Transcript Chapter Five Advertising and Solicitation

Chapter Five
Advertising and Solicitation
In this chapter, you will learn about:
 The key cases affecting the ways that lawyer
advertising is regulated
 The current status of legal advertising and
marketing
 The ethics rules governing advertising
 How advertising rules apply to paralegals
 Ethics rules prohibiting direct solicitation of
clients
 Advertising and solicitation on the Internet
False/Misleading Communication

False or misleading communications
contain material misrepresentations of
fact or law, or omit necessary material
facts.
Legal Marketing
Firm Brochures
 Newsletters
 Rainmakers
 Client surveys
 Advertising
 Web sites
 Chat groups/threaded discussions

Spam

Spam: Direct unsolicited e-mail to a large
number of Internet users
◦ At least one state, Tennessee, has disciplined a lawyer for
soliciting on the Internet by sending a direct e-mail spam to
more than 10,000 Internet users, including users in jurisdictions
in which the lawyer was not licensed to practice.
◦ Some states have determined that lawyers are not permitted to
be listed in lawyers’ directories on the Internet, and several
states classify fee-charging directories as profit-making referral
services that lawyers are prohibited from using.
◦ Many firms use direct e-mail with current clients, sending
newsletters and the like.
Solicitation

Ethical rules restrict the conduct of
lawyers in soliciting clients directly, either
in person or by telephone.
Runners and Cappers

There is a longstanding prohibition against
runners and cappers--agents of lawyers
who prey on accident victims by soliciting
them directly, usually at the accident
scene or hospital.