Graf & Stiebel Named by U.S. News as one of the “Best Law Firms”
U.S. News Rankings and Research has named Graf & Stiebel to its list of Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms.” Bill Graf was named as Best Lawyer in the areas of Trusts & Estates and Litigation for Trusts & Estates and Mark Stiebel was listed as Best Lawyer in the area of Employee Benefits ERISA Law. The “Best Law Firms” Tier 1 ranking was issued to the firm for expertise in Trust & Estates Law and Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law.
U.S. News and World Report expanded its signature “America’s Best” series to include the ranking of law firms in 2010. The ranking is based on surveys of thousands of law firm clients, leading lawyers, law firm managers, partners, associates, and marketing and recruiting officers. The surveys required votes on areas of expertise, responsiveness, understanding of a business and its needs, cost effectiveness, civility, and whether or not they would refer another client to the firm. In addition to the survey information, data was collected on each firm with respect to client profile, pro bono commitment, and diversity.
The rankings incorporated evaluations of leading lawyers collected by Best Lawyers in its most recent annual survey. All of this data was combined into an overall U.S. News – Best Lawyers score for each firm. Firms with the highest overall scores were included on metropolitan lists that covered as many as 81 practice areas in 171 metropolitan areas in seven states. The national listing covered 39 practice areas. The Tier 1 ranking includes only firms that scored within a certain percentage of the highest scoring firms in overall ranking.
