Top Wisconsin
State Bar Association Attorneys
Join The Profession's
Best Lawyers
Knights of the Bar is an elite membership of the very best lawyers
in the profession in Wisconsin and across the country. Membership is by invitation only, based
on recommendation or
application, and
attorneys are selected after a careful review of their
leadership, excellence and achievement in the practice of law.
The selection criteria are rigorous
and less than 3% of all attorneys in practice will qualify.
Knights of the Bar
differs from other best lawyer distinctions in that it is not
strictly peer review. Selection to Knights of the Bar is
based upon objective measures of leadership, excellence and
achievement, which assures that only the very best attorneys are
selected. Knights of the Bar emphasizes not only practice
accomplishments, but also leadership in county, state and
national bar associations and other legal organizations. Each lawyer's background is carefully reviewed before being
invited.
When a lawyer is
selected for Knights of the Bar, it is a high honor and you can be
confident that he or she is among the most prominent attorneys in the
profession. If you are looking for a top attorney, please
use our Lawyer Search Tool to find a
Knight among the attorney listings for your state.
Knights of the Bar
accepts the best lawyers from all areas of concentration including, but
not limited to, corporate, estate planning, real estate,
commercial litigation, civil litigation, family law, criminal
defense, plaintiffs' personal injury, workers compensation,
personal injury
defense, and immigration. Knights membership is an
honor reserved for individual attorneys only. Law firms
cannot become members.
Qualifying to be
a Knight
There are a number
of key areas where top attorneys must qualify to be considered
for membership in Knights of the Bar:
Experience
- An attorney must be active in the practice of law for at
least 10 years before he or she can be considered for
membership.
Leadership
- Knights must demonstrate pre-eminence through leadership
in bar associations and other professional organizations.
They also present frequent lectures, seminars and
publications that consistently indicate that they are at
the forefront of their profession.
Excellence -
To qualify to be Knights, lawyers must have been
recognized by their peers as being outstanding attorneys. They must also have demonstrated superior
knowledge and
ability in their areas of law.
Achievement
- Knights must have compiled records of success through
superlative legal outcomes, and have shown consistent
abilities to attract business to their firms based upon
outstanding reputations in their areas of practice.
Levels of
Excellence in the Practice of Law
There are three
types of memberships that recognize outstanding lawyers based upon the
extent of their experience, reputation and prominence.
Associate
- This is a highly reputable attorney with at least 10 years
experience who is well respected in his/her profession
locally, displaying leadership in local bar associations and
having a
variety of articles and lectures.
Fellow
- To be considered for fellowship, a lawyer must have been
in active practice for at least 15 years, achieved statewide
prominence, published and lectured extensively on a
statewide or regional basis, shown leadership in state bar
associations and have an excellent reputation for
quality legal work.
Diplomat
- Attorneys who earn the distinction of being diplomats
must be in practice at least 20 years, have displayed bar
association
leadership on a regional or national level, lectured
frequently outside their home state, published books or
scholarly articles and have established exceptional prominence and outstanding
reputations as gifted attorneys in their areas of law.
Sources of
Knights Candidates
Candidates for
selection come from three sources.
Research
- The Knights of the Bar staff is constantly
reviewing the backgrounds of prominent attorneys to invite the best lawyers in the profession.
Recommendation - We ask existing Knights and others to
recommend attorneys that they
feel would be excellent candidates capable of qualifying
under the Knights of the Bar selection criteria.
Application -
Knights of the Bar reviews
applications from attorneys who believe they might
qualify and wish to be considered for membership.
If you are
interested in applying to be invited to
join Knights of the Bar, or if you know a top lawyer you would
like to recommend, please select
the appropriate link and submit the application or
recommendation to Knights of the Bar.
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