Legal advertising is advertising by lawyers (attorneys), solicitors and law firms. Legal marketing is a broader term referring to advertising and other practices, including client relations, social media, and public relations. It's a type of marketing undertaken by law firms, lawyers (attorneys) and solicitors that aims to promote the services of law firms and increase their brand awareness.
Digital platforms have increasingly dominated legal marketing plans, often at the expense of traditional print advertising, as the perceived benefits of digital marketing have grown.
Practices such as social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, and pay-per-click advertising (PPC) now combine with traditional public relations and legal advertising (billboards, TV and radio ads, newspaper ads, etc.) as the main strategies in legal marketing.
History Many law firms advertised relatively freely in the U.S. in the 19th century. Ads appeared regularly in the classified sections of newspapers. Even Abraham Lincoln advertised his law firm in the 1850s.
Since then, the legal profession has had somewhat of an uneasy relationship with advertising. This was largely prompted by the American Bar Association (ABA) condemning lawyer advertising in its 1908 Canons of Professional Ethics, after which many states passed regulations banning or severely limiting attorney advertising.
From the early 20th century until the 1970s in the U.S., legal marketing was severely curtailed and where it was allowed, it was highly regulated. When two young attorneys (John R. Bates and Van O’Steen) advertised their legal clinic in a local Arizona newspaper in 1977, perceptions about legal marketing began to shift.
The legal clinic's advertisement stated that they were offering "legal services at very reasonable fees" and listed fees for certain services, such as uncontested divorces. It didn't go unnoticed. The lawyers were found to have violated the Arizona rule preventing attorneys from advertising in newspapers and a complaint was filed against them.
The lawyers sued the state and the case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977). The Supreme Court ruled that the restrictions on advertising and other forms of marketing were antiquated rules of etiquette that violated the First Amendment.
This case is considered to have paved the way for modern legal marketing in the U.S. and since then, the American Bar Association has regularly reviewed its guidelines for legal marketing.
In 1984, New Jersey became one of the first states to allow its law firms to advertise on radio and television.
The National Association of Law Firm Marketing Administrators was formed in 1986, and it was later rebranded as the Legal Marketing Association (LMA). From the mid-1980s on, many U.S. law firms began creating ads and increasing their marketing presence, using newsletters, billboards, newspapers, and so on.
Australia In Australia, legal advertising is regulated by the Legal Services Commission of the State they practice in. Generally, Australian lawyers must ensure their advertising isn't false, misleading or deceptive, offensive or prohibited by law.
European Union From the 1990s, other jurisdictions in continental Europe progressively opened the way for advertising. Advocates in Spain and France are among those able to freely use instruments of communication.
Germany
In Germany, prior to 1990, it was considered professionally improper to market your law firm. Because of the opinion that the law was above advertisement, the use of a logo anywhere was forbidden, and something as innocuous as a telephone book listing was subject to scrutiny. It was forbidden to give any sort of detailed information on your firm's practice areas or specializations anywhere, even in yellow page listings. Only the name of the firm, physical address, and telephone numbers were allowed. Law firms began to question the fairness of this prohibition in their profession.
In the 1990/1991 annual issue of the yellow pages for Nürnberg-Fürth, published by Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, the listing Dr Kreuzer & Coll, Nürnberg, Germany, broke with the status quo. The listing included not only the address, telephone, fax and telex numbers for the firm, but also the names of the founder of the firm, Dr. Günther Kreuzer, his partner Felix Müller, and the names of two of their attorneys as well as all of their specializations or areas of focus; Fachanwalt für Sozialrecht (Specialist for Civil Law), Fachanwalt für Arbeitsrecht (Specialist for Employment Law), Rechtsanwältin für Verkehrssachen (Lawyer for Traffic Law) and Rechtsanwalt für Familiensachen (Lawyer for Family Law). As soon as that edition was published, there was an objection filed by a fellow member of the bar. They complained that Dr Kreuzer & Coll had broken the code of professionalism and asked for a disciplinary hearing, stating a severe breach of professional etiquette.Summary
Final ruling The disciplinary court, an appellant court and ultimately, the Federal Court of Justice of Germany's Senate for Law Matters returned a decision in favor of the defendants and ruled that no breach of professional etiquette had transpired as the information that was posted was true and that there was no reason that firms should not be able to give such detailed information in their listings.
