Legal Elite Methodology

Since 2002, Business North Carolina magazine has honored Tar Heel lawyers by publishing Business North Carolina's Legal Elite, a listing of the state's top lawyers in business-related categories. Winners are chosen not by Business North Carolina editors but by the state's lawyers. Business North Carolina's Legal Elite has become the model for other awards and lists, but it remains unique as the only award that gives every active lawyer in the state the opportunity to participate. Business North Carolina's Legal Elite includes the top lawyers chosen using this statewide ballot.

Each year, BNC mails ballot notices to every member of the State Bar living in North Carolina — asking each a simple question: Of the Tar Heel lawyers whose work you have observed firsthand, whom would you rate among the current best in these categories? Voters are not allowed to vote for themselves. They may select members of their firms only if they pick out-of-firm lawyers in the same categories, with the latter votes weighted more heavily. Past winners become members of Business North Carolina's Legal Elite Hall of Fame and are ineligible to win again.