Bar Prohibitions v. Law Firm Marketing: What’s the Point?

Just two weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal ran a front page story on law firm advertising, highlighting the different and often absurd regulations imposed on the commercial speech of lawyers in a number of states. The Legal Marketing Association supports a comprehensive and congruent application of the ABA Model Rules as a mechanism to staunch the crazy quilt of nit-picking and fief-guarding rules that presume to protect the public against the malevolant manipulation of unethical attorneys. Take that, Snidely Whiplash!

The plain truth is that consumers of legal services, be they individual personal injury plaintiffs or massive in-house corporate legal departments, have more ways than ever to be educated on the specifics of a lawyer’s experience or on the appropriate ways to discern the best attorney for their needs. While not a paragon of educational value, even watching television these days will give you more than enough ammunition to take apart any presumption of expertise on behalf of lawyers. Exactly what are the state Bars protecting us against?