Practicing in Michigan since 1994, Cullen McKinney is a founding partner of Tanoury, Nauts, McKinney & Dwaihy, PLLC (TNMD). In 2008, Cullen McKinney was chosen as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers, a resource that operates a searchable attorney database. Super Lawyers, and its related Rising Stars list, features diverse lawyers from firms of all sizes and practice areas.
The Super Lawyers normal list and Rising Stars list, open to lawyers within the US and over 70 practice areas, use identical selection processes. The Super Lawyers staff compiles them annually. The Rising Stars candidates derive from Super Lawyers’ normal list nominees, while also being under 40 years old, and or practicing for less than 10 years.
The selection process has four steps, with each aspect of those steps holding a point value. The first step, nomination, occurs when a lawyer nominates another lawyer from within their state that they have seen practice law for themselves. The nominator can choose someone from their firm, but to compensate, they must also choose someone from outside their firm. Super Lawyers has other safeguards to avoid nominee pool manipulation.
The second step, research, involves the Super Lawyers research department learning about the candidates’ backgrounds. The group weighs 12 indicators, like the clients they serve, and special licenses or certifications. Each indicator receives a certain score out of a total point value, and some indicators have greater maximum point values than others.
The third step is the blue ribbon review, or peer evaluation according to practice area. Candidates from each practice area, with the highest point totals during the prior two steps, join a panel and rate other members of their practice area, using a scale from one to five. During the final selection, Super Lawyers compares lawyers from similarly-sized firms. They choose up to 5 percent of a state’s nominees from the four firm size categories, with the highest point totals.
Before publication, the research staff ensures their information’s accuracy, and that the nominees pass a background check. Super Lawyers publishes the lists in their state and regional magazines. A maximum of 2.5 percent of candidates from each state are chosen for the Rising Stars list.
