International Law

Lawyers Behaving Badly 3

Funny story from the WSJ about legal ads, Objection! Funny Legal Ads Draw Censure

"Syracuse, N.Y., attorney James Alexander ran a TV spot for his firm showing lawyers offering counsel to space aliens who had crashed their UFO. He also did one with lawyers towering like giants over Syracuse.

When it comes to advertising, lawyers have it harder than other professions.

That's largely because a sizable sector of the bar generally regards ads as cheap and tawdry. As a result, state regulators have cobbled together a fairly restrictive -- some might say "amusing" --set of rules on what lawyer ads can and can't say.

But many lawyer-advertisers claim that lively TV and radio spots inform the public and help lesser-known lawyers compete for business. To join a discussion on the topic, check out the Law Blog.

Not amused, New York court officials said the ads contained "patent falsities."

"It cannot be denied," wrote assistant New York Attorney General Patrick MacRae in a court filing, "that there is little likelihood that [the lawyers] were retained by aliens, have the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, or have stomped around downtown Syracuse, Godzilla-style."

A federal judge hearing a free-speech suit Mr. Alexander brought ruled in his favor last year. The case is on appeal."

I am not a fan of this type of advertising, but who cares what I think or what anyone thinks.

The advertising either works or it doesn't and it is withdrawn.

Why do we need Communist style Overseers telling us what works and what doesn't?

Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on February 11, 2008 (boomark / email).