BOARD CERTIFIED
BOARD CERTIFICATION IN MARITAL AND FAMILY LAW
Both Mr. Sidweber and Ms. Weintraub are Board Certified in Marital and Family Law. Mr. Sidweber obtained his certification in 1995, and Ms. Weintraub obtained her certification in 2012.
Board certification recognizes attorneys’ special knowledge, skills and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice. Certification is the highest level of evaluation by The Florida Bar of the competency and experience of attorneys in their selected field. Established in 1982 by the Florida Supreme Court, board certification helps consumers identify specialists in various areas of the law. To be certified, the lawyer must have practiced law on a full time basis for at least 5 years and have spent 30% of more of his/her time practicing marital and family law during the 5 years immediately preceding application. The lawyer must have been involved in at least 25 contested marital and family law cases, received a favorable peer review and passed a rigorous written examination demonstrating sufficient knowledge, skill and proficiency in the field of marital and family law.
MARTINDALE-HUBBELL AV PEER REVIEW RATING
Both Mr. Sidweber and Ms. Weintraub are Martindale-Hubbell AV Rated Attorneys, the highest rating possible. The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are an objective indicator of a lawyer’s high ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary. Lawyers in similar areas of practice as the lawyer being rated are surveyed, and. are asked to assess their colleagues’ general ethical standards and legal ability in a specific area of practice. Martindale-Hubbell ratings reflect a combination of achieving a Very High General Ethical Standards rating and a Legal Ability numerical rating.
The General Ethical Standards rating denotes adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities. Legal Ability ratings are based on performance in five key areas, rated on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest). These areas are:
Legal Knowledge, Analytical Capabilities, Judgment, Communication Ability, and Legal Experience. Both Mr. Sidweber and Ms. Weintraub have received the highest rating of AV Preeminent. AV Preeminent is a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.