How we rank personal injury lawyers

Score (0–100) = Visibility (0–50) + Reputation (0–50)

Visibility: average map position

In each city we search Google for "personal injury attorney" and "car accident lawyer" and record the top 20 local (map) results for each, with ads removed. A firm's position is its place in that list. We average its two positions; a firm missing from a search counts as position 21.

Visibility = 50 × (21 − average position) ÷ 20

An average position of 1.0 earns all 50 points. Each place lower costs 2.5 points.

Reputation: review-weighted rating

We take a Bayesian average of the firm's Google rating, so a high rating from many reviews counts for more than a perfect rating from a handful:

B = v / (v + m) × R + m / (v + m) × C

• R is the firm's Google star rating.
• v is the firm's number of Google reviews.
• C is the average rating of all eligible firms on that page.
• m = 100: the review count at which a firm's own rating counts for half.

Reputation = 50 × (B − 4.0) ÷ 1.0

A 5.0 earns all 50 points and a 4.0 earns none, so each tenth of a star is worth 5 points.

An example

Say C = 4.6. Firm A averages map position 1.5 and is rated 4.8 from 1,200 reviews: 48.8 visibility + 39.2 reputation = 88.0. Firm B averages position 6.0 and is rated 5.0 from 40 reviews: 37.5 + 35.7 = 73.2. Firm A ranks higher. Ties go to the better average map position, then to more reviews.

Why blend the two

Map position shows how prominent Google judges a firm to be for injury searches in that city. It is also what most people see first. Reviews show what clients said about the work. A firm can rank well in Maps with middling reviews, or collect glowing reviews while few people find it. Counting both rewards firms that do well on each.

• A Google Business Profile listed as a personal injury attorney, with an office in the area the page covers.
• At least 25 Google reviews and a rating of 4.0 or higher.
• We are checking at least one attorney at each ranked office against the state bar website. Firms not yet checked are marked "Bar check pending".
• A profile marked open on Google. One spot per firm per page, even with several offices.

Each page shows the top 10 firms that qualify. Firms marked "Bar check pending" stay marked until we confirm an attorney's license with the state bar.

Car accident pages rank firms on the "car accident lawyer" search alone. Visibility is 50 × (21 − car accident position) ÷ 20, with a firm missing from that search counting as position 21. Reputation and eligibility are the same as on the city page, so the order can differ from the city's overall ranking.

We have not recorded searches for the other case types (truck, motorcycle, rideshare, slip and fall, wrongful death). Those pages show the city's overall ranking and say so. Confirm a firm handles your type of case before you hire.

Map positions, ratings and review counts come from Google's public local results for "personal injury attorney" and "car accident lawyer" in each city: the top 20 listings for each search, with ads removed. We record them as shown, with the date, and don't edit them. Google's results shift with the searcher's location and over time, so positions are a dated snapshot, not a permanent fact. Counts Google rounds (like "1.4K") are shown rounded. Firms with several offices in one area get one spot, using the office with the most reviews. Bar license details come from each state bar's public lookup.

No firm can pay to be ranked, to move up, or to have a competitor moved down. We don't charge referral fees or take a share of any case. If we ever run advertising, it will be clearly labeled and kept separate from the rankings, and this page will say so.

If a listing is wrong, or you are a firm that believes it was left out in error, contact us. We aim to reply within 5 business days.