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Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Law - More on: "Superlawyers" must not flaunt status

Law.com today posts a story from the New Jersey Law Journal reporting that:

A New Jersey Supreme Court ethics panel knocked "SuperLawyers" and "Best Lawyers in America" out of the business of ranking New Jersey lawyers on July 19 by prohibiting attorneys from advertising their inclusion and taking part in the selection process.
See the earlier ILB entry here. More from today's very comprehensive story:
Because the opinion says participation in the selection process is inappropriate, New Jersey lawyers won't be able to make the recommendations or return ballots the surveys depend on to create the lists. * * *

The New Jersey authorities are at odds with those in three states. The Philadelphia Bar Association said in Opinion 2004-10 that a lawyer could mention the SuperLawyers designation in a Yellow Pages ad if the ad included details of the selection process.

The Iowa State Bar said in Opinion 05-03 that a firm could be in a Corporate Counsel magazine issue that included lists of Best Lawyers in America. The Iowa Bar reasoned that the magazine, distributed to 30,000 in-house lawyers in corporations, was primarily for the use of the legal profession.

The Virginia State Bar went the farthest and said in 2003, in Opinion A-0144, that a lawyer can advertise inclusion in a rating system that uses a "legitimate peer review process." It said Best Lawyers in America fit the bill.

Virginia's experience suggests how crucial these ethics opinions are for the rating services and the lawyers who use them to woo clients.

James McCauley, the Virginia Bar's ethics counsel, says Opinion A-0144 was a 180-degree turn from an earlier ruling challenged in a federal First Amendment suit by a firm in Best Lawyers in America.

After the judge in the case, Allen, Allen, Allen, Allen v. Williams, 254 F.Supp. 2d 614 (E.D. Va. 2003), issued a temporary injunction, the Bar settled and wrote the permissive revision.

McCauley says the New Jersey opinion is wrong because, in the case of Best Lawyers in America, "there is a selection process and a vetting process that is sufficiently broad-based to show that the publication is not a sham."

As long as a lawyer states truthfully that he or she is in the survey and the criteria are transparent, the public has a reasonable basis to make a choice, McCauley says, adding, "I think a lot of times, bar regulators assume that consumers are like dumb sheep.

"I think this New Jersey opinion is inviting a lawsuit," he goes on. "This advertising business is big business for these personal injury lawyers. They're not going to give up on it too easily."

At some big firms in New Jersey, however, senior partners were cheering.

"I'm thrilled," says Michael Rodburg, managing partner at Roseland's Lowenstein Sandler. "Personally, I think it's been crap, and I think it's been crap from the beginning."

Rodburg says he and other managing partners have succumbed to pressure by lawyers and marketing advisers to participate in ad campaigns geared to the rankings, and firms do so only because others are. "As long as ethics regulators aren't enforcing it and everyone is doing it, you feel like a jerk if you're firm isn't involved," he says. "I always thought it inappropriate and meaningless."

At Princeton's Hill Wallack, managing partner Robert Bacso says the New Jersey Monthly ads costs thousands of dollars and he is glad he no longer has to spend the money to keep up with other firms and satisfy partners who feel they should be publicly recognized for being in SuperLawyers. "I think it's a puff piece and an ego stroke, but if you've got attorneys in the firm who have the designation and you don't advertise it, they have a legitimate gripe," he says. He would rather spend money on targeted marketing or give it to charity, he says.

Here, thanks to How Appealing, is a link to the New Jersey Committee on Attorney Advertising Opinion 39: Advertisements Touting Designation as “Super Lawyer” or “Best Lawyer in America.

BTW, my Indiana Superlawyers ballot is on my desk - it arrived last week.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 25, 2006 08:18 AM
Posted to General Law Related