Ugh. Again I get into the office and am checking the emails that have come in since I checked my emails before I left my house. I have trained my lawyers well, they know to ask, when that special congratulatory email arrives in their in-box:

Is this bogus?

I want to scream back:

YES! It’s crap. All they are doing is trying to sell advertising (or a plaque) by circumventing the marketing department and going straight for your ego.

Usually I just say, “Yeah, ignore. They’re just trying to sell you advertising.”

So how do we decide which ones are valuable and worth our time and money?

• They are being run by a legitimate legal or industry trade publication
• You have to actually submit information on your work and practice
• They are selective. They don’t take everyone, and just because you got in one year doesn’t mean you’ll get in the next

I give a pass to Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers; other publications (US News & World Report, local newspapers) use their data to compile their “best” lists.

So, when in doubt, call your marketing department. If you don’t have a marketing department, go to Twitter and ask a legal marketer by using the hashtag #LMAMKT. But beware of these emails.