LEGAL CENTS: Super Lawyers, Part One: What’s in a name?

By: Jane Pribek//August 19, 2011//

Listen to this article

Summer is the time of year when select attorneys are informed that they’ve been designated as “Super Lawyers” by a publication of the same name. But are they really the best lawyers in our metropolis?

Super Lawyers is definitely a schlocky name, and it’s the topic of this two-part series considering whether the designation is helpful to lawyers, or about as useful as Kryptonite.

Super Lawyers, per its website, is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”

Acquired by Thomson Reuters last year, it’s published as a magazine and online in all 50 states, and claims to reach more than 13 million readers. They’ve been publishing and distributing a Wisconsin edition since 2005.

No more than 5 percent of the total attorney population within a state is offered the distinction.

About 800 of the Wisconsin’s more than 23,000 lawyers were named Super Lawyers in 2010, said Cindy Larson, research and editorial director for Super Lawyers. A slightly larger number will be named in mid-November, when the 2011 list is announced.

You can decline the designation. Just don’t respond when the company asks to verify your contact information.

If you accept, they’ll publish your name, address, law school and practice areas, but no phone number, for free. It’s also free to post on your website and other marketing materials that you’ve been honored by Super Lawyers magazine.

Among the panoply of advertising opportunities you’ll then be offered is the chance to buy a desk marquee or wall plaque for a mere $279. Ouch!

It’s easy to say no to that. But should you say yes to the title?

Milwaukee lawyer Lynn Laufenberg answered in the affirmative. He believes his Super Lawyers designation, in conjunction with other marketing efforts, has yielded referrals from other attorneys.

“It’s a matter of reaffirming what people may already believe about the quality of the work that we do, “ he said. “It’s just a reinforcement. It’s hard for me to argue that it’s harmful or a bad thing. And if you want to talk about things that are harmful to the image of lawyers, you need look no further than lawyer advertising on late-night TV.”

It also draws in clients, said Wausau lawyer Christine Bremer Muggli.

“It’s something we all check,” she said. “Lawyers look at it. And it’s something people – clients — look at. I know they do. They’re happy to see that I’m in it. Clients mention that to me.”

The lawyers Muggli’s seen listed on Super Lawyers are all good lawyers, she said.

“If we all looked at it and said, ‘How much did he pay to get in there?’, we’d all drop out,” she said. “But nobody’s dropping and it’s still all good lawyers.”

Brookfield attorney Pat Dunphy, also a Super Lawyers honoree, agreed, saying, “It’s here and it’s here to stay.”

“It’s one of those things where you’re afraid not to participate,” he added.

But what about people who haven’t made the list?

Milwaukee lawyer Charlie Barr is among the non-Super.

“I don’t pay much attention to it,” he said. “I’m aware of what it is: It’s a marketing campaign, the ultimate objective of which is to sell advertising space.”

Barr, a Harvard Law graduate, is president-elect of the Milwaukee Bar Association and by most accounts, a pretty darn good lawyer.

“I’ve seen the lists before,” he said, “and there are some very good lawyers on there, who no doubt should be on any list of good lawyers. I’ve also seen lawyers on the list where my reaction was, ‘Really?’” There are plenty of good lawyers who aren’t on the list, Barr said, which is why he doesn’t pay too much attention to it.

“I don’t care a whit if I’m a super lawyer in the eyes of some random publication,” he said.

Dunphy acknowledged there’s a degree of subjectivity involved. As is the case with lists of the best books or albums of the year, he said, there’s always going to be worthy but overlooked candidates.

If you are selected as a Super Lawyer, it can be costly. To enhance your listing with a telephone number, email and website addresses, a photo and a short biography, you’ll have to pay $450. And for $600, you can add honors, certifications, bar activities, verdicts and more.

That sounds like a lot of money to me, and it initially did to Muggli, too.

“At first, I wasn’t sure,” she said. “It’s expensive. We’re small, country lawyers. But I’ve found that people really do like it. I think it’s worth it, therefore.”

While the additional costs are not insignificant, Laufenberg said, it’s less expensive than Yellow Pages advertising or TV buys. If it brings in just one decent case per year, he said, it pays for itself.

Muggli said it made her happy and proud to make the list, which she sees as a useful tool.

“To the extent that it sort of helps people make decisions on a lawyer, because there’s obviously a lot of choices out there, and to the extent that it’s peer-driven and honest, I have no problem with services helping people make that choice,” she said.

So, is it honest? I’ll take a look at that in next column.

Jane Pribek can be reached at [email protected].

Select Region or Brand

Upcoming Event