The standard for inclusion in Ten Leaders is based on five primary criteria:

1. Degree of focus on a practice area. Professionals in their area of expertise generally practice in their field exclusively
2. Number of years practicing in their area of the expertise. In the law, the minimum years of practice is 15; in medicine, the minimum is 10 years from emerging from their general residency.
3. Volume of client/patient work in a given practice area, according to the professional and his or her peers.
4. Reputation among peer group, based on multiple interviews with professionals who practice apart from the professional in question
5. Leadership and written work on behalf of existing professional organizations, such as sections and committees of state professional organizations.

These surveys tend to have a built-in bias; specifically, they favor independent practitioners as opposed to those who work in large organizations. In every case, however, we seek to secure the consent and participation of the best representation of experienced, accomplished professionals.