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I. Finding Lawyers on the Internet
Internet legal sites are often the best places to find current directory information concerning attorneys. The most comprehensive website for locating lawyers and law firms is Martindale-Hubbell. One must pay to be listed there, so it does not list all lawyers but it is fairly inclusive.
Though not as comprehensive as Martindale-Hubbell, the Findlaw Lawyer Directory is another option. FindLaw receives its directory information from Westlaw's subscriber lists and from lawyers who sign up to be included. With Findlaw, listings are free but lawyers pay to have their names prominently displayed in the search results lists. Both sites have basic search features geared towards consumers looking for an attorney referral by practice area, city, and state. Each offer advanced searching capabilities on fields such as firm name, country, and language spoken.
The American Bar Association's Consumer's Guide to Legal Help allows one to search for for legal advice or representation in all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Canada. Other sites with links to attorney listings include the Hieros Gamos attorney search page, and the Internet Legal Research Group. The ILRG is particularly good for finding listings for top Asian, European and UK firms.
If you are seeking a lawyer in a specific city, state or geographic area, the regional bar association's website is another good place to start. Most bar associations permit the public to search their attorney listings by name or practice area, and can provide information about whether an attorney has been the subject of any disciplinary actions. In some cases, the bar association has listings of lawyers "certified" in particular areas of law. "Certified" lawyers are generally required to have a certain level of experience or have taken required courses (or a certain number of continuing education credits) in a particular legal specialty. Bar association sites are also useful in searching for an attorney or firm by name.
To locate an attorney through a particular state bar association go to the ABA Division for Bar Services website and choose a state from the map, or go to the Hieros Gamos bar association page. Both sites provide links to state and (some) local bar associations.
II. General Directories of Lawyers
The Best Lawyers in America. 2 vols. Biennial. (Ref. KF190 .N23.) A selective list of lawyers recommended for inclusion by other lawyers. The listing is arranged first by specialty and then geographically.
Law Firms Yellow Book. Semiannual. (Ref KF 190.L376 & in Leadership Library on the Internet) This publication provides a "who's who" list of the management at leading U.S. law firms. Firms are listed alphabetically and the entries include managing and hiring partners and recruiting coordinators. Information also includes law school attended and year of graduation.
Lawyer's Register International by Specialties and Fields of Law. Annual. (Ref. KF190.L39 2007.) Despite its name, this directory's coverage is almost exclusively within the United States, with scattered references to Canadian & U.K. lawyers. But, it is a great tool for finding lawyers by specialty and also gives information about states’ certification of specialists in particular areas of law. It also provides contact information for lawyers at major corporations within the U.S.
Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. Annual. (Ref. KF190 .M371 2011 & in LexisNexis.) Vols. 1-8 list attorneys by state and city. Contains separate biographical entries for many firms. There is a separate set listing Canadian and international lawyers and a set of law digests for the states and foreign countries. The digest section includes information about general laws (e.g. motor vehicle, domestic violence, etc.) in specific states and countries, information on the A.B.A. and the text of many uniform acts. The web version, which does not contain the digest, is at http://www.martindale.com.
Who's Who in American Law. Biennial. (Ref. KF190 .W46 2011-2012.) Biographical information on approximately 20,000 lawyers and other professionals in law-related fields. There is an index by field of specialization.
III. Individual States and State Bar Associations
Many states have searchable online directories which are available to the public. They are usually located on that state's bar association website. The ABA and Hieros Gamos websites, mentioned above, contain links to state and local bar associations, many of which have directory information for individual bar members and law firms. Some bar sites may restrict access to their directories to bar members only. Below, we have listed the state print resources that are available for your use at the Goodson Law Library.
Alaska
Alaska Directory of Attorneys. Semiannual. (Ref. KF192 .A55 A4 2008) Listing of attorneys by judicial district. Also has information on courts and other government agencies.
California
California Directory of Attorneys. Semiannual. (Ref. KF192 .C3 C34 2009) Directory of California attorneys, divided into sections for southern and northern California. Also contains information on corporate counsel, lists of attorneys by specialty, and procedural rules and statutes.
