The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20, reporting at the association’s annual meeting in August, has decided there is no evidence of a ‘pervasive problem’ caused by lawyer rankings services.

“We found no evidence that anyone has been caused any harm by this,” said one of the commission’s co-chairs.  Existing ethics rules adequately govern advertising and promotional claims, she said.

The result will be a hands off stance from the ABA on guidance or model rules pertaining to individual lawyer rankings.  The commission’s report cited the prohibitive cost of an exhaustive study of the burgeoning number of rankings and attendant First Amendment issues.”