In August of 2017, St. Petersburg DUI and criminal defense attorney Donald J. Kilfin received notification from Martindale-Hubbell that he has received a Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating. Mr. Kilfin was given an AV rating from his peers, which means that he was deemed to have very high professional ethics and preeminent legal ability. Only lawyers with the highest ethical standards and professional ability receive a Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating.
The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings evaluates lawyers based on the anonymous opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary, including both those who are rated and those who are not. The first review to establish a lawyer's rating usually occurs three years after his or her admission to the bar.
Martindale-Hubbell conducts secure on-line Peer Review Ratings surveys of lawyers across multiple jurisdictions and geographic locations in similar areas of practice as the lawyer being rated. Reviewers are instructed to assess their colleague's general ethical standards and legal ability in a specific area of practice.
The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings help buyers of legal services identify, evaluate and select the most appropriate lawyer for a specific task at hand. The confidentiality, objectivity, and complete independence of the rating process are what have made the program a unique and credible evaluation tool for members of the legal profession. The legal community values the accuracy of lawyer peer review ratings because they are are determined by their peers - the people who are best suited to assess the legal ability and professional ethics of their colleagues.
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings were created in 1887 as an objective tool that would attest to a lawyer's ability and professional ethics, based on the confidential opinions of other lawyers and judges who have worked with the lawyers they are evaluating.