palm springs life top lawyers

Top Lawyers 2019

Palm Springs Life partnered with the research firm DataJoe to Identify legal eagles in 30 specialties.

Steven Biller Current PSL, Top Lawyers

palm springs life top lawyers
PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES

Legal issues always seem to find us, whether it’s personal injury, estate and probate, or (gulp!) criminal. When you need a lawyer, of course you want the best- someone who has the experience, resources, and temperament to help you achieve peace in your personal and professional affairs.

To help you find the right counsel, Palm Springs Life has partnered with the Boulder, Colorado-based research company DataJoe to produce a list of the top lawyers in the Coachella Valley. The firm identified the attorneys held in the highest esteem by their colleagues and then vetted them to produce the list (see “Methodology,” page 70). While the list is subjective, dataJoe has researched diligently to determine that the attorneys on the following pages are among the best in their fields. We feel confident that they will provide you with reliable legal advice.

To see the listing, click HERE.

Methodology

Top Lawyers is a nomination-based project that asks lawyers in the area to vote for other lawyers who exemplify excellence in their various specialties.

This list is a service to readers, giving them participating lawyers’ perspectives. The list is intended to allow patrons to see and celebrate the lawyers who make the list. It also gives those seeking legal services a place to see individual lawyers highlighted for achievement and reputation and can be a great tool for finding the right lawyer for their needs. It can also be a great tool for lawyers to make the community aware of their unique specialties and areas of expertise.

To complete this project, Palm Springs Life contracted DataJoe to conduct nominations using an online ballot for collecting, vetting, and tallying the votes. DataJoe is a survey/research company specializing in data collection and verification and conducts various nominations across the United States on behalf of publishers.

To create the list, DataJoe facilitates a peer voting process. DataJoe and the magazine reached out to both individuals and firms by various means, encouraging entities to vote and circulate the online ballot. Each lawyer can vote for up to three peers in each category. DataJoe reviews and processes each ballot individually, checking for patterns or signs indicative of cheating.

After tallying the votes, DataJoe checks and confirms that each potential finalist exists in the California State Bar Association database. If they are not able to find evidence of a lawyer’s registration with the state bar, that lawyer is excluded from the list. In addition, any lawyer who has been disciplined for an infraction by the state bar is excluded from the list. Finally, DataJoe presents the tallied results to Palm Springs Life.

How are nominations obtained?
We take a multifaceted approach. The magazine and DataJoe reach out to firms and individuals in the region, encouraging them to vote and distribute the ballot to other lawyers. Our contact database is massive but not comprehensive. We encourage lawyers who want to ensure they are in our system to send an email to [email protected], so that we can conduct research and add their information if needed.

Lawyers are required to provide a valid, active bar number and basic contact information. This helps us ensure that each lawyer completes only one ballot. The final results are aggregated, so lawyers’ ballot choices remain confidential.

DataJoe reviews each ballot to ensure fair nomination, isolating and potentially eliminating invalid ballots, ballots suspected of block voting (i.e. identical voting patterns across multiple ballots), duplicate voting, or other issues. After vetting, DataJoe provides a tallied list of the most frequently nominated lawyers to the magazine.

How are the practice areas determined?
Although the categories are broad, they are intended to reflect relevant practice areas in the region. We recognize that there are many specialty areas, and we cannot accommodate them all. If there is a strong and consistent request for additional practice areas, they will be considered for inclusion in next year’s list.

Disclaimers

DataJoe uses best practices and exercises great care in assembling content for this list. DataJoe does not warrant that the data contained within the list is complete or accurate. DataJoe does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. All rights reserved. No commercial use of the information in this list may be made without written permission from DataJoe.

Questions?

For research/methodology questions, contact 
Lani Forsman, researcher, at [email protected].