Sandra Morgan Little, Jan Gilman-Tepper and Roberta Batley are once again recognized by Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Lawyers. The Little, Gilman-Tepper and Batley law firm has been designated as an AV® Preeminent™ Law Firm.

So you are asking “What does this mean?” Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ are the gold standard in attorney ratings, and have been for more than a century. Attorneys looking to refer a client, as well as individuals researching lawyers for their own legal needs, use these ratings to identify, evaluate and select the most appropriate lawyer for their legal issue.

The Martindale Directory was first published in 1868 by James B. Martindale, a lawyer and businessman.  By 1896, the directory included basic information that still appears in the modern “Practice Profile” listings, as well as ratings and a section on foreign lawyers and firms.

In 1930, the Martindale Company purchased the publishing rights to Hubbell’s Legal Directory which consisted of: a digest of the collected laws of each state; court calendars; and a selective list of lawyers and firms.

Through the combination of the Martindale Directory and Hubbell’s Legal Directory, the first edition of the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory was produced in 1931 as a two-volume set. Volume I consisted of the lawyer listings and volume II contained the “Law Digest”.

In 1990, Martindale-Hubbell was purchased by Reed International P.L.C.

In October 2013, Reed Elsevier entered into a joint venture with Internet Brands, LLC. In March 2014, the joint venture was completed resulting in the combination of Martindale-Hubbell, Lawyers.com and Internet Brand’s Nolo legal division creating the largest online legal network. The joint venture operates under the name of Martindale-Hubbell.

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings reflect a combination of achieving a Very High General Ethical Standards rating and a Legal Ability numerical rating. For lawyers rated with the changed methodology the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings will reflect the following:

The General Ethical Standards rating denotes adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities. Those lawyers who meet the “Very High” criteria of General Ethical Standards can proceed to the next step in the ratings process AV-Preeminent being the highest.

AV® Preeminent™ (4.5-5.0) – An AV® certification mark is a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional .