Martindale-Hubbell ratings explained

Martindale-Hubbell, part of Martindale-Avvo, publishes peer ratings for lawyers. The AV mark is one of the best-known badges on US law firm websites, and searchers often meet it next to directory rankings such as Chambers or Legal 500. It works very differently from those directories. This guide explains what the ratings mean, how a lawyer gets one, and what a marketing team should do with it.

The three Peer Review Ratings

"AV" is a legacy of an older letter scale. The letters survive in the top rating's name, but the three levels above are the ones Martindale-Hubbell awards.

How ratings are determined

Martindale-Hubbell sends anonymous peer review surveys to lawyers and judges. Each reviewer rates the lawyer from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) in five categories:

• legal knowledge;
• analytical capabilities;
• judgment;
• communication ability;
• legal experience.

Reviewers also answer whether they believe the lawyer has very high ethical standards. Martindale-Hubbell says reviewers are drawn from the same area with similar practice areas, and that reviews must come from non-affiliated lawyers, so colleagues at the lawyer's own firm do not count.

A rating is awarded only once the lawyer receives a minimum number of qualifying responses. Martindale-Hubbell keeps that threshold confidential. It also describes a review window: responses must arrive within a defined period after the surveys go out.

How a lawyer gets reviewed

Martindale-Hubbell's attorney guidance sets three conditions: the lawyer is located in the United States or Canada, has been admitted for at least three years and has a profile on martindale.com. It states that a paid subscription is not required to have peer reviews published.

1. Ask Martindale-Hubbell to start a review

   The lawyer contacts its customer support team with name, firm, location and email address.

2. Submit a list of references

   Martindale-Hubbell provides a form for listing peer references. References must be practising US or Canadian lawyers, or sitting judges, listed on martindale.com with a valid email address.

3. References complete the survey

   Martindale-Hubbell emails each reference. Its own guidance notes that lawyers are much more likely to obtain a rating if they let their references know the survey is coming.

Martindale-Hubbell's public pages do not set out a fixed expiry date for a rating. Profiles show the year a rating was awarded, so a fresh review round is the way to keep it current.

Client review awards

Alongside peer ratings, Martindale-Hubbell publishes client reviews and gives Client Champion awards based on them:

Martindale-Hubbell says these awards count reviews across a two-year time frame and that it reassesses review status twice a year, adjusting awards to match. Unlike the peer rating, a client award can be gained or lost as reviews arrive and age.

How it differs from Chambers and Legal 500

Chambers and Legal 500 are research-led directories. Their researchers read a written submission, interview or email referees (clients and others who can speak to the work) and place firms and lawyers in ranked groups, called bands at Chambers and tiers at Legal 500, practice area by practice area. A Martindale-Hubbell rating has none of that structure:

• Who judges: fellow lawyers and judges, not a research team.
• What is judged: one lawyer's general ability and ethics, not a practice area's work over the last year.
• What you submit: a list of peer references, not a submission of matters.
• Timing: reviews can be requested at any point. There are no submission deadlines.
• Geography: US and Canadian lawyers only, where Chambers and Legal 500 cover firms worldwide.

Many firms hold both. For how the main directories and ratings compare, see our guide to law firm rankings, and the directories we cover.

Using the AV mark in advertising

Martindale-Hubbell treats its rating marks as certification marks and publishes use guidelines for them. Its guidelines require a certification mark reference wherever the mark appears. Online, that reference must sit with either Martindale-Hubbell's approved explanation of the rating or a link to a Martindale-Hubbell page that contains it. Separate wording applies to print, radio and television, and to business cards.

The guidelines also remind lawyers to comply with their own jurisdiction's rules on lawyer advertising. Check the rules for every jurisdiction where the firm advertises before the badge goes on a website, a bio or a pitch.

Source: Use Guidelines for Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings (PDF)

What a marketing team can do

• Audit the firm's profiles. List which lawyers hold a rating, which level, and the year it was awarded. Lawyers with three or more years of admission and no rating are candidates for a review.
• Prepare reference lists. Help each lawyer list opposing counsel, co-counsel and judges who know their work at first hand, and check each one is listed on martindale.com with a valid email.
• Brief the references. A short note that a survey is coming lifts the response rate.
• Display the mark correctly. Use the approved wording and link, and keep a record of the rules that apply in each jurisdiction.
• Keep it in proportion. A peer rating supports a lawyer's profile. It does not replace a well-prepared Chambers or Legal 500 submission, which has its own deadlines. See the deadline calendar.

If your team is preparing directory submissions alongside its Martindale-Hubbell work, we can help with stronger, researcher-ready submissions.

Frequently asked questions