Pretzel & Stouffer Recognized in U.S. News-Best Lawyers ‘Best Law Firms 2010’ Rankings

For a defendant in a professional malpractice case seeking an attorney, Pretzel & Stouffer, Chartered, is the best law firm to call in Chicago, according to the U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms 2010” report.

U.S. News & World Report magazine partnered with Best Lawyers, a legal peer-review publication that honors outstanding lawyers, to create “Best Law Firms 2010.” The extensive report ranked nearly 9,000 law firms nationwide. Because firms were often separated by small differences in their scores, the report grouped them by tiers rather than ranking them, with Tier 1 being the highest.

In addition to being the only Tier 1 law firm in Chicago for the defense of professional malpractice law, Pretzel & Stouffer also earned a Tier 1 spot among Chicago firms for defense in medical malpractice law, personal injury litigation and product liability litigation. The report also named Pretzel & Stouffer as a leading law firm in Chicago for insurance law.

To create its “Best Law Firms 2010” rankings, USN&WR first surveyed thousands of law firm employees and clients to learn what they looked for when hiring a law firm, referring a legal matter to a firm or seeking employment as an attorney. Based on that feedback, the publication developed separate questionnaires for lawyers, associates, law firm marketing and recruiting officers, and clients.

The questionnaires surveyed specific firms’ reputations, including expertise, responsiveness, integrity, and cost-effectiveness. The surveys collected data on each firm’s size, location, practice areas, professional affiliations of its employees, pro-bono commitment, client profile, and employee diversity. The rankings also incorporated information provided in Best Lawyers’ most recent annual survey.