Lawyers Must Retain Their Right to Advertise
Lawyers who take advantage of the media’s many advertising methods have recently come under fire. It’s been argued that advertising on radio, and especially television, places the profession in an unsavory light.
But used properly, media advertising can be valuable to criminal defense attorneys trying to make themselves available to a wide audience and to potential clients.
I spoke with Jeffrey Berns of Berns & Ghiglia in Canoga Park about their extensive advertising campaigns, their advertising philosophy and their results. For every fifty inquiries Berns & Ghiglia receive from a radio ad, one is secured as a client; yet, during the free consultation, the other 49 callers often receive valuable guidance as they are apprised of their rights.
Berns & Ghiglia and my firm have found radio advertising to be more cost effective than television since it has fewer production requirements. Radio also has proven to reach our target audience in their homes, offices and – perfect for Southern California – their cars.
The professionalism and honesty with which one advertises is really the issue here. Berns & Ghiglia supports state bill AB208, recently introduced by Assemblyman Paul Horcher (R-Whittier), which targets fraudulent advertising techniques such as: deceptive contingency for arrangements; claims of immediate cash settlements; guarantees of outcomes; impersonations; dramatizations.
The State Bar’s Lawyer Advertising Task Force has recently issued recommendations to supplement Rules of Professional Conduct 1-400 that bar false, misleading or deceptive ads and those that omit material facts.
By all means, measures such as these are needed to assume that there is now value or respectability in any lawyer’s advertisements. Our firms have value to offer and we believe in the right to let people know we can help them.
With proper guidelines, responsible lawyers should be allowed every opportunity to advertise widely. We should not give in to any attack that compromises that right.
