Marketing or Referral? Hiring an Attorney

A lot of “big name” law firms got to be that way, and remain that way because of: Marketing. Before the mass exodus of advertising found the internet, social media, and search engines, all advertisements for lawyers took place on billboards, sides of busses, park benches, radio announcements, and the biggest – TV commercials. It was only after the 1970’s that most states in the U.S. lifted the bans on legal advertising, however there are restrictions on what attorneys can portray in their marketing efforts.

It was upheld in 1977 in the Supreme Court Case Bates vs. State Bar of Arizona that attorneys could advertise for their practice as long as the advertisement isn’t misleading to the consumer. This could mean: compensation in exchange for false testimonials, portrayal of a fictitious lawyer, or the use of actors to portray any role.

Following the Supreme Court case, Jacoby & Myers placed a print ad in the Los Angeles Times, and became the first law firm to advertise on television.

Today, nearly every lawyer I speak to advertises in some sort of way – sponsored content, social media, google adwords, television, radio, print ads, and everything under the sun, but a conundrum does indeed present itself: do you go with the attorney whose advertisement you saw, or do you ask for a referral for the specific matter you need handled?

Before I answer this, I beseech you to go on yelp for any attorney you are thinking of retaining. People are way more likely to post nightmare stories about the attorney than a glowing recommendation, but nevertheless, that tale of misfortune may have helped you dodge a bullet! Going to the attorney’s website to read testimonials is a good idea as well, however be wary, as the attorney is obviously not going to post poor recommendations on his/her own website! Yelp, Avvo, and Justia are all helpful profiles where reviews aren’t filtered by the attorney’s themselves!

My answer to the question asked before is this: if an advertisement for some firm or lawyer intrigues you in some way, it must appeal to you on some level that makes you feel as if this lawyer can help you! For this reason, I would recommend you go with what your gut tells you, especially because most times the first consultation is free, and there is no risk to your wallet for meeting your potential counsel.

If you need a recommendation for an attorney, you should, of course consult with friends and loved-ones whom you trust, just make sure you do your homework! It is far easier to trust someone close to you than a stranger on the internet when it comes to advice on how to handle legal matters that may be causing you distress. For this reason, and especially if you aren’t convinced by advertisements, you should speak to an attorney whose name you received as a referral!

I leave you with this: Do you want to hire the attorney who can afford to heavily advertise? Or the attorney who works only off local referrals? The choice is ultimately yours.

Source:

americanbar.org