Marketing Ethics and How to Legally Ignore the Rules

Copyright (c) 2010 Benjamin Glass

In your years of practice as an attorney I'm sure you've come across several laws that are vaguely written and left largely up to interpretation. As a lawyer, it's your job to argue your interpretation to best serve your client's case. As state bar laws for lawyer advertising continue to change, I'm finding these skills come in handy for legal marketing as well.

How Your State Bar May Hinder Your Legal Marketing

Every state bar has the right to regulate how and where lawyer advertising is conducted. Some states aren't too overbearing with these laws, while others take their control to ridiculous levels. Take for example the Kentucky State Bar, which requires all mailed legal marketing newsletters to be submitted and approved 30 days prior to mailing. How can you produce and send a time-sensitive, monthly newsletter with current content when it has to be approved the month before?

The latest example from the Sunshine State was actually delayed thanks to a surge of complaints from not only Florida lawyers, but other professional organizations. The Florida State Bar attempted to restrict the use of testimonials, because they could be seen as misleading information about case results. Lawyers would have to alter their website testimonial pages to include a disclaimer before the reader could proceed. The July 1, 2010 activation date for this law was pushed back to August 16 to allow further discussion.

Winning Your Battle Against Bar Rules

I'm not suggesting you actually go and file a suit against your state bar. But you may need to argue your point in front of a committee if you attempt to get creative with your interpretation of lawyer advertising laws. Some state bars may require approval of certain types of lawyer advertising before they can hit the public eye, and if you get a rejection, it may take some creative thinking on your part to prove your point.

Remember that you're most likely going to be dealing with attorneys who have no real understanding of how important legal marketing is to our livelihood. Your best resource is to go in with a clear idea of what your lawyer advertising is set to accomplish for your firm and why it's important to your business.

Remember the Basics of Ethics

Arguing against the state bar for some laws is an option in many cases where the actual written word is very vague or misleading. However, there are some rules that basically apply universally to all lawyer advertising. The ethical violations to always avoid include:

- Outright slander against another party;

- Guarantees for case results or settlement amounts; and

- Unauthorized use of client names or case details.

Most states also restrict the use of celebrity or expert endorsements, as well as claims that you yourself are an "expert" in your field. Of course, if you're thinking outside-the-box with your legal marketing you can always find creative ways to say you're the best without really SAYING it.

Remember that the key to legal marketing is to see the typical way everyone is doing things and stray from the beaten path. If you're finding your state bar rules are too restrictive for your lawyer advertising, look at them from a different approach. Just as laws in your practice area can vary in application depending on who interprets them, so can your state bar laws for your legal marketing!

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