Lawyers have several sets of rules take into account when creating advertisements. The FTC regulates all advertising in every state; each state may have its regulations governing advertising; and the attorney ethics rules in the state in which you tend to be advertising will regulate lawyer marketing and advertising. A review of FTC rules is seen at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/guides.htm. Most rules tend to be just plain common sense and are meant to protect the public. Some state lawyer ethics rules go additional. For instance, some rules are meant to protect the image of lawyers.
In the past, lawyer ethics rules were more restrictive, however, they were slowly eroded by both State and U. S. Supreme Court decisions. Because they have been losing ground, state regulating bodies have have become complacent. Consequently, lawyer advertising has continued to evolve and today there are lots of lawyers advertising without even thinking about ethics rules. It is at this time that the enforcement wave may return. Where the violation is actually minor, it is unlikely that any action shall be taken, but when a lawyer advertisement includes a major ethical violation, authorities will present no choice but to try to exert their control. If they actually nothing, there will be no need for rules. They may as good take their chances in court.
Ethics rules have been slow to keep up with changing times. I believe that some ethics rules, such as requiring that local office address appear in the advertisement, may become unenforceable and needs to be eliminated. This rule may have originally intended that clients should have the means to find your office address if the telephone number changed or to view if your office was geographically effortless for them. This rule no more makes sense. Use of a toll-free telephone number makes your telephone number will never change in case you move your office. According to Nielsen/Net Ratings, in February 2007, 74. 9% of households experienced Internet access. Telephone companies at the moment are offering high-speed Internet access and electric utility companies at the moment are able to offer high-speed Internet access by just plugging into an electric socket. Reported by New American Library, computers at the moment are outselling TVs. In a very shorter time, every home in the US won?t be able to have Net access, but high-speed Internet access and may easily access a lawyer?s website and determine the office tackle. Lawyer advertisements can include a web site address where a potential client will get the lawyer?s contact information. Requiring the lawyer?s office address in the TV commercial, effectively prevents smaller sized lawyers from joining group marketing and advertising where smaller budgets are mixed to effectively compete against wealthier lawyers. There simply is not enough room in the TV commercial to list the address of every lawyer.
With regard to the public?s want to know if a law office is actually near them, this is minimally important qualitative factor that a client should consider. Instead of looking for a lawyer who is several blocks away, a potential client should try to find other factors such as experience with the client?s problem, personality, etc. More often than not, clients and patients are ready to travel from the suburbs towards city to find a lawyer or doctor because of the perception that professionals in town are more competent. Additionally, upon creating a call, the caller can simply obtain the address of the workplace.
For your state?s ethics regulations, see ABA Links to State Ethics Rules Governing Lawyer Marketing and advertising, Solicitation and Marketing at http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/clientdevelopment/adrules.html#. For a summary of resources and articles on honesty and lawyer advertising, see http://www.hurt911.org/lawyer-advertising/lawyer-advertising-tips-articles.html
Below is a short report on what I believe are some of the most important ethics rules take into account when creating attorney advertising:
1) Referrals: If you pay money to anyone and a client is referred to you, you are probably obtaining a good illegal referral, unless the referral is coming from a Bar Association. Advertising involves any risk. The risk is that you may pay for advertising and won?t sign up any clients. If you?re offered a guarantee that you can sign up enough cases to cover the expense of advertising, this guarantee turns your advertising campaign into an illegal referral system. If you are considering dealing with an advertising agency that offers a guarantee, have an ethics lawyer review the guarantee before you decide to work with that agency. In the event you work with an advertiser or a credit repair professional, make sure you are actually covering advertising and not for that cases. Beware of advertising schemes wherever ?someone? offers to send you clients which have been obtained without advertising and offers to bill you on its ?advertising agency? bill head with regard to advertising services or consulting products. Several lawyers and doctors, We have spoken to, mistakenly believed that should they have a bill for marketing and advertising, it?s legal. These schemes are clearly illegal in addition to violating ethics and can bring about an arrest and conviction. Know who you?re doing business with and live by a uncomplicated rule: If you?re trying to create something look like something in addition, it?s probably illegal.
