What is Super Lawyer: Super Lawyers recognizes the top attorneys nationwide, across a variety of practice areas and firm sizes, using a patented process of independent research and peer feedback. A number of lawyers have been selected, including those with many years of experience and those who are Rising Stars. Super Lawyers is a resource designed to assist those in need of an attorney, which has grown over three decades with an unparalleled reach in print magazines and online. Among the most frequently searched queries by attorneys in the United States is what is the Super Lawyers award, is it important, and should it appear on your website?
There are a million answers to any oft-asked question online, and you’ll find both extremes. Many blogs strongly believe Super Lawyers badge holders should display their badge with pride. Others see it as a tacky and meaningless boast. Often, you’ll find a financial motive for feeling strongly anti or pro when you wade through all these opinions. Online attorney ratings are big business.
should it appear on your website?
Since the truth normally sits somewhere between extremes of opinions, today we’ll discuss this question, but we’re less interested in a “yes” or “no” answer than a rationale. Don’t worry… if you’re looking for an easy yes or no, we’ll do our best to provide it at the end. We don’t have an interest in this race because we are an attorney web marketing agency with no larger corporate parent. We work with many attorneys who are Super Lawyers – and many more who aren’t – but we have no kickback arrangement with them.
As we’ve built a lot of law firm websites, we’ve included this type of rating badge on some and left it out on others. It depends on the firm — how they feel about Super Lawyers, how their clients might feel about it, what their local competitors are doing, and how the firm has positioned itself in terms of a USP (Unique Selling Proposition). First, let’s clarify what Super Lawyers is (including its sister designation, the Rising Stars award) and clear up some of the confusion about how the program works and how important it is.
Is Super Lawyers a Scam? How Does It Work?
In its own words, Super Lawyers claims to distinguish “the best from the rest” among U.S. lawyers. The patented selection process includes independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations to identify outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas.” While many other services try to do the same thing (read our thoughts on Avvo reviews), Super Lawyers stands out for the following reasons:
- One of the most popular attorney rating websites is Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters owns Westlaw, too. They use a unique approach to determine which lawyers are highly rated. (They even have a patent on the process!) • It appears on a lot of law firm websites, which leads other lawyers to think they should add it as well.
- It is not possible for everyone to become a Super Lawyer. Only about 5% of attorneys in each state are eligible. However, when you realize that not all lawyers are in the running – only those who submit their names – it seems less selective.
- A round of nominations begins the selection process, most of which come from fellow attorneys. To its credit, the organization strives to keep the process fair.
- It is not possible to nominate yourself or to pay your way into consideration.
- If you are nominated by someone in your own law firm, that nomination is weighted differently and must be supported by someone outside the firm as well.
- Super Lawyers maintains a research team tasked with assigning point values to nominated attorneys based on independent / objective criteria (such as honors, certifications, publications, etc.). In addition to finding its own candidates, the same team is also able to nominate its own candidates.
- Final decisions are made by attorneys who have previously earned high Super Lawyers ratings.
- Those words go too far. Even the New Jersey Supreme Court agrees. Look no further than this 2008 court decision, which Super Lawyers is more than happy to share with you. (It’s prominently displayed on their website.)
- In order to produce a list of lawyers who have achieved high peer recognition, met ethical standards, and demonstrated some level of achievement in their fields, [the Super Lawyers selection process] is comprehensive, good-faith, detailed, and rigorous.
- There is no doubt that [Super Lawyers’ selection procedures are sophisticated, comprehensive and complex.”
“It is absolutely clear from this record that [Super Lawyers] does not permit a lawyer to buy one’s way onto the list, nor is there any requirement to purchase a product for inclusion in the lists or any quid pro quo associated with the evaluation and listing of an attorney or the subsequent marketing of one’s inclusion.”
You cannot buy your way onto the list, but you can buy your way to a higher spot. Those attorneys who pay for premium placement get the most visibility on the Super Lawyers site.) They also get the most visibility in Google and their listings. The program is a for-profit enterprise, owned by a major corporation, so the entire process is ultimately about making Thomson Reuters money, however fair the methodology may appear. This is not the Nobel Peace Prize. If you’re wondering “is super lawyers legit?”, the answer is yes, but know that the top listings are paid advertiser spots and are marked with a bookmark icon.
How About the Rising Stars of Super Lawyers?
A separate list, Rising Stars, is still maintained by Super Lawyers, but its honorees must meet the following criteria:
- Younger than 40 years old, the attorney
- It has been less than 10 years since the attorney began practicing
- In addition, the attorney meets the criteria for being designated a Super Lawyer
- Unlike the Super Lawyers list, which is limited to 5% of the practicing attorneys in each state, Rising Stars is even more selective: it’s limited to 2.5%.
- Clarify Your Goals Before Including Super Lawyers on Your Website
Having explained how Super Lawyers works and whether it’s “legit,” let’s now turn our attention to the question: does the designation (usually expressed as a colorful digital badge) belong on your law firm’s website?
