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For most of the 20th century, bar associations forbade nearly all forms of attorney advertising; you could be disbarred for hawking your services on anything other than a business card. Bar associations thought big bold ads were unprofessional, would stir up unnecessary lawsuits, would drive up prices and could even result in a decrease in the quality of legal services, thanks to increased competition. In the 1970s, the Supreme Court ruled that such “commercial speech” by lawyers was subject to First Amendment protection, and that was the end of the ban.
These days, lawyers are famous for being among the loudest of local advertisers, and our airwaves and billboards are flooded with ads that make my skin crawl a bit — in particular, the price wars on who can offer the cheapest divorce (the example above caused an uproar and was ripped down by the city of Chicago after just a week) inspire in me a momentary pessimism about human nature.
Best of all, though, are the TV ads. Check out these two excellently slimy commercials, both by guys who call themselves “The Hammer.”
JIM “THE HAMMER” SHAPIRO
LOWELL “THE HAMMER” STANLEY
VICTIMS! VICTIMS! VICTIMS!
So, I ask you — was the seventy-year ban on lawyer ads the right thing to do?
Comments (24)
Comment
Who in the world thought that the divorce sign was a good idea??
posted by Lindsay D on 9-19-2007 at 10:00 am
The Hammer is an ad package you see all over the country. A local lawyer became “The Hammer” only when the ads started to run.
posted by Miss Cellania on 9-19-2007 at 10:11 am
I, for one, think the world is better off for law firm advertisements. Living in northwest Louisiana, we have an unusual abundance of hilarious local commercials, and the law firms often top that list (except during tax season).
posted by Nora on 9-19-2007 at 10:12 am
I work for a legal referral guide. the problem with banning all advertising, is that essentially, if a lawyers’ son or daughter bought them a mug that said: “World’s Best Lawyer” that would also technically count as advertising, and they could be subject to disbarment. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently handed down a decision saying that no advertising or comparative adjectives could be used (like better, best, super, etc, etc) in press releases or on firm websites. This decision is currently being challenged. Since my company would go under for publishing a list of top lawyers under such a ruling, i have to say I disagree with it.
posted by jenni on 9-19-2007 at 10:12 am
Did anyone notice the extreme car racing accident footage in the background of the 2nd video?
These guys are despicable.
posted by Jonathan on 9-19-2007 at 10:17 am
“100% or more!”
says it all really doesn’t it? They can shout at you in front of racing car crashes, but they don’t know simple maths. Yes, that makes me want to hire them for sure!
posted by B on 9-19-2007 at 10:30 am
My personal favorite law office ad is the Law Offices of Jeff Martin commercial, starring a very stern Mr. William Shatner.
posted by Kelly on 9-19-2007 at 11:12 am
“Tell them you mean business!”
Bet that’s a package that runs in multiple markets…
posted by k2 on 9-19-2007 at 12:08 pm
I know of another ‘hammer’… There is a lawyer in Houston who calls himself “The Texas Hammer”.
posted by V on 9-19-2007 at 12:28 pm
HOLY CRAP!! I was reading through the comments and I saw the one about William Shatner. He appears in another commercial for a differnent law firm in Houston!! I think its JG Wentworth
posted by V on 9-19-2007 at 12:32 pm
here in phoenix we have a crazy (but awesome) sheriff who promises you’ll get the max punisment for a dui or dwi. so of course right away a bunch of new lawyer commercials popped up advertising to spare you the max with their “aggressive” lawyering. so, go ahead and drive drunk is the message there i guess.
posted by lindsay m on 9-19-2007 at 1:05 pm
I design ads for the yellow pages, and we have our fair share of attorney ads. These are the most hated ads. If there is a mistake, they are the first ones to get money back. They must sweet talk our customer care department to give them what they want.
posted by BP on 9-19-2007 at 1:52 pm
We have Frank “The Strongarm” Azar in Colorado. My best friend sort of looks like him and from time to tome he gets called Strongarm.
posted by Scott on 9-19-2007 at 1:56 pm
There’s is a Strongarm AND a Hammer in Dallas too!
I’m ashamed to say the divorce sign made me laugh a little.
posted by Emily on 9-19-2007 at 2:01 pm
Jim The Hammer Shapiro! That was a famuous ad up in Syracuse when I went to school there. It was quite the pop culture reference.
posted by Sara on 9-19-2007 at 4:29 pm
These are the late-night, cheap rate commercial time fillers! Well they should be allowed to advertise but these ads have taken over the local used car salesperson in the cheesy, sleezy commercial list. BTW - I see they use the same hammer in the ads.
posted by JaneM on 9-19-2007 at 5:27 pm
I’m covering these same topics right now in my ethics class at law school. I would comment further, but (1) I’m trying not to let this post get in the way of my continuing to pay no attention in the class, and (2) I’m probably not allowed to comment, if I really read the rules. ;)
posted by Jeremy on 9-19-2007 at 5:35 pm
I haven’t been to enough places so I have no way of proving it, but I’m pretty sure Rochester NY has the worst local commercials in the country. Apparently none of the local car dealerships have realized that when you’re pre-recording, you can actually rewind the tape and try again.
As for the Jim the Hammer, he was disbarred in 2004 and sold his NY law firms. Turns out he was located in Florida and never took his cases to court. He was sued by one client for settling for 65K when medical bills where 170K.
posted by Chris on 9-20-2007 at 7:24 am
In Memphis, there’s the “heavy hitter”. I think that’s a package that is sold to different markets as well.
posted by DW on 9-20-2007 at 8:54 am
there’s a “heavy hitter” here in phoenix, too. he’s an injury lawyer with a really bad haircut. he operates in las vegas, too. he’s got a cheesey graphic of a red bently getting smashed on the greenscreen behind him, then he waves his arms and like “magic” the bently is restored! his name is glen lerner, from lerner and rowe i think.
posted by lindsay m on 9-20-2007 at 9:38 am
Here in Kentucky we have a lawyer known as both the “Heavy Hitter” and the “Kentucky Hammer”. He is none other than Mr Darryl Isacs. During my freshman year of college, my entire dorm would stop what they were doing when his commercials came on, watch intently, then applaud and cheer. This guy is so corny it hurts.
posted by Ben on 9-20-2007 at 9:50 am
Have you been a victim of drag racing? Call today and I’ll personally deliver 100% (or more!) of my time to spending your retainer on my next horrible commercial!
Yeah, lawyers should be allowed to advertise. But really.
posted by Johnny "The Hammer" Cat on 9-20-2007 at 10:15 am
Jenni, couldn’t they have a qualifier about cheesy “World’s Best..” gifts and still make real advertising illegal? Like, allow certain things like that, phone book ads (I’m sure they alone pay for the production of the phone books), business cards, etc., but no billboards, TV commercials, radio ads, or anything else blatantly obnoxious.
Honestly, these kinds of ads make me hate the lawyers in them and if I were ever in a car accident, divorce, blah blah blah, they would be the last people I called.
posted by Celeste on 9-21-2007 at 2:08 am
Legally, I think we don’t really have a choice about letting lawyers advertise. Unless we could get the FCC to invent something about a “Quality in Advertising” requirement… Hey! Write your Congressmen!
However, I really wish we could ban lawyer advertisements. I’ve yet to see a well-produced one. Whenever I see one, I have to say, “Oh, look. His nephew probably made $65 for shooting this in his basement.” As a film major, I have to hope the lawyers aren’t hiring professionals. If they are, my craft’s future looks bleak.
posted by sfs on 9-23-2007 at 2:18 am