Attorney Advertising - Personal Injury TV ads

Bad news about our economic woes, predictions that things are going to get worse before they get better, and news of huge layoffs dominate the airwaves. People are scared. Your potential clients already have problems and see nothing but more problems down the road.

And the news doesn't get any better for you - people are driving less because they're not working and they can't afford to pay for gas. The housing crisis has led to significantly less construction in many markets across the country. All this translates into fewer auto accident cases, fewer construction accident cases and fewer workers comp cases. Preemption and tort reform aren't helping either. You're getting squeezed - just like your clients.

Bad economy and the pie is shrinking.

How can you get more cases?

Now is the time to think outside the box. All this bad news creates an opportunity for you. Now is the time to position your law firm in a way that stands out from the crowd. Our experienced legal marketing team has developed custom advertising campaigns to brand law firms across the country since 1981 and we know how to set you apart in the minds of your prospective clients. Now is the time to position you and your firm as the lawyers who help victims and their families get back on their feet. In the context of these challenging economic times a message of hope will resonate like never before.

We'll help your law firm develop a powerful advertising message that offers hope to your potential clients and positions you as the ray of light in a sea of darkness. This is a message that will stand out - especially today.

Many attorneys come to Network Affiliates after years of frustration with ads that look and sound the same as every other law firm in the market. They come to us because we have the creative talent to change their image and separate them from the crowded field. They know that more of the same will just get the same results.

Now is the time. Challenges always create opportunities.

Call the legal advertising experts at Network Affiliates today and we'll help you create a message that people will remember - and one that will generate more business for your firm now and into the future.

January 2009
Fosamax
The first Fosamax osteonecrosis of the jaw case will be tried in New York City in August of this year. Levin Papantonio shareholder Tim O'Brien is lead counsel for the trial as well as for the MDL, which is situated in the Southern District of New York. Additionally, all New Jersey state court cases were consolidated late last year and a New Jersey discovery and trial calendar will be entered soon.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association demonstrates that the risk for Fosamax induced osteonecrosis exists even for short term users of Fosamax. Meanwhile, the FDA recently released data, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, linking Fosamax to cancer of the esophagus.

For more information, contact Levin Papantonio attorney Tim O'Brien at TObrien@levinlaw.com

Rhino
Various Plaintiffs have filed a Joint Motion for Transfer and Coordination under 28 U.S.C. § 1407, which is now referred to as MDL No. 2016, In Re: Yamaha Motor Corp. Rhino ATV Products Liability Litigation. The JPML hearing on this matter is scheduled for January 29, 2009 in Ft. Myers, Florida. Several jurisdictions have been suggested as appropriate for the MDL, including California and Texas. Opposition motions have been filed by numerous Plaintiffs, Yamaha defendants, and various retailer defendants. Our firm continues to advance our state court litigations and recently received a ruling from the Georgia Court of Appeals denying Yamaha's Request for Interlocutory Appeal of a decision denying Yamaha's Motion to Dismiss on the grounds of forum non convenience. Our firm has several trial dates this year, with the first scheduled to begin in May in Orange County, Texas. We continue to evaluate and accept new cases.If you have questions, please contact Troy Rafferty at TRafferty@levinlaw.com or Kim Lambert at Klambert@levinlaw.com.

Medtronic Leads
On January 5th, Judge Kyle, judge presiding over the Minnesota MDL dismissed, with prejudice and without leave to amend, all claims in the Individual Master Complaint as preempted by Reigel and Buckman. Judge Kyle has also issued an order to show cause why a specific individual complaint should not be dismissed because it alleges claims different from the master complaint. The deadline to respond to the show cause order is March 13, 2009. Additional information may be found at http://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/MDL-Fidelis/index.shtml or you may contact Kim Lambert at KLambert@levinlaw.com

Gadolinium
The Gadolinium MDL continues to move forward making progress daily. In an effort to move this litigation along as quickly and as prudently as possible, the PSC has worked with Judge Polster in the Northern District of Ohio to set discovery, trial selection and pre-trial deadlines that can best serve these catastrophically injured clients. Most recently the PSC has been focused on the complex task of product identification for all MDL cases as well as sorting through the many cases to choose the 10 case that the PSC will put up for Trial Selection. Levin Papantonio's Troy Rafferty and his fellow members of the PSC continue worked hard to maintain the balance between moving the litigation along as quickly as possible to ensure these clients are able to see their day in court, and setting manageable deadlines that allow time for proper discovery of the millions of pages of documents already being produced by Defendants Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc., GE Healthcare Inc., Bracco Diagnostics Inc., and Mallinckrodt Inc. If you have any questions about the Gadolinium litigation, Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents, or Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis, the crippling condition at the center of this litigation, please contact Troy Rafferty at TRafferty@levinlaw.com or Lea Morris at Lea.Morris@levinlaw.com.

