Legal advertising is notice of probate sales and other documents required
by law to be published in court-approved local newspapers of a defined
minimum circulation. It may also refer to commercials for the legal
services of lawyers and law firms, including television spots and ads in
telephone books' yellow pages. Such advertising was prohibited as illegal
solicitation of legal services until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1977
that restrictions on advertising professional services violated constitutional
protections of free speech.
Legal advertising may be subject to regulation by the rules of the state
bar association, which vary by state. The following is an example of a
state bar's advertising rules dealing with prohibited false or misleading
statements:
" A false or misleading communication includes but is not limited to
that which:
- contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law; or omits
a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially
misleading;
- is intended or is likely to create an unjustified expectation,
including expectations concerning the results the lawyer can achieve, or
states or implies that the lawyer can achieve results by means that violate
the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law or contains a testimonial
about, or endorsement of, the lawyer;
- compares the lawyer's services with other lawyers' services,
unless the comparison can be factually substantiated;
- contains information based on past successes without a disclaimer
that past successes cannot be an assurance of future success because each
case must be decided on its own merits; or
- states or implies that the lawyer is a specialist in any
field of law other than as specifically permitted "
