insurance
To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must first have a lawyer recognized in The Best Lawyers in America©, which recognizes the top 5% of private practicing lawyers in the United States. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. “Choosing the right law firm can be a vital decision,” said Tim Smart, executive editor at U.S. News & World Report.
“The rankings draw on U.S. News’ 35 years of experience evaluating complex institutions to help individuals and companies alike make the best decisions.” The 2020 rankings are based on the highest number of participating firms and client votes received on record. Almost 16,000 lawyers provided more than 1,229,000 law firm assessments, and more than 12,000 clients participated providing 107,000 evaluations.
“For the 2020 ‘Best Law Firms’ publication, the evaluation process has remained just as rigorous and discerning as it did when we first started ten years ago.” says Phil Greer, CEO of Best Lawyers. “This year we reviewed 14,931 law firms throughout the United States – across 75 national practice areas – and a total of 2,106 firms received a national law firm ranking. We are proud that the ‘Best Law Firms’ rankings continue to act as an indicator of excellence throughout the legal industry.”
Ranked firms, presented in three tiers, are recognized on a national and regional-based scale. Firms that received a tier designation reflect the highest level of respect a firm can earn among other leading lawyers and clients from the same communities and practice areas. Awards were given in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan practice areas.
