How can I look up a prospective attorney's track record before hiring them?

There are places you can go to assess attorneys. However determining a track record for winning cases is not necessarily the standard you should use, or can use. May I suggest a few yardsticks you should use to assess whether an attorney is good or not. First you need to assess an attorney's professionalism and ethics. You want an attorney who understands his or her duties to you as a client. You do not want an attorney who has demonstrated a willingness to self-deal or violate his or her duties of professional conduct. One way to assess this element of an attorney's character is to check out their State Bar profile which can be accessed here: http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/MemberSearch/QuickSearch This profile will tell you if the attorney has ever been disciplined. However it will not tell you if the attorney has acted unethically and has not yet been caught. To further evaluate the attorney in this regard, and to assess quality of legal work, you should check out peer review organizations, like Martindale Hubbell, a publisher who for years has rated attorneys based on ethical standards and quality of legal services. For instance, an attorney rated by Martindale Hubbell as "AV" has been rated by his or her peers as having the highest level of ethics and professional conduct, as well as the highest rating for quality of legal services. Martindale Hubbell compiles these ratings by seeking out the input of peers of the attorney in the legal community, who anonymously and regularly rate peers. Looking at the attorney profile here on is another way to vet the quality of a prospective attorney. The attorney rating on has a lot to do with years of experience and contributions to the legal community, so a 10 rating, the highest, gives you a rough idea about whether the attorney has been around a long time and has participated in legal organizations and/or written or spoken extensively - a possible sign of expertise and competence. However, you can also see if the attorney has positive client reviews or peer endorsements. Again, while these are not a guarantee of excellence as an attorney, they provide additional evidence you can use to assess the attorney. Do a Google search on the attorney. You may find publications, blogs or other examples of the attorney's work product or thought processes. You may also find information about the attorney's other interests. Finally, do not be afraid to ask the attorney direct questions and insist on direct answers. Many experienced attorneys have prior clients that have provided testimonial evidence of the attorney's activities, and even though attorney-client confidentiality will prevent a lot attorneys from freely giving out former client references, a successful attorney should have some clients who are so pleased with the work performed that they are happy to speak to you about the attorney. Therefore, ask for references. Just understand that giving references are difficult given certain issues like sexual harassment or medical disabilities and the desire to maintain confidences. Now I said at the outset that an attorney's track record for winning cases would not be the correct measure of a good attorney. Keep in mind that 95% of all cases settle. A good attorney will settle most of the cases by exerting proper pressures on a defendant and eliminating risk to the client. A good attorney may have to try some cases where the defendant fails to see and assess properly the risk involved, but if you look for attorneys who win most of their cases, you are failing to assess the other 95% of their endeavors for their clients. If you are interested in knowing if your attorney has tried cases before, ask him or her. You can sometimes get that information by doing some research at the local law library. Ask the librarian where to look. There is no database or book that extensively records that data, but there are jury verdict services. Good luck to you.