Attorney Advertising refers to the purchase of any ads by an Attorney or ads coming out in publications, outdoor installations, television or recorded media. The advantages and disadvantages of lawyer advertising a subject of discussion as the range of advertising continues to increase every year.
The plus point of Attorney advertising is, the people are very much aware about the on going legal issues and they know that lawyers are there to assist them in moments of crisis. And the ads serve the realistic purpose of informing people as and when they are supposed to seek the help of a lawyer. The disadvantage is that at times the ads are merely superficial and not at all edifying. The beginning of Lawyer advertising can be traced back to England’s legal system. The present standards are based on the Canon 27 of the American Bar Association’s Canons of professional ethics. This was written in 1908 and these guidelines are set up to act as parameters for state and local Bar Associations.
Cannon 27 which addressed the issue of
attorney marketing stated that, legal representation of business by means of circulars and ads, individual discussions and meetings, are not professional. Later in 1937, this rule was tailored and permitted lawyers to circulate listings in the legal directories and other periodicals that were exclusively for those in the legal circuit. The American Bar Association the very next year ruled the listings and allowed it to have a place in the white pages of the public telephone directories. This ruling was upturned in the year of 1951.
In the year of 1969 American Bar Association reorganized the cannons and brought forward the code of professional responsibility. In 1983, as a step forward, to codify the standards of legal conduct the ABA changed the code with the model rules of proficient conduct. Section 7 deals with the specific portion of lawyer advertising and representation. Section 7 categorically states that ads should be honest and shouldn’t be deceiving and deceptive. The ABA defines the deceptive ads as the ones which creates improbable expectations in the mind of the people regarding the Lawyers capability. Comparison of services among two lawyers should have authenticated proof. The satisfactory bio-data of a Lawyer should include his address, telephone numbers, fee structure, language skills, names of clients (this has to be with the prior approval of the client) etc.
lawyer advertising media includes television, radio, newspapers, phone, legal directories, outdoor installations and other recorded media. It’s necessary to keep records of all the contents of the advertisements.
The American Bar Association during intervals emends the rules to make certain modifications for incorporating norms and changes in the changing technology. In 1998, ABA allowed the use of internet for Lawyer advertisement to boost their business. A set of rules imposed by the ABA restricts the Lawyers to focus on their branch of specialty because probable clients seldom have a way to assess whether the Attorney is a well qualified authority in the specific field.
