Criteria
Potential nominees should have scored at least one significant plaintiffs win between January 2023 and January 2024, and possess an impressive track record of wins within the past three to five years. A “significant win” means prevailing in a bench or jury trial or in a major settlement in which the stakes are high—for example, a substantial amount of money is on the line or the outcome could affect litigation strategy or the results in similar cases nationally.
To be eligible for this list, firms should devote at least 50% of their litigation resources to plaintiffs work.
Among the criteria that we may use to evaluate firms and/or lawyers:
To be eligible for this list, firms should devote at least 50% of their litigation resources to plaintiffs work.
Among the criteria that we may use to evaluate firms and/or lawyers:
- Performance in significant cases, including key rulings, victories at trial, and settlements
- Verdict dollar amount, size of punitive damages penalties, cash settlements
- Complexity of procedure and substantive law
- Duration of case, and/or number of class members
- Willingness to take on large cases and to persevere in the face of adversity
- Volume of cases handled in a particular time period (sum of accumulated verdicts or settlements)
- The novelty of claim, cause of action, or theory of recovery
- Impact – litigation results that changed a government, business practice (for instance, the way that credit card fees are handled; or the pricing structure in a particular industry)
- Feedback or acknowledgment from the bench
- Firm size in relation to impact or recovery amount
- Each result must reflect achievements by lawyers practicing at your firm; do not submit wins by lateral hires while at their old firms.
- Please do not submit appellate victories. They do not count for this survey.
- Unless otherwise marked, all information submitted will be considered on-the-record.
*Some critical notes to consider:
- Confidential information: All information submitted will be considered on the record and included in our selection process. Please, do not submit confidential information, including client names or client matters.
- How does ETL differ from Winning Litigators: Unlike National Law Journal's Winning Litigators, Elite Trial Lawyers exclusively spotlights plaintiffs lawyers’ achievements.