In several states, such as New York, if phone calls are answered in a central office, no person can decide which calls head over to which lawyers. For instance, if the agency or call center receives phone calls from callers requesting different services for example bankruptcy, criminal, divorce, and personal injury, a referral may made once the operator decides which lawyer to send the call to. Even if all calls request personal injury services and an operator may decide whether to give the call to lawyer ?A? or lawyer ?B?, a referral would be made.
2) Disparaging Other Lawyers: Advertising which includes a memor disparaging other lawyers is probably on the list of quickest ways to get in to trouble. Not only is it unethical for most states, but lawyers who view your disparaging advertising will report you.
3) Misleading Marketing and advertising Claims: Claims should be carefully examined avoiding being misleading. Claims implying that law firm can get more money or that your law organization is powerful are misleading. Even a claim you?re a big-city lawyer, while it could be true, can be considered misleading for implication of power or competency thanks to your location. In states, for example New York, where the lawyer is necessary to charge the client with regard to expenses, stating that there is absolutely no fee unless you win won?t violate ethics but subject to a lawsuit.
4) Claiming that they are an Expert: Most states prohibit lawyers from stating in their advertising that they are an expert or that they specialize in a particular practice area, with regard to the lawyer is board licensed. Where the lawyer is not certified, some states, like Arizona, require that the lawyer state that he or she is not certified (this rule also needs to be eliminated).
5) Vanity Telephone Numbers and Website Domain Names: Some vanity telephone numbers and website domain names can violate legitimate ethics. Make sure that your vanity telephone number or website name avoids use of certain words that could potentially create an incorrect expectation in the mind of the consumer or violate on the list of other ethics rules. Both vanity telephone numbers and website domain names should not imply you?re better than another lawyer, you can accomplish something for the audience that may not actually occur or you?re an expert.
Use of words for example ?BEST?, ?TOP?, ?FOREMOST, ?LEADING?, ?WIN? and similar words in the vanity telephone number or website domain name would likely create a misleading expectation in the mind in the consumer and will violate ethics rules for most states. The question is by who?s standards are you the best or leading in addition to in what? 1-800-WIN-XXXX may be good for any casino, but when used for personal injury will imply that the particular person who becomes a client in the firm will win money as soon as, in fact, that may not happen and perhaps if it does, it?s a good award for just compensation, not just a ?winning?. Laura Hodes in her article for any ABA Journal entitled Vanity Mobile Make Your Firm Less Forgettable, quoted Will Hornsby, an expert on lawyer advertising and staff counsel in the ABA Division for Legal Products, who said that while nothing is unethical about vanity numbers, ?1-800-I-WIN-CASES would be unethical because it is making an unsubstantiated claim, creating unjustified expectations that may be true but still be misleading. ?
6) Trade Names: Most states usually do not allow lawyers to use deal names. While a 1-800 vanity contact number can be branded in advertising so people remember the way to call you, it should not become your trade name.
7) Verdict Results: If you advertise previous settlements or popular opinion results, most states will require a disclaimer that prior results usually are not predictive of future outcomes. Claims must be true and you will be able to prove it.
8) By using Actors in the Commercial: Some states prohibit lawyers from using an actor in the commercial to portray a lawyer and still have strict regulations regarding the employment of testimonials, and the portrayal connected with clients.
9) Dramatic Incident Re-creation: Some states prohibit by using dramatic accident recreations in that commercials.
10) Jingles: Some states prohibit by using jingles in commercials.
11) Workplace Address: Most states require that main office address appear within your advertising.
12) Copy connected with Advertisement: Some states require lawyers to stay a copy of the advertisement for certain period. Some states require lawyers to submit a copy of their advertisements for prior approval.
Source: http://www.ultimoslibros.com/1272/basic-ethics-for-lawyer-marketing-and-advertising.html
next iron chef aquamarine iraq war iraq war san diego chargers san diego chargers j.r. martinez
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.