We ve been getting incredible responses and inquiries from all over the world, says his secretary. Free Speech Not long ago, lawyer advertising was unheard of. Advertising and soliciting business were long seen as being beneath the legal profession, and were forbidden across the country by courts and the state bar associations that regulate attorney practice. But court decisions, starting with a Supreme Court case in 1977, found that outright bans on lawyer advertising were unconstitutional because they denied lawyers rights of commercial free speech. However, that case and those that followed it also confirmed each state s right and obligation to regulate lawyer advertising to protect consumers.
Every state now regulates lawyer advertising, including what s on Web sites.
The rules strive to create a balance between protecting the public from overreaching advertising, encouraging the free flow of information, and allowing the legal profession to exist in the stream of commerce, says William Hornsby Jr., staff counsel with the American Bar Association and author of Marketing and Legal Ethics. In the beginning, rules prohibited television advertising, targeted mail solicitation and any advertising not done in a dignified manner. But those restrictions have gradually eroded or disappeared. Most state restrictions mirror rules developed by the American Bar Association, although some states have tougher prohibitions. Lawyers are sworn to uphold and respect the legal system, and must refrain from activities that denigrate the profession and its members.