The Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating system is over 140 years old. It provides prospective clients searching for legal services with evaluations of lawyers' qualifications. Importantly, the evaluations are derived, in large part, from other attorneys, who assess their peers in the categories of ethics and competence, assigning ratings to indicate whether a lawyer has demonstrated excellence over time. These scores, which also consider additional details such as client reviews, credentials, and performance metrics, help prospective clients make decisions about which attorneys' are right for their legal needs.

The ratings comprise three tiers: AV Preeminent (4.5-5.0 score) signifies excellence in legal knowledge, communication skills, and ethical standards as judged by peers. BV Distinguished (3.0-4.4) acknowledges lawyers widely regarded for their high-caliber performance within the legal community. Peer Review Rated (1.0-2.9) recognizes attorneys who uphold sound ethical standards.

The review process entails soliciting comprehensive feedback from lawyers familiar with the attorney under consideration. The organization contacts references that the attorney provides, as well as other practitioners within the same geographic and practice area, to gather insights on ethical conduct. Reviewers rate the lawyer on several qualifications, including knowledge, analytical skills, judgment, communication abilities, and experience level. Upon accumulating enough peer evaluations, Martindale-Hubbell calculates a composite rating score and notifies the attorney of their awarded designation.

To initiate the rating process, attorneys access the online peer reference nomination tool, which enables them to request feedback from their professional peers. They must compile and submit a list of at least 18 fellow legal practitioners as references. Subsequently, attorneys notify the nominated references that Martindale-Hubbell will contact them shortly to solicit their evaluations.