Honors & Awards

The Thurswell Law Firm has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers in America® Best Law Firms 2010, Tier 1.

U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers in America® have teamed up to create the first ever Best Law Firms 2010. The two leading surveyors of lawyers worldwide joined together to rank nearly 9,000 firms in 81 practice areas in 171 metropolitan areas and 7 states. The results are broken into tiers, the highest ranking being in Tier 1.

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Gerald Thurswell and Judith Susskind have been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for their outstanding reputation and expertise in medical malpractice and personal injury cases.

The Best Lawyers in America® is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. Selection is based on a survey of more than 2 million confidential evaluations by attorneys.

The Best Lawyers in America® is considered to be the best guide to legal excellence in the United States. For more than 25 years, The Best Lawyers in America® lists have earned the respect of the profession, media, and the public as the most reliable source of legal referrals anywhere. Because lawyers are not allowed to pay a fee to be included, a listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded as an honor.

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The “Lawyer of the Year” award is presented to an individual who has exercised notable leadership or has made a notable contribution to the development of greater justice in the a field of law.

In 2004, Thurswell Law Firm attorney Judith A. Susskind was named “Lawyer of the Year” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, a newspaper that reports on legal issues and opinions from the state and federal courts in Michigan.

Ms. Susskind has also been honored in The Best Lawyers in America®, one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications in the legal profession. She has received the highest ratings in Best Lawyers surveys for her legal abilities, professionalism and integrity.

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The Thurswell Law Firm has been awarded an “AV” Top Rating from the Martindale-Hubbell® organization.

The “AV” designation shows that a law firm has reached the height of professional excellence. It is a significant accomplishment for a law firm to be rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell®, and The Thurswell Law Firm is honored to have earned this title. The Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ measures a law firm’s legal ability and professional ethics.

Martindale-Hubbell® also recognizes Gerald Thurswell, Judith Susskind and Milt Greenman as AV® rated attorneys, the highest such rating available to any individual lawyer.

What are the Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™?

Martindale-Hubbell® ratings are determined through a peer review process, and have two components – the legal ability rating and the general ethical standards rating. The legal ability rating evaluates an attorney’s standard of professional ability in their practice area. The general ethical standard rating is an indication of attorney’s standards of conduct and ethics.

AV Peer Review Rating – shows that a lawyer or law firm has reached the height of professional excellence. He or she has usually practiced law for many years, and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity. This is the Thurswell Law Firm’s rating.

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The Thurswell Law Firm attorneys have been longstanding members and contributors to the Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ). Formerly known as the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association or MTLA, the Michigan Association for Justice is a non-profit membership organization with approximately 2,000 members who are dedicated to promoting safety for all Michigan citizens by standing up for accountability and responsibility.

The mission of MAJ is to help Michigan’s working families seek justice when they are injured by an unsafe product, drunk driver or by another person’s negligence.

To further that mission, Judith A. Susskind of The Thurswell Law Firm has served on the Executive Board of MAJ/MTLA for more than 15 years, and was MAJ president in 2008-2009. Ms. Susskind has been active in Michigan politics and has worked with lobbyists and Michigan legislators to preserve the rights of injured victims in Michigan.

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The Super Lawyers* listing is a credible, comprehensive and diverse list of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to search for legal counsel.

At The Thurswell Law Firm, we are proud to announce that three attorneys were named Michigan Super Lawyers by Law & Politics Magazine®.

They are:

• Gerald E. Thurswell, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
• Judith A. Susskind, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
• Cary M. Makrouer, 2008, 2009, 2010

The selection process is as follows: Law & Politics Magazine conducts an annual, statewide survey of lawyers to begin the creation of the candidate pool. The attorneys surveyed are not allowed to nominate themselves. The final selections are made and only five percent of all Michigan lawyers are selected as Super Lawyers.

Super Lawyers magazine names only the top 5 percent of attorneys in Michigan who received the highest point totals, as chosen by their peers and through the polling and research of Law & Politics Magazine®.

The Law and Politics Magazine also conducts a Rising Star search of Michigan attorneys who are either 40 years or younger or have 10 years or less in practice. The selection process for the Rising Stars is similar to the one for the Super Lawyers. No more then 2.5 percent of young Michigan attorneys are named in the Rising Stars list.

At The Thurswell Law Firm, we are proud to announce that Ardiana Culaj was named in the Michigan Rising Stars List 2009 by Law & Politics Magazine®.

 

* - © 2010 Super Lawyers®, a Thomson Reuters business. All rights reserved.

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Gerald Thurswell has won many multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for his injured clients and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

Only 1 percent of all trial lawyers are members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. These lawyers have demonstrated outstanding skills, experience and excellence in the legal profession. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States, and Gerald Thurswell is a member of this group.

The organization started in 1993 and has more than 3,000 members. The practice areas of the members include personal injury, product liability, malpractice, construction, environmental, employment, insurance, business and other types of litigation.

The purpose of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum is: to certify the accomplishments of trial lawyers who have achieved large awards; to provide benefit from that recognition; and to let colleagues and clients know about such accomplishments.

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The Thurswell Law Firm is recognized among THE TOP 5 PERCENT Nationwide by the Martindale-Hubbell® organization.

For more than 90 years, the Bar Register has been a unique guide to the legal community’s leading professionals. It includes only those law practices that have earned the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell® Law Directory with attorneys that have been designated by their colleagues as ‘preeminent’ in their field. Only 5 percent of all U.S. law firms are included, and The Thurswell Law Firm is proud to have achieved this honor.