Buyer Beware: What You Need To Know About Lawyer Advertising1

By Christopher Davis
You need to know a few things about lawyer advertising. For example, if you look through the yellow pages you'll see that the ads placed by attorneys all say essentially the same thing. Very few of them actually give good useful information to make it easier for you to choose a good lawyer for your case. Although the yellow pages are a good place to get names of attorneys, you need to be aware of the following points when it comes to lawyer advertising:

**There is no rule which requires that the lawyer have a minimum amount of experience handling the case which the lawyer wants to advertise.

**Although the bar association has rules that govern lawyer advertising, it usually does not actively investigate, restrict or determine whether each lawyer who advertises is a specialist or has experience with the type of case being advertised. This means a lawyer can advertise that she is a "divorce lawyer" or "personal injury attorney"¨ when that lawyer may have limited experience or knowledge of that area of the law.

**There are virtually no restrictions on the different types of law that the lawyer wants to advertise. Therefore, you should be extremely careful about choosing an attorney based solely on that attorney's advertising claim, whether the ad is in the phone book or on television.

**Any attorney can buy a big slick ad in the yellow pages. The phone book company typically does not verify the claims that are being made in the ad. In many cases the phone book company does not even verify that the person is a licensed attorney in good standing! Use caution.

**A lawyer who advertises does not mean that that lawyer will be handling your case. Some lawyers simply run advertisements and then refer outermost or all of the clients to other lawyers to do the work in exchange for a referral fee. Such a lawyer essentially acts like a referral broker. Be especially cautious of ads placed by out of state attorneys. Because of state licensing requirements, these attorneys will usually have to refer the case to a lawyer who is licensed to practice law in Washington.

**A lawyer who purchases full page ads in the yellow pages, or pays for slick T.V. commercials, does not necessarily mean that the lawyer is super successful. Some lawyers who pay for such advertising operate a "volume practice" for the purpose of making just a little money on the numerous cases that are generated from the ad. Many times a "volume practice" attorney tries to settle all or most of the cases to earn the most amount of money in the least amount of time. The only time you may see this lawyer is if his face appears in the ad!

**Some lawyers who run big ads to fill their "volume practices" will rarely even work on a case. These lawyers farm out every aspect of the case to a paralegal or legal assistant. The only time the lawyer may even look at your case is after it has settled and the lawyer wants to collect his fee!

**Be cautious of lawyer ads that create unjustified expectations. For example, if the lawyer advertises that he can obtain "Fast Settlements in 30 Days" he probably never goes to trial and settles cases for far less than what they are actually worth. In most cases, good settlements take time and effort.
Mr. Davis is the founder and CEO of the Davis Law Group. He brings over 15 years of practical yet innovative experience to personal injury cases. He practices law in Seattle, WA. http://www.InjuryTrialLawyer.com . Mr. Davis is the author of "The Ten Biggest Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Washington Accident Case" comlimentary copies are availalbe at http://www.washingtonaccidentbook.com

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