In Mark Cuban Files The Ultimate “Fuck You” Legal Brief, Barry Petchesky reports on Mark Cuban’s recently filed motion for summary judgment brief in the lawsuits accusing Cuban of mismanaging the Dallas Mavericks by Ross Perot Jr. (a/k/a Hillwood Investment…
Posts Tagged ‘legal’
NJ Attorney Advertising Committee Rules that a TotalAttorneys WebSite is Misleading
30
Jun
The Committee on Attorney Advertising of the New Jersey Court System issued an Advisory Opinion this week that stated that a Total Bankruptcy web site, published by TotalAttorneys®, a law firm marketing and services organization based in Chicago, is misleading and in violation of the Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1 (a) .Download Full Opinion .
The Committee also ruled that the web site was not an impermissible referral service and that Attorneys are not flatly prohibited from paying for advertising on a "pay-per-lead" or "pay per click" basis. That’s good news for TotalAttorneys and other performance-based marketing schemes on the Internet.
The Committee sets out clearly that "Attorney advertising cannot be misleading or omit operative facts." and found that the website did not provide sufficient information to the user and is misleading.
In this case, the user was directed to only one attorney based on the purchase of exclusive rights to a geographical area. To avoid misleading consumers, the Committee stated, the methodology for the selection of the attorney’s name must be made clear, including the fact that the website limited participation to one (paying) attorney per geographical area. Further, the Committee specified that all requirements to participate in the website must be clearly specified; a full list of participating attorneys must be readily accessible, and the website must inform the user that the attorneys have paid a fee to participate.
It is easy for attorneys to violate their professional obligations and expose themselves to bar sanctions, by ignoring the fine print in their agreements with Internet-based marketing websites.
For example, no less a credible organization as Lexis-Nexis®, recently launched a direct to consumer web site, called EZLAW.COM. The website purports to offer wills, powers of attorney and advance directives forms bundled with legal advice for a fixed and reasonable fee. A goal I would heartily endorse.
However, the site seems to suffer from the same issues as the TotalAttorney’s web site when viewed through the lense of the New Jersey Advisory Opinion.
At EZLAW, the site operator provides a mechanism for consumers to assemble legal documents on-line and then make available a network of attorneys to provide legal advice as part of the offered package. In describing its Attorney Network, EZLAW states that:
They are all prescreened by EZLaw to ensure that you get professional, experienced and confidential legal counsel. To be included in our network, attorneys must meet our rigorous 12-point checklist of criteria.
This suggests that EZLAW is vouching for the quality of the qualifications of the participating attorneys, not only whether an attorney has practiced a number of years or maintains a certain level of malpractice, and this could be construed as misleading.
Moreover, the NJ Opinion states clearly that as a form of attorney advertising, " a full list of participating attorneys must be readily accessible," but on the EZLAW web site no list of participating attorneys is to be found.
Moreover the limited representation agreement executed by the client with the law firm is provided by EZLAW on behalf of the law firm, so the client never knows the identity of the law firm prior to entering into an engagement with the attorney. Normally you would expect that the client would enter into a limited retainer agreement directly with the law firm. I never heard of a retainer agreement that wasn’t entered into directly between the client and the law firm. Not in this case.
Click here for a copy of the Representation Agreement between EZLAW and the client. You decide whether this agreement is ethically compliant? I am interested in hearing other opinions about this agreement. If you have one. please comment.
So what’s the bottom line? Lawyer’s need to read the fine print. Lawyers need to have a full understanding of how their ethical obligations apply to these new Internet-based marketing schemes lest they be caught in a web of disciplinary proceedings that wasn’t part of the bargain.
SCOTUS Justices on the Language of Law: Advocacy and Legal Writing (and by Implication Legal Research, Too)
30
Jun
On Legal Writing Prof Blog, Judith D. Fischer (Louisville) writes: The latest issue of the Scribes Journal of Legal Writing (Volume 13) is a gold mine of Supreme Court justices’ observations about brief writing and oral argument. Several years ago,…
Brief and Directly to the Point: Advice to Law Students and New Grads on Achieving a Successful Transition to "Real World" Legal Research
29
Jun
While less than two pages long (single-spaced), BYU law librarian Shawn G. Nevers’ Observations for Summer Research Success [SSRN] should be handed out to every summer clerk and new first year associate by law librarians who is now working with…
Opening: Technical Services Law Librarian, Widener Univ. School of Law, Delaware
29
Jun
The Widener University School of Law Legal Information Center invites applicants for the position of Technical Services Librarian. The Legal Information Center is looking for a forward thinking Librarian with interests in the future of Electronic Resources and emerging cataloging…
Strategies or "Top Ten Tips" for Legal Research Cost Efficiency: Big Law’s O’Grady or WestlawNext’s Flocchini
28
Jun
In Cost Effective Research Training Part Deux: The past, the present and the solutions, Jean O’Grady writes If cost recovery for online research is to survive at all, it will be as the result of a radical shift to simplicity…
GlobaLex Research Guides
25
Jun
Recently released updated guide: An Introduction to Venezuelan Governmental Institutions and Primary Legal Sources by Antonio Ramirez. [JH}
Child Custody Legal Forms
22
Jun
Child custody legal forms – Free samples downloadable and printable. Child custody help and resources.
Here’s what you need to know.
Opening: Associate Director, Legal Information Center, Univ. of Florida Levin College of Law
22
Jun
The University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law seeks applications for the position of Associate Director of the Legal Information Center. The primary responsibility of the position is to manage the day to day operations of the Lawton…
Law School Grad Labor Market Oversupply: Not Yet a Trend But Creighton Law Is Willing to Share the Pain
21
Jun
Jim Levy on Legal Skills Prof Blog, by way of ATL’s Trendspotting: Will Law School Start Decreasing The Supply of Unemployable New Lawyers?, reports that two more schools have decided to admit fewer students – Creighton and Western New England….
