You’ve been practicing law in Connecticut for two decades. Your ads are understated. Have other law firms gone too far in their advertising? A certain ad with an armored truck dropping off bags of cash comes to mind.
We realized early on that we were marketing to a group of individuals who needed help in selecting a lawyer. Our clients were the average citizen who did not know a lawyer in their social circle. The best way to reach these people was through television. Although we got the cold shoulder from many of the established law firms during our early years, now many of them have since entered the advertising market.
Some law firms, in an attempt to stand out from the crowd, have produced some tasteless commercials, one of them being the armored truck commercial. That particular ad did not put the legal profession in a favorable light and caused an outcry of protest from the legal community. Although advertising is protected speech, the law community needs to maintain a certain degree of professionalism.
What, if any, regulation of law firm advertising should there be in Connecticut? Florida, like other states, requires pre-approval. Does Connecticut need to go that far?
Compared to the rest of the country, Connecticut is conservative with their legal advertising. However, not long after the armored truck ad appeared, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut formed a committee to examine and revamp lawyer advertising.
Although the committee’s intentions were good, the rules they set forth only regulate Connecticut lawyers, which allows lawyers from other states running national campaigns to come into our state and say and do what they want on the air. An out-of-state law firm is not required to do this, thus many Connecticut residents are tricked into thinking they are calling a Connecticut attorney. These lawyers can also say they are the best of the best, while the lawyers in our state have strict restrictions on what they can say. Connecticut lawyers do not have an equal playing field, and the new rules have little effect on the substantive content.
What is the future of legal advertising in Connecticut? Is it the Internet? Or, does that run into problems because you’re advertising out of where you are admitted to practice?
Certainly, the Internet is the future of any business in terms of advertising. As far as the issues associated with its being multijurisdictional, that’s still being sorted out. Our Connecticut judicial system is not sure how it will address and control people advertising on the Internet that are not compliant with Connecticut rules. This is currently presenting many challenges for our existing regulations and something needs to be done in the very near future before it gets totally out of hand.
Every law firm talks about its customer service. What do you do that sets you apart?
The number one grievance against lawyers is for failing to do something as basic as return their clients’ calls. In our office, if we don’t call a client back the same day they call us, lunch is on me. Clients want a zealous advocate, but they also deserve communication and respect. Our firm was recently featured as a top customer service business in “What’s the Secret?” by John DiJulius.