Securities Department
Levin Papantonio Files Another Fifty Morgan Keegan Bond Fund Claims
To date, Levin Papantonio has filed cases on behalf of 100 institutional and individual investors who have lost more than $60 million in the Regions Morgan Keegan Select Intermediate Bond Fund (RIBCX), the Regions Morgan Keegan Select High Income Fund (MKHIX), the RMK High Income Fund (RMH), the RMK Multi-Sector High Income Fund (RHY), and the RMK Strategic Income Fund. These funds have declined more than 80% in the past 12 months because of the undisclosed risks and the exposure to both the subprime and mortgage markets. We expect to file another 155 arbitration and state court claims by the end of the year. The consortium of law firms currently represent more than 265 institutional and retail investors who have lost more than $150 million dollars.
Broker-Dealers Fail to Disclose Risks Associated with Lehman Principal Protected Notes
Several major brokerage firms, among them UBS, Merrill Lynch, and JP Morgan, sold nearly $70 billion of these principal protected notes in the past year. Many financial advisors recommended these products to retired, risk-adverse investors without informing them of the potential risk. Many investors were not even told that the Lehman Brothers-created products carried significant risk. Levin Papantonio continues to accept cases on behalf of investors who were misled.
Levin Papantonio Files Claims on behalf of Investors who were misled in the Citigroup MAT V Hedge Funds
Levin Papantonio continues to accept claims against Citigroup Alternative Investments (“CAI”). Citigroup advertised these funds as alternatives to fixed income but inadequately disclosed the substantial risks to investors. In fact, quantitative analysis has demonstrated that the pricing inefficiency Citigroup attempted to capture in Mat V was in reality a risk premium built in to the market. The fund has lost over 75% of its value after the too-little-too-late settlement offer to investors. We continue to accept Mat Five cases from across the country. To date, Levin Papantonio represents investors who have lost more than $7 million because of the undisclosed risks and poorly constructed investment products.
Levin Papantonio is Filing Multiple Securities Arbitration Claims Based on Unsuitable Recommendations to Concentrate Portfolios in the Financial Sector
Levin Papantonio continues to accept cases against broker-dealers on behalf of investors holding concentrated equity positions, including common and preferred stock. Many investors’ life savings were not diversified across industry sectors or were not allocated to investment grade fixed income. Instead, portfolios were concentrated in the financial sector through common and preferred stock and fixed income. This concentration caused many retail investors to lose a disproportionate amount of their life savings.
Levin Papantonio's Securities Department is headed by Peter Mougey. Peter can be contacted at PMougey@levinlaw.com.

WEISS' MONTHLY MARKETING BRIEF
By Bob Weiss

You say you don't have time to complete a personal marketing plan, but here's how to get on track for 2009 in 15 minutes.

If you're too busy or disinclined to write a detailed personal marketing plan for 2009 here's how you can build one in Outlook in 15 minutes.

List your top three clients and top three referral sources from the past 24 months.

These should be people who have the ability to send you desirable work from clients who pay. (If you personally see regularly the people you list-- more than quarterly in your normal activities--don't put them on this list. Our goal here is to establish frequency of contact, to keep those referrals coming. Also, do not list them if you currently have a regular flow of matters from them, and do not expect your last file from them to close in, say, the next six months.

Open your calendar in Outlook. Schedule the six people you will contact by phone or email every 90 days for the next 12 months.

The first time the names pop up this year, you will call each person. Tell them what matters you have been involved in, and ask them what is new with their business or practice, and how you might help them get more desirable work.

Many lawyers say they find these conversations a bit awkward. If that's the case, call after hours and leave a voice mail. (You'll be surprised how many people call you back. After all, they're your best contacts!)

The second time the names come up on your calendar during the year, send each person an email. Keep it short. Topics might include a recent change in the law that could affect them, or their clients or customers. Make sure it's relevant, that information you are sending somehow likely affects their day-to-day business affairs.

Repeat the calls and voicemails, and the email on this schedule every 90 days.

Of course, I recommend you spend more time than this developing a strategy and tactics for the coming year. But, busy lawyers are often disinclined to formalize their personal business development; at least until something untoward happens to their book of business.

If you want to take a more formal approach to your personal marketing this coming year, there are a number of forms online from which to choose, some longer and more detailed than others. We have two-page form on our website you can download free at themarketinggurus.com.

An unusual agreement has department stores across the country overrun by customers eager to claim free products. The class action settlement in a lawsuit against several major department stores has required the stores to give away $175 million dollars worth of high end cosmetics. They began giving the products away on January 20, 2009 and will be giving them away through January 26 or until supplies run out.

The lawsuit, filled in 2003 against several cosmetics manufacturers and department stores, accused the defendants of conspiring to keep the price of certain cosmetics artificially high by agreeing not to offer sales and limiting their inventory. The settlement was approved in 2005, by U.S. District Judge Saundra B. Armstrong of the Northern District of California.

Defendant stores participating in the settlement include Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, and 10 other department stores. The plaintiff class includes customers who purchased cosmetics from the defendant stores from May 29, 1994 through July 16, 2003.

Class members may claim one free product each, and their free product is to come from the same manufacturer that made the product they purchased during the class period, unless the store has run out of products made by that manufacturer. Class members have a list of products to choose from, and the stores will make substitutions or issue rainchecks.

It is estimated that 21.6% of the plaintiff class will be compensated. However, customers are not required to produce receipts or any proof that they are eligible for the free products. The story has been in the news and the stores are swamped with customers lining up for their free cosmetics. We may never know how many of the free products truly made their way into the hands of the customers they were meant to compensate.

Class actions like this are an example of how creative many lawyers can be in finding new ways to generate legal fees. Sometimes, it is not enough to just keep doing the same old things the same old way. You have to try something different. Here at Network Affiliates, we have been helping lawyers find new and better ways to generate legal fees for years. Whether it is mass torts, client relationship marketing, client networking meetings or internet marketing, we make sure that our clients are always on the cutting edge.

Harlan

A WSJ NEWS ROUNDUP
Eli Lilly & Co. agreed to pay $1.42 billion to settle a probe into alleged improper marketing of the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa, the Justice Department said Thursday.

The announcement and amount were expected, as Eli Lilly said in October it had set aside $1.42 billion for a potential settlement.

Zyprexa, which is approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, has been Lilly's top-selling drug, garnering the company more than $37 billion in world-wide sales since its U.S. approval in 1996.


Bloomberg News/Landov
Zyprexa, an antipsychotic, isn't approved as a dementia treatment.
The Indianapolis-based company said it will pay $800 million to settle civil suits, including $438 million to the federal government and $362 million to states. It will pay $615 million to resolve the criminal probe and plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation for promoting Zyprexa as a dementia treatment.

The company didn't acknowledge any wrongdoing in the civil cases.

Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia have been investigating whether Lilly played down side effects of Zyprexa and promoted it for unapproved uses. The settlement removes the specter of a criminal indictment of Lilly, which could have threatened the company's lucrative business with Medicare and Medicaid.

The company has been resolving thousands of lawsuits as well as state investigations. In October, it agreed to pay $62 million to 32 states and the District of Columbia that had been probing consumer-protection claims.

Indisputable facts show that companies with the guts and insight to maintain or increase marketing and advertising during a down economy will gain on and edge out their competitors.

It may look bleak out there, but here's one tried and true legal marketing rule in here: Now is not the time to stop advertising. In fact, we would encourage you to think twice-and do just the opposite.

When others are suffering from a loss of case load and quality, your firm can be gaining critical market share. Riding out the economy with a smart and strategic promotional plan is the ultimate return on investment. And we can get you there.

As the pioneer of advertising for lawyers, Network Affiliates has 27 years of experience positioning, selling and branding law firms to out-think the competition in the aggressive world of law. Our dynamic, multifaceted team of experts can craft customized, cost-efficient TV ads for the No. 1 marketing medium or develop a strategic advertising campaign to target consumers using new media ranging from the Internet to cell phones to satellite radio.

As a full-service agency, Network Affiliates provides comprehensive, big-picture media planning down to exclusive niche marketing tools for mass tort and targeted Hispanic channels.

A second opinion costs you nothing-and is just a phone call away. Please reach out to me at 1-800-525-3332 and I'll be happy to provide a complimentary, confidential evaluation of your current marketing approach.

Harlan Schillinger
Vice President/Director of Legal Marketing