The best way to answer that question is to ask yourself: why is anything on your website? Why do you even have a website?
You need clients, you need a strong brand, you need to edge out your competitors, and you need to communicate your USP.
- To put it another way, the goal is to grow your firm and make more money.
- To put it bluntly, your website isn’t about you… or at least shouldn’t be about you. (More on that later).
- This whole argument about whether to include Super Lawyers on your website boils down to a single question: does it help you grow your practice by getting bigger cases and better clients?
- Search Google for “Best” keywords in your area, such as: Best Personal Injury Lawyers, and see which directories appear. If Superlawyers appears for important terms, it might be worth a look.
We Messaging vs. You Messaging: Which Is Super Lawyers?
You should always make your law firm’s marketing messages about the client instead of the lawyer, says Juris Digital. It’s the difference between: We have so many degrees, so many wins under our belts, so much experience…”)
- You will probably have a hard time getting a fair settlement from the insurance company by yourself, but an experienced lawyer with a successful track record can help.
- Clients can relate to and understand the Super Lawyers designation when it is framed within a narrative.
- Your website isn’t so much about whether you include a Super Lawyers listing as it is about how you do so.
- Make sure you check your jurisdiction’s latest ethics opinions as well
- If you think mentioning Super Lawyers on your website might get you in trouble with your state bar, stay away from it.
It is our understanding that no state ethics board has prohibited attorneys from displaying Super Lawyers badges on their websites. However, several states (most notably New Jersey) have issued strict guidelines on this. If you are selected by the Super Lawyers organization for inclusion on its published list, it is okay to mention that, but you cannot simply call yourself a Super Lawyer without further explanation. (That is important because many lawyers call themselves that online, without any fine print.) Including the Super Lawyers designation on LinkedIn or other social media forums could get you into trouble even if you clarify on your own site.
Connecticut has an ethics advisory opinion that discusses the importance of clarifying which practice area Super Lawyers recognized you for. In 2011, the ABA published a study detailing ethical problems that might arise in other jurisdictions. If other ethics boards issue new and different opinions in the future, keep an eye out for them and, in the meantime, err on the side of careful and thorough wording… or don’t mention Super Lawyers at all. As a side note, read our guide to six common ethics mistakes lawyers make in their online marketing. There are some lifesavers in there.
How do you feel about Super Lawyers? Iucky or proud?
In all of this, it’s important to consider your own personal reaction to the Super Lawyers brand. Did you feel proud when you or your colleagues were selected? Did others in your own life seem impressed? Does the distinction matter to you? It is something to be proud of! If you respect the honor and are genuinely proud to have it, put it on your website! Be proud! If it doesn’t sit well with you, don’t feel obligated to broadcast it. We promise: you’re forgiven.
Are super lawyers and SEO more beneficial to you or to them?
There are prospective clients out there who look for lawyers on attorney rating websites. SEO cuts both ways when it comes to Super Lawyers. Google’s quality score is enhanced when those sites link to your firm and that brings in leads as well as some backlinking value. You may be helping Thomson Reuters just as much as they are helping you (if not more), since the embed code they send along with that badge links your site to theirs. If you do this, you run the risk of sending traffic away from your site to SuperLawyers.com, where your client-to-be may find another local lawyer (perhaps one paying for premium placement) and hire them.
Although most of your leads will see the badge, some will be impressed by it, but how many will click and start browsing for other lawyers? Even if it happens once, it might be too many. What if it’s a million-dollar case that got away? Despite consistently ranking high in local search results, SuperLawyers.com does very well on Google. It’s better to be listed there than not, but just because you’re a Super Lawyer doesn’t mean you’ve got to plaster it all over your home page. In other words, they can link to you even if you don’t.
There is no clear-cut answer on whether SEO belongs in the “pro” or “con” column for Super Lawyers. Are you looking for a yes or no answer? We promised an easy “yes” or “no” for those looking for an easy answer to the question in our headline. So here it is… By all means, say you’re a Super Lawyer. But (surprise, surprise… a caveat):
- Make no fuss about it.
- Make it a “you” narrative, not an “us” narrative
- Don’t link to SuperLawyers.com from your own website
- Use language that respects your jurisdiction’s ethics rules & opinions with extreme caution
- Refer to Super Lawyers on social media with the same context and disclosures as required by ethics
- Your website should never focus on the Super Lawyers designation.
- The presence of a Super Lawyers badge does not determine the success of a law firm.
- Manage your law firm’s digital marketing strategy with Juris Digital
- Your real question is how to market your legal services online, not whether to include Super Lawyers on your website.
- We specialize in digital marketing for attorneys at Juris Digital (the only thing we do, in fact), and we’re very good at it.
- We’ve earned the top spot on Google for attorney SEO, and it’s the same reason we’ve gotten many of our other clients there too.