How We Rank Lawyers
Most "best lawyer" lists are advertising. We built ours on court records.
If you've ever searched for "best criminal defense lawyer in Texas," you've seen the same names recycled across a dozen directories. Most of those placements are paid. The attorney writes a check, and their name shows up on a list. That's not a ranking — it's an ad.
We do it differently. We pull actual case records from Texas courts, look at what happened in real courtrooms, and measure things that matter to someone facing charges: Did this attorney get cases dismissed? Did they win at trial? How often do they handle this specific type of case? How deep is their bench? Then we weight those factors, run the numbers, and publish the results.
No attorney can pay to appear on our lists. No firm can pay to be removed from them, either. Here's exactly what goes into our rankings and how much each factor counts.
What We Measure (and Why)
Case Outcome Analysis
30%We analyze actual case outcomes from publicly available court records across Texas counties. This includes dismissal rates, acquittals, charge reductions, and favorable plea agreements relative to the severity of charges filed. Attorneys are benchmarked against county-level averages to account for jurisdictional differences in prosecution patterns and judicial tendencies. As the most objective and measurable indicator of attorney performance, case outcomes carry the greatest weight in our rankings.
Concentration of Focus
25%We measure the proportion of each attorney's total caseload that falls within the specific practice area being ranked. An attorney who dedicates 80% or more of their practice to a single area—such as DWI defense or assault cases—develops a depth of expertise that generalists simply cannot match. They see more fact patterns, know the nuances of specific statutes, build stronger relationships with the judges and prosecutors who handle those cases daily, and stay current on evolving case law. We heavily reward this specialization because a high concentration of focus is one of the strongest predictors of superior outcomes for clients.
Talent Concentration
20%We evaluate the depth and quality of legal talent within each firm. This goes beyond simple headcount—we assess how many attorneys on staff hold meaningful credentials such as Board Certification in Criminal Law, Super Lawyers recognition, former prosecutor experience, ACS Forensic Lawyer-Scientist designations, or decades of focused trial experience. A firm with multiple highly credentialed attorneys creates a compounding advantage: they share institutional knowledge, collaborate on complex case strategy, and provide clients with backup expertise that solo practitioners simply cannot offer. The more impressive attorneys under one roof, the stronger the firm scores.
Caseload & Dedication
10%We evaluate each attorney's active caseload to assess their capacity for individual client attention. Firms that maintain manageable caseloads while sustaining high outcome rates demonstrate the balance of experience and dedication that clients deserve. We also examine whether the firm takes on court-appointed cases, which can dilute resources and attention away from retained clients who are paying for premium representation.
Client Reviews & Sentiment Analysis
10%Our analysis goes beyond simple star ratings—we use AI-powered sentiment analysis to evaluate the substance, tone, and specificity of client reviews across verified platforms. This allows us to distinguish between generic positive reviews and those that reflect genuine, detailed client satisfaction. We weight verified client reviews more heavily than anonymous submissions and penalize firms with patterns of suspected review manipulation.
Meta-Analysis of Industry Surveys
5%We conduct a comprehensive meta-analysis of existing attorney ranking systems, peer surveys, and industry recognition programs including Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, Texas Monthly's Super Lawyers list, and local bar association awards. By synthesizing multiple independent ranking methodologies, we reduce individual survey bias and identify attorneys who consistently earn recognition across different evaluation frameworks.
Where the Data Comes From
We don't send out surveys or ask attorneys to nominate themselves. The process starts with raw data and ends with editorial judgment. Here's how a ranking goes from spreadsheet to publication.
Pull the records
We collect case data from Texas county courts, the State Bar of Texas attorney database, and federal PACER records. Our database currently holds over 100,000 criminal case records across Texas counties. We also pull Google review data, client testimonials from verified platforms, and published industry surveys.
Benchmark against the local baseline
Raw numbers lie. A 60% dismissal rate means something very different in Travis County than it does in Smith County. So we benchmark every attorney against their own county's averages for similar charges. An attorney who beats the local baseline by a wide margin gets credit for it. One who merely matches it doesn't.
Cross-check everything
Numbers tell you what happened. They don't always tell you why. We cross-reference case outcomes with bar standing, disciplinary history, peer recognition, and client feedback to make sure we're not rewarding attorneys who look good on paper but have red flags elsewhere.
Editorial review
Before anything goes live, our editorial team — which includes people with actual criminal defense experience — reviews the final list. They catch things algorithms miss: a firm that recently lost its lead attorney, a practice that quietly shifted away from criminal defense, or a rising firm doing exceptional work that hasn't yet generated enough volume to show up in the data.
Publish and keep watching
Rankings aren't carved in stone. We update them quarterly as new case data rolls in, and we'll make interim changes if something significant happens — a firm shuts down, an attorney faces disciplinary action, or a major shift in performance shows up in the numbers.