Henry E. Weil and Stuart H. Grozbean have both been selected as one of Maryland's top 5 percent of lawyers. With that distinction comes the term "Super Lawyer". They have also been named to Who's Who and interviewed and quoted in numerous TV and newspaper articles.

The evaluation process to become a "Super Lawyer" is rigorous as you can see by reading the below criteria from printed material.

Step One: Creation of the Candidate Pool

Statewide survey of lawyers

Each year, we conduct a statewide survey of lawyers (except in California and Washington, D.C., where we survey by region).

Lawyers eligible to participate include those who have been in practice for at least five years.

This year, we will invite more than 800,000 lawyers nationwide to participate in our survey.

We ask the lawyers to nominate the best attorneys they've personally observed in action.

• Nominees need not be in private practice. Lawyers may nominate legal aid attorneys, prosecutors and in-house counsel.
• Lawyers may nominate attorneys in their own firm, but these nominations count only if each in-firm nomination is matched by at least one out-firm nomination.
• Each nomination carries a point value. An out-firm vote has substantially greater point value than an in-firm vote.
• Lawyers cannot vote for themselves.
• With our database, we are able to keep track of who votes for whom. This helps us detect any excessive "back-scratch" voting (lawyers voting for each other) and "block voting" (where members of the same law firm all cast identical ballots).

"Star Search" process

We add additional names to the candidate pool through our "Star Search" process.

Our attorney-led research staff searches for outstanding lawyers by:
Reviewing national and local periodicals as well as legal trade journals
Searching numerous databases and online sources

Conducting in-person and telephonic meetings with law firms
Some of the attorneys found through Star Search may have been missed in the online balloting process. Examples of lawyers often overlooked in balloting:

• Lawyers with national litigation practices who rarely appear in the courts of their home jurisdiction
• Lawyers in smaller firms, or from smaller communities
• Lawyers practicing in less visible or highly specialized practice areas

Step Two: Evaluation of Lawyers in Candidate Pool

Our research department examines the background and experience of each candidate searching for evidence of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Factors considered in evaluating candidates:

• Verdicts and settlements
• Transactions
• Representative clients
• Experience
• Honors and awards
• Special licenses and certifications
• Position within law firm
• Bar and or other professional activity
• Pro bono and community service
• Scholarly lectures and writings
• Education and employment background
• Other outstanding achievement

Step Three: Peer Evaluation by Practice Area

Candidates are grouped according to primary area of practice.
Those with high point totals from the balloting and qualitative evaluation steps are asked to be on a blue ribbon panel for their practice area.
Panelists review and score a list of candidates from their practice area.
Panelists may add names to the list. These are passed along to research for evaluation.

Final Selection

Final candidates are segmented according to firm size (firm size categories vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction). Those with the highest point totals from each category are selected. Only 5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers.