New Lawyer Advertising Rules in
New York Violate Free Speech, Federal Court Rules


WASHINGTON, D.C. - New rules governing lawyer advertising that took
effect in New York on Feb. 1 cannot be enforced because they violate
the First Amendment right to free speech, according to a ruling issued
today by a federal court in New York.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled in
favor of Public Citizen's request for an injunction against many of
the new rules. The organization represented its members and attorney James
L. Alexander and his law firm, Alexander & Catalano. The New York firm
was forced to change its advertisements to comply with the more
restrictive rules.

The new guidelines were part of a revision of the rules contained in
New York's Code of Professional Responsibility for lawyers, which is
designed to protect consumers by prohibiting false and misleading
lawyer advertisements. Public Citizen contended in its lawsuit that the
rules' broad language unconstitutionally prohibited truthful communication of
information about legal services to New York consumers. The court
heard oral argument on June 18.

In a victory for First Amendment rights, the court permanently enjoined
enforcement of most of the challenged rules against attorney
advertising, including rules against attention-getting techniques, the
use of nicknames and mottos, the use of client testimonials, the
portrayal of judges and the use of Internet pop-up ads.

"The New York rules went too far in imposing burdensome restrictions
on legal free speech that do not protect consumers," said Greg Beck, an
attorney for Public Citizen who litigated the case. "The court rightly
recognized that the First Amendment prevents states from arbitrarily
restricting advertising just because some may find it distasteful."

In today's ruling, the court held that the advertising at issue in the
case was a form of speech protected by the First Amendment, and it
categorically rejected New York's argument that advertising considered
by the state to be trivial or irrelevant was not covered by free
speech rights. It noted that the state had not produced any evidence that its
restrictions on speech were necessary to protect consumers and found
that the prohibitions were much broader than necessary to accomplish
the state's claimed objectives.

Public Citizen also challenged the rules' application to non-commercial
speech, such as offers by lawyers to represent clients without a fee
in civil rights cases. And in what amounted to another victory for free speech,
the court construed the challenged amendments not to apply to
nonprofit attorneys.

"The main beneficiaries of this decision are New York consumers," Beck
said. "Truthful advertising promotes healthy competition between
lawyers and allows the public to learn about their rights and available legal
services."

To read the decision, visit
http://www.citizen.org/documents/alexanderorder.pdf

Harlan Schillinger
Network Affiliates

I am currently attending the Summer AAJ Meeting in Chicago. For the first time in a long time the climate seems to be very optimistic in regards to tort reform. The lawyers attending this meeting feel that the Democratic Congress is helping clear the air away from the Republican tort reform agenda.

Simply put, business seems to be moving forward. The hottest mass tort is Gadolinium. I met last night with the national trial law firm Burg Simpson of Denver. They have apparently taken an extremely large position in this litigation.

The exhibit hall is huge compared with previous AAJ/ATLA meetings. There are more internet marketing firms than ever. Lots of ad agencies too. I've spent a lot of time over at the Page 1 Solutions booth and have been impressed with the confidence and positive reports that they are getting from their clients.

Jonathan Fashbaugh has impressed me with his maturity in the industry. He knows what works for the lawyers who want to maximize their presence on the Internet. He also has a great blog on internet marketing that I learn from almost every day.

Harlan Schillinger
Network Affiliates

It is getting more and more difficult to obtain cases from your current Television campaigns. It seems that everyone is shouting the same messages.
In order to get your message heard, you have to say it in a different manner. If you do today what you did yesterday you will get the same results.
Look hard at your competitors. Look at their messages. Think about what you would really like to say to prospective clients. Are you approachable?

NOW, Spend some time on YOUR Advertising. You will get more out of it.

Harlan Schillinger
Network Affiliates.