Peer review can be unforgiving—tough, honest, no holds barred. For these reasons, peer review is among the most reliable means by which to select an attorney. Case in point: in the field of international law, the magazine Law & Politics recently named Richard Michaels, Chairman of SRZ, as one of only nine "Super Lawyers" in the state of Illinois. Ballots mailed to some 47,000 Illinois attorneys elicited the nominations from which Michaels' name emerged among the leaders.

Through attorney-driven research and independent polling, Law & Politics chooses Super Lawyers in numerous states, never exceeding five percent of practicing attorneys in any one state. In 2007, for example, seven SRZ attorneys earned the Super Lawyer designation (with a record 15 having earned it the year before). Only "lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement" are named Super Lawyers explains its website, www.SuperLawyers.com. Attorneys so named can take pride in knowing that peers who observed them in court or across a conference table steered them to this distinction. "Lawyers may nominate others in their firm, but only if they select an equal or greater number of attorneys from other firms." In this point-based system, votes earned outside a nominee's law firm carry more weight than votes acquired within.

Joining Law & Politics as another of the legal industry's most credible organizations performing peer review is the Leading Lawyers Network, which conducts a highly respected form of professional evaluation. In 2006, it honored 15 SRZ attorneys as "Leading Lawyers," following an equally selective review process. "Only lawyers who were most often recommended by their peers in our statewide surveys are listed on LeadingLawyers.com," explains this website, a division of the venerable Law Bulletin Publishing Company, whose Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, established in 1854, was the nation's first newspaper devoted to court coverage exclusively. Thousands of attorneys throughout Illinois respond to each survey, which includes a critical question: "If a family member or friend needs legal help and you can't take the case, which lawyers would you recommend within your area of law or geographic region?" A compelling component in the process is this: "peers recommend peers"—citing not coworkers, not themselves, only their competitors.

As with Super Lawyers, selection of Leading Lawyers in Illinois never exceeds more than five percent of the total number of attorneys practicing in the state. SRZ attorneys honored as Illinois Super Lawyers for 2006 and 2007 include:

L. Andrew Brehm
Charles H. Cole*
Thomas G. Draths*
Douglas A. Hanson
Ernest W. Irons
Daniel V. Kinsella*
James L. Komie*
Robert A. Michalak
Michael B. Roche*
Robert J. Trizna*

The following attorneys were named Leading Lawyers for 2006:

Harry C. Benford
L. Andrew Brehm
Charles H. Cole
Thomas G. Draths
Eric M. Fogel
David M. Giangrossi
Ernest W. Irons
Daniel V. Kinsella
James L. Komie
Robert A. Michalak
Michael B. Roche
Joseph J. Stevens

Of both distinctions business leaders take notice. The following publications are among a long list of periodicals touting SRZ attorneys honored as Super Lawyers, Leading Lawyers or both:

Chicago Life (supplement to The New York Times)
Chicago Magazine
Crain's Chicago Business
Daily Herald
Illinois Real Estate Journal
Jewish United Fund News
Law Day
Pioneer Press

*A 2007 Super Lawyer.

©2001-2008 Schuyler Roche, P.C. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer