Legal advertising in the United States
Encyclopedia
In the United States
, advertising of services by members of the profession
of law
is typically permitted but regulated
by state court and bar association
rules.
Advertisements
for lawyer
s and law firm
s take various forms: print, television
, radio
, the yellow pages
, and most recently online advertising
. Among the most common type of legal advertisements are those by tort
lawyers, whose branch of law includes personal injury
, medical malpractice
, negligence
, and product liability
cases involving compensation for harm or damages
caused by another. Yet legal advertisements are used by lawyers who specialize in other areas of the practice of law
, including criminal defense, bankruptcy
, property law
, and family law
.
(ABA) in 1908, advertising within the legal profession was common. The ABA believed that lawyer advertising was unprofessional and shined a negative light on the profession of law. They also realized that a court was a place where parties can "inflict heavy losses on one another." The ABA wanted to prevent the bringing fourth of cases wherein there was no basis for their claim. Lawyers were still allowed to be included in law directories which contained the lawyers basic information, including their name and contact information. They were also allowed to print business card
s and use professional letterhead
, but otherwise advertising was strictly prohibited. The Chicago Bar Association
believed that "The most worthy and effective advertisement possible...is the establishment of a well-merited reputation for professional capacity and fidelity to trust."
to the State Bar of Arizona
. Immediately after their admittance to the bar the pair began working for the Maricopa County
Legal Aid Society. After working there for a period of two years they founded their own practice. As a firm they handled cases for clients who could not qualify for government grants despite moderate incomes. They focused their practice on uncontested court cases such as, divorce
, adoption
, simple bankruptcy
cases, and name change
s. Bates and O’steen decided that rather than charge expensive fees for their services they would focus on a large volume of cases in order to generate their income . They realized that in order to obtain the necessary volume they needed to advertise their name and their services to the public. Bates and O’steen placed an advertisement in the Arizona Republic on February 22, 1976. The State Bar acted reviewed the case. Both Bates and O'steen were suspended from practicing law for six months in accordance with the regulations of the State Bar of Arizona
. Bates and O'steen petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court
to review their case on the grounds that a total ban on advertisement violated the Sherman Antitrust Act
and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
. The state supreme court
rejected both of their claims, but did reduce their suspensions, in part, because the court believed that Bates and O’steen advertised as a way to test the constitutionality of the ban on advertising within the legal industry (Morgan).
The Supreme Court of the United States
recognized that they had the power to review judicial decisions of lower courts and set the case for argument. Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
threw out the claim that a total ban on advertising by lawyers and law firms was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. He based his position on the precedent set in Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar
. This case set the precedent that "lawyers engage in trade or commerce," and lawyers and the practice of law were therefore exempt from the Sherman Antitrust Act.
On the claim of the violation of free speech, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bates and O'steen. They stated, "Arizona's ban of advertising inhibits the free flow of information and keeps the public in ignorance." The Supreme Court therefore removed the ban on advertising. However, they still allowed the State Bar to "regulate" advertising in order to make certain that the information presented was true and did not mislead others or make false claims. State bar associations across the country quickly began to lift their bans on advertising.
placed a print as in the Los Angeles Times
and became the first in the United States to advertise on television. By 1994 spending by Jacoby & Meyers on television advertising dropped to $2.3 annually, down from the $6.4 million in 1988, then the most of any law firm in the nation.
Initially the majority of lawyer advertisements were directed at "slip and fall
" victims. As advertising has expanded, becoming more commonplace and acceptable, most advertisements are now directed to specific groups. These potential clients are those affected by large pharmaceutical companies, whose drugs have been recalled or have unanticipated or undisclosed side effects. Examples of cases involving major pharmaceutical companies include the recall of the drugs Redux and Pondimin by the company American Home Products after studies showed that the drugs caused heart valve
defects. After the medications were recalled in September 1997 many lawsuit
s were filed. The company has paid out $12 billion dollars to patients affected by the drugs . Additionally, those who have been affected by the negligence of others, including automobile crash and medical malpractice
victims, are among the targeted group. These perspective clients seek damages for their medical bills, pain, and suffering.
In the top 75 television markets nationwide, 2,000 lawyers advertise on television and spend close to $200 million collectively on advertising . A majority of the advertisements seen on television are created by a large corporation called Network Affiliates Inc. which also produces medical advertisements. Most of these advertisements are directed at the low income market because other than the lawyer advertisements this group has little contact with lawyers, compared to those in the middle and upper classes who already consult lawyers on such things as contracts and wills. Twenty percent of low-income households who have sought after legal counsel or advice have found their lawyer through the lawyer’s advertisements .
It is estimated that seventy-five percent of law firms advertise . Research has suggested that the smaller the firm the more likely they are to advertise. According to an article published in the Service Marketing Quarterly, 94% of Americans are familiar with lawyer television advertisements. It is the belief of Michael Parkinson and Sabrina Neeley of the Service Marketing Quarterly that the success of legal advertisements can be measured by the number of litigation claims. Within the past ten years the number of third party claims, claims brought before a court by a defendant claiming that another party is liable for damages, has more than doubled .
It is often thought by the general public that lawyer advertisements have tarnished the reputation of lawyers. On the contrary, a study conducted by Richard Cebula of the School of Economics at Georgia Institute of Technology
has shown that as lawyers cut costs due to increased volume the perception by the public has actually improved. The reduced costs have led their clients to feel they are being treated more fairly. The same study also shows that as the number of advertisements have increased so has a positive image with the public . The ABA believes that advertisements have led to a decline in public perception, but studies show that this is not necessarily the case. The Cebula study contradicts other studies such as the 2009 Gallup Poll
, which showed Americans rank lawyers 12th out of 21 professions in terms of honesty and ethical standards; a majority of people, however, ranked them in the average to low category when asked their opinion of the legal profession's ethics and honesty.
emails. He was suspended for this act.
The Internet has made it easier for law firms to find potential clients who have been victims of personal injury or have been victims of the adverse effects of drugs. It also helps victims find a lawyer to represent their case. According to the District of Columbia Bar Ethics Opinion 302, “It is permissible for lawyers to use Internet-based web pages to seek plaintiffs for class action lawsuits, provided they comply with all applicable D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct. It also is permissible for lawyers to obtain legal work through Internet-based web pages on which potential clients post requests for bids on legal projects.” A recent study conducted by the Canadian Medical Association Journal cataloged the number of internet hits relating to websites that advertised representation for those who had possibly been affected by the drug gatifloxacin after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) issued a warning about the drug and its connection to the development of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. They continued to monitor these websites for four months. The data they collected showed a rapid increase of hits to these websites, especially after the drug had been removed from the market .
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, advertising of services by members of the profession
Profession
A profession is a vocation founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain....
of law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
is typically permitted but regulated
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
by state court and bar association
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
rules.
Advertisements
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
for lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
s and law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
s take various forms: print, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, the yellow pages
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages refers to a telephone directory of businesses, organized by category, rather than alphabetically by business name and in which advertising is sold. As the name suggests, such directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings...
, and most recently online advertising
Online advertising
Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web to deliver marketing messages to attract customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads on search engine results pages, banner ads, blogs, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, interstitial...
. Among the most common type of legal advertisements are those by tort
Tort
A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else. It is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general...
lawyers, whose branch of law includes personal injury
Personal injury
Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. The term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit alleging that the plaintiff's injury has been caused by the negligence of another, but also arises in defamation...
, medical malpractice
Medical malpractice
Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
, negligence
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
, and product liability
Product liability
Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause...
cases involving compensation for harm or damages
Damages
In law, damages is an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury; grammatically, it is a singular noun, not plural.- Compensatory damages :...
caused by another. Yet legal advertisements are used by lawyers who specialize in other areas of the practice of law
Practice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister,...
, including criminal defense, bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, property law
Property law
Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
, and family law
Family law
Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...
.
History
Before the Canons of Professional Ethics were published by the American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
(ABA) in 1908, advertising within the legal profession was common. The ABA believed that lawyer advertising was unprofessional and shined a negative light on the profession of law. They also realized that a court was a place where parties can "inflict heavy losses on one another." The ABA wanted to prevent the bringing fourth of cases wherein there was no basis for their claim. Lawyers were still allowed to be included in law directories which contained the lawyers basic information, including their name and contact information. They were also allowed to print business card
Business card
Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company affiliation and contact information such as street addresses, telephone...
s and use professional letterhead
Letterhead
A letterhead is the heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper . That heading usually consists of a name and an address, and a logo or corporate design, and sometimes a background pattern...
, but otherwise advertising was strictly prohibited. The Chicago Bar Association
Chicago Bar Association
Founded in 1874, the Chicago Bar Association is a voluntary bar association with over 20,000 members. Like other bar associations, it concerns itself with professional ethics, networking among members, and continuing legal education. It is located adjacent to the John Marshall Law School in the...
believed that "The most worthy and effective advertisement possible...is the establishment of a well-merited reputation for professional capacity and fidelity to trust."
Bates v. State Bar of Arizona
In 1972 John Bates and Van O'steen were admittedAdmission to the bar in the United States
In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...
to the State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Arizona
The State Bar of Arizona regulates the practice of law in Arizona. It licenses lawyers and establishes procedures for the discipline of misconduct by lawyers....
. Immediately after their admittance to the bar the pair began working for the Maricopa County
Maricopa County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*73.0% White*5.0% Black*2.1% Native American*3.5% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.5% Two or more races*12.7% Other races*29.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
Legal Aid Society. After working there for a period of two years they founded their own practice. As a firm they handled cases for clients who could not qualify for government grants despite moderate incomes. They focused their practice on uncontested court cases such as, divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, simple bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
cases, and name change
Name change
Name change generally refers to a legal act allowing a person to adopt a name different than their name at birth, marriage, or adoption. The procedures and ease of a name change depend on the jurisdiction. In general, common law jurisdictions have loose limitations on name changes while civil law...
s. Bates and O’steen decided that rather than charge expensive fees for their services they would focus on a large volume of cases in order to generate their income . They realized that in order to obtain the necessary volume they needed to advertise their name and their services to the public. Bates and O’steen placed an advertisement in the Arizona Republic on February 22, 1976. The State Bar acted reviewed the case. Both Bates and O'steen were suspended from practicing law for six months in accordance with the regulations of the State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Arizona
The State Bar of Arizona regulates the practice of law in Arizona. It licenses lawyers and establishes procedures for the discipline of misconduct by lawyers....
. Bates and O'steen petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court
Arizona Supreme Court
The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. It consists of a Chief Justice, a Vice Chief Justice, and three associate justices. Each justice is appointed by the governor of Arizona from a list recommended by a bipartisan commission. Justices stand for...
to review their case on the grounds that a total ban on advertisement violated the Sherman Antitrust Act
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act requires the United States federal government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies, and organizations suspected of violating the Act. It was the first Federal statute to limit cartels and monopolies, and today still forms the basis for most antitrust litigation by...
and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
. The state supreme court
State supreme court
In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....
rejected both of their claims, but did reduce their suspensions, in part, because the court believed that Bates and O’steen advertised as a way to test the constitutionality of the ban on advertising within the legal industry (Morgan).
The Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
recognized that they had the power to review judicial decisions of lower courts and set the case for argument. Chief Justice
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
Warren E. Burger
Warren E. Burger
Warren Earl Burger was the 15th Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Although Burger had conservative leanings, the U.S...
threw out the claim that a total ban on advertising by lawyers and law firms was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. He based his position on the precedent set in Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar
Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar
Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar, 421 U.S. 773 was a U.S. Supreme Court decision. It stated that lawyers engage in "trade or commerce" and hence ended the legal profession's exemption from antitrust laws.- Background of the case :...
. This case set the precedent that "lawyers engage in trade or commerce," and lawyers and the practice of law were therefore exempt from the Sherman Antitrust Act.
On the claim of the violation of free speech, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bates and O'steen. They stated, "Arizona's ban of advertising inhibits the free flow of information and keeps the public in ignorance." The Supreme Court therefore removed the ban on advertising. However, they still allowed the State Bar to "regulate" advertising in order to make certain that the information presented was true and did not mislead others or make false claims. State bar associations across the country quickly began to lift their bans on advertising.
Advertising boom
In the days after the Supreme Court decision, the firm of Jacoby & MeyersJacoby & Meyers
Jacoby & Meyers is an American law firm established as a partnership by Leonard Jacoby and Stephen Meyers that used an extensive advertising campaign to build exposure and awareness of the firm, growing from a single storefront to as many as 150 offices in Arizona, California, Connecticut, New...
placed a print as in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
and became the first in the United States to advertise on television. By 1994 spending by Jacoby & Meyers on television advertising dropped to $2.3 annually, down from the $6.4 million in 1988, then the most of any law firm in the nation.
Initially the majority of lawyer advertisements were directed at "slip and fall
Slip and fall
Slip and fall, in United States tort law, is a claim or case based on a person slipping and falling. It is a tort, and based on a claim that the property owner was negligent in allowing some dangerous condition to exist that caused the slip or trip.Property owners generally have two basic...
" victims. As advertising has expanded, becoming more commonplace and acceptable, most advertisements are now directed to specific groups. These potential clients are those affected by large pharmaceutical companies, whose drugs have been recalled or have unanticipated or undisclosed side effects. Examples of cases involving major pharmaceutical companies include the recall of the drugs Redux and Pondimin by the company American Home Products after studies showed that the drugs caused heart valve
Heart valve
A heart valve normally allows blood flow in only one direction through the heart. The four valves commonly represented in a mammalian heart determine the pathway of blood flow through the heart...
defects. After the medications were recalled in September 1997 many lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s were filed. The company has paid out $12 billion dollars to patients affected by the drugs . Additionally, those who have been affected by the negligence of others, including automobile crash and medical malpractice
Medical malpractice
Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
victims, are among the targeted group. These perspective clients seek damages for their medical bills, pain, and suffering.
In the top 75 television markets nationwide, 2,000 lawyers advertise on television and spend close to $200 million collectively on advertising . A majority of the advertisements seen on television are created by a large corporation called Network Affiliates Inc. which also produces medical advertisements. Most of these advertisements are directed at the low income market because other than the lawyer advertisements this group has little contact with lawyers, compared to those in the middle and upper classes who already consult lawyers on such things as contracts and wills. Twenty percent of low-income households who have sought after legal counsel or advice have found their lawyer through the lawyer’s advertisements .
It is estimated that seventy-five percent of law firms advertise . Research has suggested that the smaller the firm the more likely they are to advertise. According to an article published in the Service Marketing Quarterly, 94% of Americans are familiar with lawyer television advertisements. It is the belief of Michael Parkinson and Sabrina Neeley of the Service Marketing Quarterly that the success of legal advertisements can be measured by the number of litigation claims. Within the past ten years the number of third party claims, claims brought before a court by a defendant claiming that another party is liable for damages, has more than doubled .
Public perception
In the Bates v. State Bar of Arizona case, the Arizona State Bar argued against advertising by law firms because they believed that advertising would place too much burden on the legal system. They believed that the advertising may be too effective and dangerously increase litigation. They also believed that lawyers would raise the cost of their services in order to compensate for their increased overhead due to the additional cost of advertising. Another fear was that the legal profession would be viewed as a common trade rather than the noble profession they believed they were part of. They also believed that the public could not protect themselves against false advertisements that they thought would go hand in hand with allowing advertising. The bar also argued that legalizing advertising would cause more and more people to pursue a career in law. This was a result of a study that showed that between the years of 1951 and 1971 the number of lawyers increased by 326%. They also believed that an increase in advertising would promote a larger client base and would make it harder for lawyers to serve their clients .It is often thought by the general public that lawyer advertisements have tarnished the reputation of lawyers. On the contrary, a study conducted by Richard Cebula of the School of Economics at Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
has shown that as lawyers cut costs due to increased volume the perception by the public has actually improved. The reduced costs have led their clients to feel they are being treated more fairly. The same study also shows that as the number of advertisements have increased so has a positive image with the public . The ABA believes that advertisements have led to a decline in public perception, but studies show that this is not necessarily the case. The Cebula study contradicts other studies such as the 2009 Gallup Poll
The Gallup Organization
The Gallup Organization, is primarily a research-based performance-management consulting company. Some of Gallup's key practice areas are - Employee Engagement, Customer Engagement and Well-Being. Gallup has over 40 offices in 27 countries. World headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Operational...
, which showed Americans rank lawyers 12th out of 21 professions in terms of honesty and ethical standards; a majority of people, however, ranked them in the average to low category when asked their opinion of the legal profession's ethics and honesty.
Regulations
Individual bar associations continue to restrict and regulate advertisements. For example, New York print ads are only allowed to contain the address and phone number and only print specialties unless the firm is licensed in that specialty. The ABA as a whole has also laid down a legal standard that regulates advertising. “The state may prohibit speech that is false or misleading. If the communications are truthful and non-deceptive, the state may limit [advertisements] if the state asserts a substantial government interest. The regulation under scrutiny must directly advance state interest. The regulation must be a reasonable fit narrowly tailored to achieve the desired objective . There has been a constant battle between law firms and the ABA since lawyer advertising was made legal. Court cases that have been filed challenging advertisements involve advertising that is absurd to crude but more often than not the advertiser wins as courts uphold the lawyer’s right of free speech. For example, a case in Florida is being reviewed by the Supreme Court of Florida in which lawyers began sent direct-mail solicitations to those who had been affected by wrongful-death or personal injury .New forms
Although advertising in phone books still remains the most popular and prominent in our society, new forms of advertising have emerged. Television advertisements are a relatively new form of advertising and are becoming increasingly more popular. The newest form of advertising by law firms and lawyers is over the internet. Problems have already occurred, including an instance were a lawyer sent hundreds of spamSpam (electronic)
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...
emails. He was suspended for this act.
The Internet has made it easier for law firms to find potential clients who have been victims of personal injury or have been victims of the adverse effects of drugs. It also helps victims find a lawyer to represent their case. According to the District of Columbia Bar Ethics Opinion 302, “It is permissible for lawyers to use Internet-based web pages to seek plaintiffs for class action lawsuits, provided they comply with all applicable D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct. It also is permissible for lawyers to obtain legal work through Internet-based web pages on which potential clients post requests for bids on legal projects.” A recent study conducted by the Canadian Medical Association Journal cataloged the number of internet hits relating to websites that advertised representation for those who had possibly been affected by the drug gatifloxacin after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
(FDA) issued a warning about the drug and its connection to the development of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. They continued to monitor these websites for four months. The data they collected showed a rapid increase of hits to these websites, especially after the drug had been removed from the market .