Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review Ratings Methodology

Board certified in business bankruptcy law, Hugh M. Ray III serves as a partner in the Insolvency and Restructuring Practice at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP. Respected in his field, Hugh Ray III has been selected as a Super Lawyers numerous times and holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Since 1896, Martindale- Hubbell has helped consumers find qualified lawyers with its Peer Review Ratings system. This system gives attorneys the opportunity to rate their colleagues on a scale of 1 to 5 within the categories of analytical capabilities, judgment, legal experience, communication ability, and legal knowledge. These surveys are all anonymous and are administered online across multiple geographic locations and jurisdictions.

Lawyers who want to be a part of the peer-review process must provide some basic information, including a valid email address, their college and law school, and the year and state in which they were first admitted to practice. With this information, professionals create a profile at Martindale-Hubbell, through which they can submit their peer reviews. This profile also allows attorneys to be reviewed by others if they so choose.

Using attorney reviews, Martindale-Hubbell assigns the ratings of Notable, Distinguished, or AV Preeminent. These ratings are based on a lawyer’s peer ranking, ethical standards, and professional excellence. Not every lawyer has peer reviews due to a lack of colleagues within their practice or geographical area or because they chose not to participate in the peer-review process.

Notable, Distinguished, and AV Preeminent are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies. For more information, visit www.martindale.com/Products_and_Services/Peer_Review_Ratings.aspx.

Three Ways to Support Vanderbilt University Law School as an Alumnus

A partner in the Restructuring and Insolvency practice at the firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Hugh M. Ray III is a Texas-based attorney with experience in bankruptcy law. Prior to his role with Pillsbury, Hugh Ray III earned his JD from Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee.

The nearly 9,000 alumni of Vanderbilt University Law School practice in all 50 states and 37 countries around the world, and have an opportunity to support their alma mater through:

- Financial gifts. The faculty, staff, and students of Vanderbilt University Law School are well served by monetary donations made to the Annual Fund, where unrestricted gifts are allotted by the school’s dean based on areas of need. Alumni also can donate funds specifically dedicated to scholarships for students or the support of endowments for faculty chairs. 

- Volunteer opportunities. Alumni volunteers play an important role in planning reunion events, contacting classmates to encourage donations, and recruiting and interviewing potential future students for acceptance into Vanderbilt University Law School.

- Board service. Past graduates of Vanderbilt University Law School have the opportunity to serve the school in an executive capacity as a board of advisors member. This group meets once per year to give input and advice on the school’s academic programs, motivate alumni to give back to the school, provide mentorship to students and new graduates, and share the Vanderbilt experience with prospective students who demonstrate exceptional potential in the field of law.

What is Bet-the-Company Litigation?

Texas attorney Hugh M. Ray III practices as a partner with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Houston. Hugh Ray III focuses his work on complex restructuring and business bankruptcy. He routinely leads high profile and high stakes bet-the-company cases.

Bet-the-company litigation describes cases that will overwhelm or effectively end a company if lost, whether that company is a small startup or a financial giant. Cases like these often arise when severe regulatory problems occur, when a large-scale disaster happens, or when litigation causes a company to become unprofitable in other ways such as through reputation damage.

In complicated cases, litigation can take place in multiple jurisdictions or between multiple litigants. This compounds existing problems by spreading legal resources thin. When governmental or regulatory bodies are involved, lengthy investigations can also complicate matters. Many law firms report a dramatic increase in bet-the-company cases in recent years. Some reports show that this type of litigation has tripled or quadrupled in popularity in the US since 2014.