Fact #1

The Personal Injury Alliance is comprised of three of Canada’s top-ranked personal injury law firms; McLeish Orlando, Oatley Vigmond and Thomson, Rogers.

Supporting Information:

Peer review rankings are arguably the only objective standard readily available to persons wishing to assess a lawyer’s competence to handle a complex personal injury case. While such rankings are not perfect and no PIA lawyer would suggest that he or she is superior to another lawyer based solely on such rankings, these rankings are objective and can be very helpful in choosing a lawyer.

What are “objective peer review rankings”? Objective peer review rankings are credible rankings by lawyers of the abilities and experience of other lawyers.

What are the “objective peer reviews” in Ontario? And what do they mean? There are 4 objective peer reviews:

Certification as a Specialist in Civil Litigation. The body that governs all lawyers in Ontario, the Law Society of Upper Canada, administers this certification. The Certified Specialist designation, according to the Law Society website, is limited “to only a small percentage of lawyers in Ontario” who demonstrate sound judgement and a ready grasp of all remedies available in the area. This earned designation speaks to quality in advocacy and actual Court experience.
Listing in the Lexpert Directory. Lexpert, an independent directory of lawyers, polls other lawyers to determine those who deserve to be recognized as a personal injury law expert in this reputable directory.
Listing in the Best Lawyers Directory. Best Lawyers, an independent directory of lawyers, polls other lawyers to determine who deserves to be recognized as a best lawyer in personal injury law.
Listing by Canadian Lawyer Magazine as a “Top 10” firm. Canadian Lawyer Magazine is an independent magazine, which conducts polling of other lawyers to determine which personal injury firms deserve to be ranked as the top such firms in Canada.

Another indicator that a lawyer is experienced in personal injury law is their Membership in the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association. To qualify for membership a lawyer must devote 95% of his or her practice to acting for plaintiffs; namely, injured persons and their families, not insurance companies.

How does the PIA measure up? Of the almost 1000 lawyers in Ontario who are members of the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association (OTLA), 70% who hold all 4 of the peer review objective designations are PIA Members. Click here to see the complete listing.

What does this tell me about some of the lawyers who advertise themselves to be leaders in the field? It tells you that you need to be very careful about advertising claims. Some of the biggest advertisers in the personal injury field do not possess even one of these peer review objective measures of competence in the plaintiff’s personal injury field. Before you decide on legal representation ask the right questions and satisfy yourself.