District of Columbia
Legal Times Directory of Metro D.C. Law Offices. Annual. (Ref. KF193 .D57 D57 2004). A directory listing firms and attorneys in the Washington, D.C. area, with separate listings for suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. It includes law firm and specialty area indexes.
Florida
The Florida Bar Journal Directory Issue. Annual. (Ref. KF192 .F52 2009) Listings are by name with an index by city. Includes information on courts, bar associations, and certified mediators.
Idaho
Idaho State Bar Deskbook Directory. (Ref. KF192.I2 I32 2009-2010). Issued as volume 4 of Advocate, the Idaho state bar’s official publication. Provides listing of attorneys first alphabetically, and then by geography and fields of practice. That is followed by court information, including listings of judges by court. The remainder of the book provides state bar and court rules and forms.
Massachusettes
Massachusetts Legal Directory. (Ref. KF192 .M38 M36 1996.) A guide to the Massachusetts legal system, including a directory of lawyers, law firms, and judges, as well as descriptions of legal organizations in the state. Also includes information on various state governmental agencies.
Michigan
Michigan Bar Journal Directory Issue. Annual. (Ref. KF192 .M5 M523 2009.) Listings are by name with an index by city. Includes information on courts and bar associations.
North Carolina
North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers Membership Directory. Annual. (Ref. KF192 .N6 2007-2008) . This book is part advertising resource, part legal directory. The second half of the book has a good list of trial attorneys first indexed by litigation specialty and then in an alphabetic list of all academy members followed by a list by county.
North Carolina Legal Directory. Annual. (Ref. KF192 .N67 2010) Arranged by county and city, this index lists attorneys by name and firm name. The index includes a small biographical section and a section on government agencies.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Lawyer Directory. Annual. (Ref. KF192 .W5 W57 2011) An alphabetical listing of attorneys, with a separate section for brief attorney biographies. Includes addresses for state judges, as well as information on the state bar association and other professional services.
IV. Specialized Areas of Practice by Specialty
Many specialized print directories are placing their resources online, providing individuals with more flexible search options and up-to-date information. However, many associations limit access to members only. Below are some of the print and online directories available for specialized fields.
Business: Chambers USA : America's Leading Business Lawyers. Annual. (Ref KF190 C43 2006 & http://www.chambersandpartners.com/). Based on interviews with attorneys and clients, this guide rates attorneys and firms on a scale of 1-6. Directories can be searched by attorney or firm name or location.
Corporate Counsel: Directory of Corporate Counsel. 2 vols. Annual. (Reserve KF195.C6 D57 2011-2012.) Lists over 5,000 companies and includes biographical data on attorneys. Government authorities with business functions listed separately. There are geographic, corporate, and name indexes, along with cross-references between parent company and subsidiaries.
Human Rights: National Lawyers Guild Referral Directory. Annual. (Ref. KF195 .P8 N37 2010.) A listing by state of lawyers, legal workers, law students and jailhouse lawyers who are members of the National Lawyers Guild, a national progressive bar association whose members are oriented toward social change.
In-House: In-House Law Departments at the Top 500 Companies. Annual. (Ref. 195 .C6 D578 2009) This guide alphabetically lists by company, the top legal officer and in-house chief counsel for the Fortune 500. It includes short biographical data for the top legal officer and lists attorneys by practice area and law school.
Legal Aid: Directory of Legal Aid and Defender Offices. Annual. (Reserve KF336.A4 D57 2003-2004.) Separate listings for legal aid and defender offices, arranged geographically. This directory includes a section on special program offices with brief descriptions of programs providing legal support services to legal aid or defender attorneys.
Patents: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office web site contains an up-to-date directory of patent attorneys at http://des.uspto.gov/OEDCI. The directory is arranged by state/territory and there are links to foreign and military addresses.
V. Women and Minority Attorney Listings
Web sites for specialized bar associations for women and minorities include the National Bar Association, founded in 1925 by African-American attorneys, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and the National Association of Women Lawyers. While most of these specialized bar sites contain directories, you have to be a registered member to access them.
National Directory of Women-Owned Law Firms and Women Lawyers. Annual. (Ref. KF190.N38 2009-2010). Lawyers must pay to be listed in this directory. The directory consists of 5 sections: section 1 lists law firms that are 50% or more women-owned; section 2 lists individual women lawyers at law firms; section 3 lists women lawyers who are government employees or are employed by a nonprofit organization; section 4 contains an index of all attorneys by practice and geographic area; section 5 contains an index of law firms (women and non-women owned), and separately lists the advertisers and directory sponsors.
VI. International
Most of the web sites listed at the beginning of this guide for finding attorneys and law firms include international listings. A list of print directories is compiled below.
AsiaLaw Leading Lawyers. Annual. (Ref. KM35 .A841 2006.) A guide to Asia's leading individual lawyers by area of specialty. Some listings include in-depth descriptions, while others list only name and city.
AsiaLaw Profiles. Annual. (Ref. KM35 .A84 2007) Arranged by country, each section begins with an overview of the country and its legal climate, followed by one-page descriptions of each of the country’s major law firms. This guide is geared towards the legal needs of multinational corporations and institutional investors.
Australian Legal Directory. (Ref. KU36 .L38 2005-2006.) Part I includes attorney and firm listings arranged by town or city within each state. Listings do not include biographical information or areas of practice. Parts II - IV include alphabetical listings of attorneys, firms and legal institutions.
Canadian Law List. Annual. (Ref. KE211 .C36 2009.) Lists by province and city the addresses, but not phone numbers, of Canadian lawyers. It includes a section of company attorneys, some foreign firms, law schools, law societies, courts, various government departments, and an alphabetical name index.
Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers. Annual. (Ref. K68.C53 2004-2005 & http://www.chambersandpartners.com/). This guide ranks and provides editorial commentary on law firms and individual in countries across the world. It is based on interviews with attorneys in more than 160 countries, conducted by a team of researchers over a period of 12 months. Search options include individual attorney name, law firm name, and country.
Euromoney Guides to the World's Leading . . . Lawyers. (Ref. K70 & http://www.expertguides.com). These guides focus on a number of legal specialties with a strong emphasis on commercial/business law areas. They include listings by country, with some entries listing only name, firm and city, but with most entries providing brief biographical information about individual attorneys. The print copies are slightly outdated, but one can update the information online.
European Law Directory: An Index to International Law Firms. (Ref. KJC64 .D57 2000-2001.) Lists law firms by country and includes address, telephone and fax numbers, areas of specialty, languages, and members of the firm with year of birth and year of admission. The directory includes detailed information on Eastern and Western European countries, as well as selected information for other regions of the world.
Guide to Foreign Law Firms. (Ref. K68 .G85 2004.) A listing of law firms in selected foreign countries known to members of the ABA Section of International Law and Practice. It is intended as a reference for lawyers who need assistance with foreign legal questions or need to obtain local counsel in these countries.
International Law List. Annual. (Ref. K68 .I57 2007.) Selected list of lawyers, arranged by country and listed under firm name. Some entries include areas of practice and representative clients.
IP Profiles. Annual. (Ref. K70 I58 I6 2008.) A detailed guide to the world’s leading intellectual property law practices and firms. Each section focuses on a particular region and starts with background information on each country’s legal and economic climate, as well as major legislation passed.
Martindale-Hubbell International Law Directory. 2 vols. Annual. (Ref. KF190. M373 2011 & http://www.martindale.com.) Lists attorneys by region, country and city. There are separate biographical entries for many firms. This is a separate publication from the Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest (no longer published in print but available in LexisNexis) which includes summaries of foreign law and the text of many international treaties.
Waterlow's . . .Solicitors' and Barristers' Directory. Annual. (Ref. KD336 .L415 2009.) In addition to listing addresses of solicitors and barristers, this publication includes brief information on English law, a listing of all courts, a brief subject index to the statutes, and the rules governing solicitors and barristers. Entries are arranged geographically, with firm and individual name indexes.
rev 09/2011 jws
