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When I was growing up you just never saw lawyers advertise in this manner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fairlaker
That might be because ANY advertising by lawyers was prohibited by virtually all state bar associations prior to 1977. Today advertising is regulated by state bars and ABA guidelines that seek to assure that information is factual and not misleading.
That explains it. Before that professsionals didn't advertise. Now, it's not only lawyers but doctors as
well.
I had pretty much bowed out of this topic, but lawyer advertising needs to be addressed.
The truth is that many, if not most lawyers, would like to ban those awful ads on tv where lawyers boast about the money they can get someone for an injury accident. The problem is that those ads cannot be banned. They cannot be banned by the state bar association. They cannot even be banned by a law passed by a state legislature or by Congress.
Why is this?
Its because those ads and the content in most of them is protected by the First Amendment. Most people think in terms of "political speech" when they think about the protections that the First Amendment provides. Of course, it is true that because we have a First Amendment that I cannot be banned from praising President Obama or saying that he is absolutely worthless. What many do not know though is that other forms of speech are protected as well. One form of speech that enjoys protection is "commercial speech" or advertising. The Supreme Court of the United States has held that unless an ad is fraudulent or misleading that it is protected by the First Amendment. According to the court, this means that unless it can be shown that the ad makes fraudulent or misleading statements that the ad cannot be prohibited. Anyone doubting this should take a look at the case of Shapiro v. Kentucky Bar Association., 486 U.S. 466 (1988).
What this means is that a lawyer (or any other person in a business or profession) has an absolute right to put tacky and obnoxious commercials on t.v. and there is nothing that a bar association, a legislature, or Congress can do about it.
I think some attorneys (like myself) who have successfully practiced law for 25 + years are unhappy that nothing can be done to stop some of the ads we see lawyers putting on television, radio, and in the phone directory these days. However, the point is that unless the Supreme Court reverses its earlier ruling than nothing can be done by anyone.
If you want someone or something to blame than blame the U.S. Supreme Court.
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