Top American Lawyers vs. Lawyers of Distinction
The legal industry is becoming more and more competitive as time goes on. Attorneys are seeking any upper hand that will allow them to stand apart in this incredibly competitive field. The competitive nature of the industry has spawned several legal vanity organizations whose primary goal is to promote and market their members. Two such organizations are Lawyers of Distinction and Top American Lawyers.
With the legal vanity field saturated with competition, Lawyers of Distinction was founded in 2014 with the aim of creating an organization which fairly and unbiasedly evaluates potential members using a series of objective criteria. Using U.S. Provisional Patent # 62/743,254, Lawyers of Distinction utilizes twelve different facts to evaluate prospective members. The standards used by Lawyers of Distinction to assess potential members includes: Honors/Awards, Reviews (Google and AVVO), Case Results, Educational Background, Published Verdicts/Settlements, Representative Clients, Special Certifications, Legal Experience, Pro Bono/Community Outreach, and Writings/Publications/Lectures. The Lawyers of Distinction website sees thousands of people visit daily and, unlike competitors, Lawyers of Distinction does not recommend specific attorneys to clients and is therefore not considered an attorney referral service.
When an attorney is accepted into the Lawyers of Distinction Organization they are provided a myriad of exclusive benefits including: Customized 14 inch x 11 inch rosewood plaque featuring the member’s name, calendar year, and area of practice; an SEO(search engine optimized) enhanced custom profile in the Lawyers of Distinction Member Directory(includes profile photo, biographical information, backlinks to an attorney’s social media and website, Google Map integration, and curated reviews from Google/AVVO/Yelp); Lawyers of Distinction logo and trademarked materials for marketing, a national press release announcing their membership for immediate publication; Membership Rosters published quarterly in print and online in such publications as USA Today, The American Lawyers, The National Law Journal, and The New York Times; Social Media announcements across Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin; Brochures with business card inserts for the office; Access to the Members Only Private Facebook Group; Access to over $5000 in membership discounts with a variety of vendors such as Hilton, Marriott, Hertz, and more, and access to free; Unlimited CLE and Legal Research through a proprietary platform. Distinguished members receive an 11-inch Custom Crystal Statue in addition to the custom plaque.
Prospective members of Lawyers of Distinction can be nominated via their Steering Committee, third party nomination from a client or colleague, or they may apply directly for membership with the organization. Should an attorney be nominated by a third party, they are informed by Lawyers of Distinction who submitted their nomination.
Top American Lawyers, similarly, to Lawyers of Distinction, is a legal vanity organization which was created in 2018 whose goal is committed to only having the best attorneys in the United States as members. Top American Lawyers uses nominations to assist in finding prospective candidates who enter the nomination pool via peer nomination, third party resources and feedback.
To evaluate prospective members, Top American Lawyers uses the following criteria such as: Grit, determination, perseverance, client-commitment, professionalism, and ethics are just a few of the qualities required to become a member of the organization. More specific criteria are not made publicly available.
Once accepted into Top American Lawyers, member attorneys receive the following benefits: a directory profile on Top American Lawyers website; Custom Crystal; and use of the Top American Lawyers Logo. Though they share many similar benefits, Top American Lawyers does not offer unlimited, free CLE and Legal Research, social media integration, or print marketing opportunities in national publications.
While Lawyers of Distinction and Top American Lawyers take differing approaches to the legal vanity market, they both offer their members a comprehensive level of exposure in a competitive legal environment.
