The Business of Law – Marketing and Business for Enterprising Attorneys

It took three years and I am guessing an obscene amount of time, money and energy on all sides given the reliance on a 300 page Special Master’s Report, but the New Jersey Supreme Court recently overturned a controversial prohibition against New Jersey lawyers  advertising their inclusion in certain ranking systems like  Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America and Martindale-Hubbell AV.  The original prohibition had been based on the New Jersey ethical rule that bars as “misleading” lawyers comparing themselves to other lawyers.  While I applaud the baby step in the right direction, it is just that - a baby step and one that came with a ball and chain tied to the poor baby’s ankle.

Under the new regulations, attorneys are free to include the ratings in their marketing materials so long as the conferring service made a legitimate inquiry into the lawyer’s qualifications, and no price was paid for the honor.  In addition, here comes the ball and chain part, ads must include a disclaimer that states “No aspect of this advertising has been approved by the Supreme Court” and describes the methodology for the ranking system or gives a description of where it can be found.

Legal disclaimers are in part what give lawyers a bad name.  I defy anyone to argue with a straight face that the small print or speed talking you see and hear on all different types of advertising, including lawyer advertising, provides any real benefit to the consumer. So as a navigator of the often complicated and varied rules of legal marketing in the 50 states, I’ll still gladly take this baby step forward, even with the ball and chain.