Lawyers of Distinction Listing
Lawyers of Distinction is an online legal directory and is one of the 1200 “Best”__??__listing groups now in existence under another name.
It claims to be limited to the ten (10) percent of the lawyers in the country who apply for consideration and pay the membership fee of $425-$775 per year plus the opportunity to purchase additional glass plaques at the cost of $100 per plaque or $175 per glass statue.
The rather vague reference to their Selection Process is governed by a committee comprised of five lawyers and one non-lawyer. An attempt is made to appeal to the in-depth review of a candidate’s legal credentials which can be actually submitted by the candidate themselves or by a fellow attorney.
It suggests that all of this extensive review is designed to pick the top 10% lawyers in the country. Tennessee has over 18,888 licensed attorneys which, based on a population of 6,651,940 indicates one lawyer for around each 10,000 citizens. In the entire country, there are 1,315,516 attorneys.
It is a pretty non-exclusive group as there are eighty seven (87) categories
that anyone can list as an area of interest and Chattanooga’s membership consists of one (1) lawyer in Family and Divorce Law and one (1) in Educational Law.
So far, only 16 Tennessee lawyers have chosen to pay for the honor of contributing a yearly fee ranging from $475-$775 per year. With your payment, you get a customized 12 x 15 inch genuine cherry wood plaque for $475 per year plus a 10 inch tall translucent personalized crystal statue for $775 per year. Other benefits allow you to purchase additional copies of the above for $100-$175 each. Use of their logo for your website, discounts at Avis car rentals and several hotel chains are included.
Website and advertising listings identifying the attorney as a “Distinguished Attorney” in the American Bar Association Journal, New York Times and U.S.A. Today are also parts of the listed benefits.
Each category has an “Apply for Consideration” space which means the attorney can nominate themselves to be included in the top 10% in America.
It also claims that 97% of all U.S. attorneys have Avvo profiles and how you can distinguish yourself and increase that rating with your Lawyer of Distinction category. Avvo strengths and weaknesses have been discussed in a previous article of the Truth in Lawyer Advertising.com blog.
The self-promoting website listing also contains a quasi-disclosure stating that the Lawyers of Distinction “designation is based upon the proprietary analysis of the Lawyers of Distinction organization alone and is not intended to be endorsed by any of the 50 United States Bar Association or The District of Columbia Bar Association”.
It appears that there is plenty of room in the “Distinguished” membership in Tennessee if you want to be included in the Top 10%.
How can an attorney get this designation? Just fill out on online application, get a couple of buddies to recommend you, pay the selected membership fee and you will probably be granted the privilege of claiming you are in the top 10%.
P.S. On January 12, 2018, Mockingbird Marketing made an announcement congratulating Lucy Davis for becoming a Lawyer of Distinction. Lucy’s application was accepted although she is a four legged canine! Whether she is qualified to compete with the Chattanooga Law Dogs is yet to be determined.
I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!