There’s a local attorney whose face is everywhere, billboards, bus stops, the back of the phone book. He specializes in personal injury and auto accidents. “I was in a wreck and The Heavy Hitter got me $19,500.” If I were in an accident with a real, actionable case (or whatever term is appropirate, I think that one came off TV), is this really the guy I want? Or the firm that hired William Shatner or Robert Vaughn to do their commercial? What about the lawyer who does his own commercial, with his sleeves rolled up and who promises to handle your case himself?
Do good, honest, non-ambulance chasing attorneys advertise?
Sure. How is anyone, in any profession, going to build a client base without advertising? Word of mouth only really kicks in after you’re successful.
But there’s advertising and then there’s advertising. Almost every private-practice firm I know of (excepting only a very few elite specialized firms that do very specific work, and some firms that work exclusively for one client, like an insurance company) will have a listing, and possibly an ad, in the yellow pages and probably a website too. But are they one 400 billboards asking “HAVE YOU BEEN INJURED IN AN ACCIDENT?” or “DID YOU GET A DUI?” ? No. Those types of firms do high-volume work based on the success of their advertising. That doesn’t mean they are not good lawyers – some are, some aren’t – but in law, as in every other profession, the quality and quantity of the advertising doesn’t necessarily reflect the quality of the work done. It’s better to ask around for recommendations or referrals, and to do a little research yourself.
There’s a difference between who’s good, and who’s reputable.
If you’re from the upper-crusty 3rd generation WASPy lawyer ranks, you’d rather have your ass torn off by a flaming, acid-soaked wood chipper than advertise to the public. You generally hold lawyers who do advertise in no small amount of disdain. You’re expected to build a book on word of mouth, connections and strength of your firm, if you’re in one.
But then there’s also different ranks of advertising. Reputable attorneys won’t advertise on bus stops or television, but will often support NPR, and local fundraisers and festivals. The line where community support becomes advertisement is a matter of good taste, of course.
But to answer the question, I’m sure many good attorneys do advertise. Some might see them as ill-bred, vulgar plebs possessing no semblence of dignity or restraint, but that doesn’t necessarily diminish their legal abilities. But what I’m trying to say is that attorneys who advertise in those ways are making a more of a social and economic choice. It’s not a reflection on whether they are ‘good,’ as I’m certain many a comfortable Yacht Club lawyer has discovered to his dismay.
You don’t necessarily have to be WASP-y and upper crust to disdain advertising. My father was a small-town Atticus Finch type lawyer, and he was of the opinion that attorneys just did not advertise. He died in the late 80s, and at that time, it was done by a very few. (Remember Melbourne Mills, DaddyTimesTwo and BrianJedi?
Where I am (Boston), most of the ambulance-chasers are actually booking agents. One such firm is James Sokolove LLC.Basically, they take your call, then farm your case out (after evaluating how much money they can make from it) to another law firm, They take a cut of the judgement, and advertise like crazy. Is it legal, yes-classy, no.
Well, for a long time they couldn’t. As a “profession,” intentionally distinguished from a “trade,” it used to be a rule of professional conduct in many (AFAIK, all) American jurisdictions that attorneys could not advertise their services in media. This was the general rule until the matter was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977). The Court decided that “the belief that lawyers are somehow above ‘trade’ is an anachronism” and that lawyers’ right to advertise their services is entitled to First Amendment protection. The fact that the matter was taken all the way to the Supreme Court indicates it was not a change the profession embraced willingly.
But because of the pre-Bates rule, you will find many older attorneys disdain advertising. To many, merely having your name listed in the yellow pages is pushing it. As competition for clients becomes stiffer, however, this attitude is on the wane.
I was injured in an auto accident a few years ago. Within days of it, I started recieving solicitations in the mail-- one attorney sent me a copy of the accident report. (*I *didn’t even have a copy of it yet!) Some of them were from a city that was more than an hour away from my hometown where the accident occured.
I was quite turned-off by it. They seemed like flies swarming to a wound. I had an image in my mind of someone in their office listening intently to the police scanner or having a staff person waiting down at the court house for accident reports to be filed.
I used to know a fellow who went to the courthouse and county clerk’s office every day to snag the new filings. He’d then sell the info to various sorts - foreclosures went to the people looking to buy cheap houses, accident reports went to ambulance chasers, fictitious name filings went to people offering various business services, and so forth.
As for Sokolove, they’re fishing for every possible thing to litigate against. A while back, I saw one of their ads, and thought “Asbestos must be finally winding down” as he’d been advertising about asbestos for years, but is now going after benzene. He’ll probably be “helping” people make claims for all sorts of harm that dihydrogen monoxide has caused within a year or two.
It’s not unusual to get in an accident around here, call the cops and then suddenly some guy shows up to commiserate and then, oh hey, he happens to have his lawyer friend’s business card! Lucky you, you should call him because he’s really good.
Rovers with scanners and stacks of cards, I guess. I had it happen to me and then it happened to a girl I know a year later.
I suppose I have a serious question in all this. Suppose I do get in some accident or have some situation where someone needs to get sued. Is the guy on the back of the phone book a good first call? Or would it be smarter to ask around and get references etc? Is it close to a sure thing that the guy with all the advertising is good at marketing and little else?
I know the “Heavy Hitter” personally. He was in my law school class. Daryl is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet - no kidding. I wouldn’t call him a great legal mind, but I’m certain he employs a few and contracts with quite a few more. Daryl is, however, unquestionably a marketing genius.
To address the OP’s actual question, “Do good attornies advertise?” I’d have to say absolutely. I consider myself a very good attorney and I advertise. I just returned to private practice this year after 10 years in government service. How would people who need my skills know I’m available if I didn’t do some form of advertising? I don’t love spending the money, but it’s a necessity and I try to keep it tasteful.
One thing to consider about the Heavy Hitters, Beckers and Mills of the world is that they do a large number of personal injury cases. This may mean that they are very experienced and therefore advantageous to employ. On the other hand, it may mean that they’ll rush through your case in an assembly line manner. Hard to tell.
Normally what the big advertisers do is try to settle cases as quickly as possible. They do a pretty slick demand letter package. If they can’t get an acceptable offer at that stage and it looks like litigation is on the horizon, they’ll farm the case out to another firm to do the actual trial work.
If you are actively looking for a Kentucky personal injury lawyer, you could e-mail me and I could suggest a few.
Well, with all due respect, it’s almost always better to ask around and do some research, isn’t it? As you yourself point out, slick advertising only means the guy knows how to buy good advertising.
