Identifiers are becoming more important in our work. In another context, I was interested to come across the ISLN:
Designated the International Standard Lawyer Number or ISLN, it’s a new mechanism that helps us track the identity of each practicing attorney and lends another level of quality control to the Martindale-Hubbell database. When a lawyer moves from state to state or gains multiple admissions, his or her professional record is automatically linked to the new admission through this unique identifying number. In this way, the ISLN not only helps us preserve data accuracy and unduplicated records here at Martindale, but it can aid state bar associations in tracking disciplinary problems from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. [Briefings: The ISLN explained]