India In India, an advocate shall not solicit work or advertise, except through a medium maintained by the Bar Council of India, either directly or indirectly, whether by circulars, advertisements, touts, personal communications, interviews not warranted by personal relations, furnishing or inspiring newspaper comments or producing his/her photographs to be published in connection with cases in which they have been engaged or concerned. Their sign-board or name-plate should be of a reasonable size. The sign-board or name-plate or stationery should not indicate that they are or have been a president or member of a bar council or of any association or that they have been associated with any person or organization or with any particular cause or matter or that they specialize in any particular type of work or that they had been a judge or an advocate general. Soliciting work or advertise as used in this clause of the code would not mean and include setting up of a web-site by an advocate or a law firm giving only basic information about the names and number of lawyers in a law firm, the contact details and areas of practice. This similarly applies to lawyers’ brochures and law directories.
Under the amended rule, advocates can mention in their chosen websites, their names, telephone numbers, e-mail ID, professional qualification and areas of specialization.
Israel In Israel, legal marketing managers in big law firms were active since 2006. Their activity expanded due to the late-2000s recession which affected law firms, and due to the large number of lawyers per capita in Israel.
Italy In Italy, the Bersani Decree of July 2, converted into law in January 2007 gives lawyers the right to advertise.
United Kingdom England and Wales Legal marketing has been permitted in England and Wales since 1986, when the Law Society of England and Wales first permitted lawyers to advertise. The Financial Services Authority now licences helplines and claims management agencies – except trade unions – which typically advertise and refer claims to lawyers.
United States
Lawyer advertising in the United States is legal, although subject to ethical rules promulgated by state bar associations. Lawyer advertising flourished in the 19th century, with ads appearing regularly in the classified sections of newspapers.David L. Hudson Jr., Commonly encountered forms of lawyer advertising include television and radio commercials, print advertisements, billboards, direct mail marketing, law firm websites, and participation in telephone directories, commercial directories and referral services, and through online advertising and social media.
In 1908, the American Bar Association (ABA) established its first ethics code, known as the Canons of Professional Ethics, which condemned all advertisement and solicitation by lawyers. Due to the progression of the legal profession and the desire to update the Canons of Professional Ethics, the ABA created the Model Code of Professional Responsibility (Model Code) in 1969. The Model Code was an effort by the ABA to create practical rules that went "beyond the pretty details of form and manners" and addressed "the chained relationship of the lawyer to his clients, to his professional brethren and to the public."
The first major case law decision on legal advertising is the Supreme Court ruling in Bates v. Arizona State Bar 433 U.S. 350 (1977), in which the United States Supreme Court, held that lawyer advertising is partially protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court rejected the argument by the Arizona Bar that attorney advertising was "inherently misleading" and "tarnish the dignified public image of the profession." The Court found "the postulated connection between advertising and the erosion of true professionalism to be severely strained," and noted that "lack of legal advertising could be viewed as the profession's failure to 'reach out and serve the community."
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) responded to the Supreme Court of Alabama's June 26, 2002 invitation to comment on the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct entitled Information about Legal Services. In this response, the FTC "encourages competition in the licensed professions, including the legal profession, to the maximum extent compatible with other state and federal goals."Federal Trade Commission, "Response to Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct" (September 2002) http://www.ftc.gov/be/v020023.pdf Additionally, on May 26, 2006, the FTC commented on the State Bar of Texas Professional Ethics Committee's consideration on whether or not it is ethical for a Texas attorney to participate in an online lawyer referral services. The FTC determined that "online legal matching services are a valuable option for Texans: they are likely to reduce the consumers' cost for finding legal representation and have the potential to increase competition among attorneys."Federal Trade Commission, "Comments on a Request for Ethics Opinion Regarding Online Attorney Matching Programs" (May 2006)
Certain marketing practices are considered illegal, and many others may be considered violations of legal ethics. Shock advertising, for example, would be considered unethical; directly soliciting clients (known as barratry, or "ambulance chasing") is illegal.
The New York and Florida court systems proposed several restrictions on advertising in 2006 and 2007. The New York proposals generated controversy. In 2005, New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) President Vincent Buzard appointed a Task Force on Lawyer Advertising, chaired by Bernice K. Leber, to make proposals for consideration by NYSBA and the New York courts.Andrew Rush, U.S. District Court: Some advertising rules unconstitutional, State Bar News, September/October 2007, p. 4.
The new rules for New York were effective on February 1, 2007.For the full rules, see: . For the first time, the New York Legal system defined legal advertising, as: