Henry E. Weil and Stuart
H. Grozbean have both been selected as one of Maryland's top 5
percent of lawyers. With that distinction comes the term "Super
Lawyer". They have also been named to Who's Who and interviewed
and quoted in numerous TV and newspaper articles.
 The evaluation process to become a "Super
Lawyer" is rigorous as you can see by reading the
below criteria from printed material.
Step One: Creation
of the Candidate Pool
Statewide survey of lawyers
- Each year, we conduct a statewide survey of
lawyers (except in California and Washington, D.C., where we
survey by region). Lawyers eligible to participate include those
who have been in practice for at least five years.
- This year, we will invite more than 800,000
lawyers nationwide to participate in our survey.
- We ask the lawyers to 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 counsel.
- 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 our database, we are able to keep track
of who votes for whom. This helps us detect any excessive
"back-scratch" voting (lawyers voting for each other) and "block
voting" (where members of the same law firm all cast identical
ballots).
"Star Search" process
We add additional names to the candidate pool
through our "Star Search" process.
Our attorney-led research staff searches for
outstanding lawyers by:
- Reviewing national and local periodicals as
well as legal trade journals
- Searching numerous databases and online
sources
- Conducting in-person and telephonic meetings
with law firms
Some of the attorneys found through Star Search
may have been missed in the online balloting process. Examples of
lawyers often overlooked in balloting:
- Lawyers with national litigation practices
who rarely appear in the courts of their home jurisdiction
- Lawyers in smaller firms, or from smaller
communities
- Lawyers practicing in less visible or highly
specialized practice areas
Step Two: Evaluation of Lawyers in Candidate Pool
Our research department examines the background
and experience of each candidate searching for evidence of peer
recognition and professional achievement.
Factors considered in evaluating 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
- Candidates are grouped according to primary
area 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
Final candidates are segmented according to firm
size (firm size categories vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction).
Those with the highest point totals from each category are selected.
Only 5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are selected for
inclusion in Super Lawyers.
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