How we rank injury law firms
Counselworthy scores every injury law firm in a county on the same 7 public measures, weighted to 100. A firm must first pass 3 checks to be ranked. No firm can pay to change its score, and every fact shows its source and the date we checked it. This is version 1.4 of the method, from October 9, 2026.
Who gets ranked
A firm must pass all 3 checks. Fail any one and it isn't ranked.
- 1A verified office in the place we rankThe firm's own website must list a street address in the county. A city page lists the firms whose site gives an address in that city. We record the page and the date we read it. For a firm with offices in other states, we count only the lawyers its New Jersey office pages name and the results it places in New Jersey, so it's never scored on work done elsewhere.
- 2Injury is a core practiceInjury law is a main practice, not one line in a long list of services.
- 3No public discipline in the last 5 yearsChecked every quarter against the Disciplinary Review Board's public records, for each of the firm's injury attorneys. A record counts as an attorney's when its attorney ID matches, or the name and the admission year in the attorney's bio both match. We never show a record that only shares a name. If one is recent, the check can't finish, so the firm isn't ranked yet.
The 7 measures
Every ranked firm in a county is scored together, on the same 7 measures, so a firm has one score on every page. City pages list the firms with an office there, in that order. Some town pages, like Hoboken's, also list ranked firms with an office within a few miles. Miles never change a score. Weights add up to 100.
| Measure | Weight | What counts | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Injury is a core practice | 20% | Share of the firm's attorneys doing injury work | Firm website | Monthly |
| Certified Civil Trial Attorneys | 20% | How many the Board's published lists confirm, as a percentile among ranked firms | NJ Board on Attorney Certification | Quarterly |
| Hudson County court activity | 20% | Injury suits filed and resolved, as a percentile | NJ Judiciary civil data report | Yearly |
| Published results | 15% | Number and size of results in the last 5 years, by case type | Firm website, labeled firm-reported | Monthly |
| Experience | 10% | Years licensed for the lead injury attorneys, from the New Jersey admission year in each bio | Firm website, quoted | Monthly |
| Contact options listed | 10% | 24/7 line, chat, texting, free consult, evening hours, languages | Firm website, labeled firm-reported | Monthly |
| Fee transparency | 5% | Publishes its contingency fee and cost policy | Firm website | Monthly |
One score, line by line
Here is how Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C., ranked 1 of 20 in Jersey City, got its 88.
| Measure | Its result | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Injury is a core practice | 94% of the attorneys it lists do injury work | 18.8 of 20 |
| Certified Civil Trial Attorneys | 2 confirmed by the Board's published lists | 20 of 20 |
| Hudson County court activity | Not in yet | Left out |
| Published results | 1 since 2022, largest $2,400,000 (firm-reported) | 13.6 of 15 |
| Experience | No lead attorney's bio states a New Jersey admission year | Left out |
| Contact options listed | 24/7 line, chat, free consult and other languages (firm-reported) | 6.7 of 10 |
| Fee transparency | Publishes its cost policy, not its fee | 2.5 of 5 |
| Total | 61.6 of the 70 points available | 61.6 of 70 |
61.6 of 70 points is 88 out of 100. Hudson County court activity and experience have no data for this firm yet, so the 70 points it could earn count as 100.
See Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, P.C.'s sourcesPartial data
A firm needs at least 5 of the 7 measures to be ranked. Weights rescale across the measures it has, and its score says "Partial data."
Until the Hudson County court data arrives, every firm is missing court activity. Every score then uses the same 6 measures, so ranks stay comparable.
Missing facts on a firm page read "Not yet verified." We never fill a gap with a guess.
Case-type rankings
Case-type pages, like car accident lawyers in a city, use the same 7 measures and weights. Two change: published results count only that case type, and practice focus checks that the firm takes that case type as a main practice.
A case-type ranking goes live only when at least 3 firms qualify.
What we don't score, and why
Google reviews
Star ratings aren't in the score. They are easy to game, and a 5.0 from 2 reviews looks the same as a 5.0 from 385. Each firm page links to the firm on Google Maps, so you can read its reviews yourself.
Awards and "top lawyer" lists
Many are sold or self-nominated. We use the one credential the New Jersey Supreme Court grants: Certified Civil Trial Attorney.
Settlements we can't check
Most settlements are confidential. We count published results, label them firm-reported, and cap their weight at 15%.
Ad spend, website size or how loud a firm is
Billboards and ads measure budget, not how a firm handles cases.
Peer surveys
Who lawyers recommend is useful advice, but it can't be checked, so it can't be scored.
Independence
No firm can pay to rank. Here is how that's enforced.
- Scoring code never reads featured-spot data. A test flips every firm's featured status and confirms no score or order changes.
- Code sets the order. Pros, cons and verdicts, like "Best for" and "Look elsewhere if," are written from the facts on each firm's page, and Spencer approves every one.
- Weights are published here, and every change gets a dated entry in the changelog below.
- Firms can correct facts with proof. They can't change a weight, a score or a rank.
A rank is our opinion, based on the public records and the method on this page, as of the date shown. It isn't a judgment of any lawyer's skill or a promise about any case. If a fact behind it is wrong, tell us.
Sources and schedule
| Source | What we take | How often |
|---|---|---|
| NJ Board on Attorney Certification | Certified Civil Trial Attorneys, from its yearly recertification lists and the Supreme Court's certification orders | Quarterly |
| NJ Disciplinary Review Board | Public discipline, worded exactly as the official record states it | Quarterly |
| NJ Judiciary civil data report | Hudson County injury suits filed and resolved | Yearly |
| Firm websites | Office addresses, practice areas, attorney admission years, results, fees, contact options, languages, referral language | Monthly, firm-reported |
Changelog
- Version 1.4 · October 9, 2026A discipline record now counts as an attorney's when its attorney ID matches, or when the name and the admission year in the attorney's bio both match. A record that only shares a name is never shown. If it's older than 5 years, the check passes either way; if it's recent, the firm isn't ranked until the check can finish. Weights are unchanged.
- Version 1.3 · October 9, 2026Every firm in a county is now scored together, so a firm has the same score on every page. City pages list the firms with an office in that city, in county order. Weights are unchanged.
- Version 1.2 · October 9, 2026The office check now needs a street address in the place we rank on the firm's own website. Years licensed come from the New Jersey admission year in each lead attorney's bio, and leads whose bio gives no year aren't counted. We no longer plan to buy the courts' attorney list. Weights are unchanged.
- Version 1.1 · October 8, 2026The office check now uses the business addresses attorneys register with the New Jersey courts, not Google Business Profiles. Discipline is checked quarterly against the Disciplinary Review Board's public records. Weights are unchanged.
- Version 1.0 · October 7, 2026First version of the method.
See a fact that's wrong? Send the proof. We reply within 7 days and log every verified fix.