By Fred Seely
Editorial Director
The Florida Bar will revamp its policies on advertising this year and its president expects some controversy before the board takes a final vote.
The most divisive issue, said Tallahassee attorney Kelly Overstreet Johnson, is pre-approval of advertising.
“Right now, as long as the ad is filed by the time it runs, it’s OK,” she said. “This isn’t right. There isn’t time to approve it. By the time it goes through the approval process, it’s time for a new ad, anyway!”
The advertising issue is one of Johnson’s projects, even to the point where she chaired a task force before she became this year’s president.
“We have rules about advertising and you’d be amazed at the number of people who don’t think so,” she told the Jacksonville Bar Association last week at its monthly meeting at the Radisson. “I put together a group that represented all sides. Some wanted no rules, some wanted a lot. We looked at everything we have on the books.
“We found out this: when that group spent an hour or more deciding if an ad was legal or not, then there’s a problem with the rule.”
When the Bar board convenes in April, it will look at four areas, she said:
• The pre-approval process. “It’s going to be contentious, but I hope we can pass something that requires pre-approval,” she said.
• Do something about ads from out-of-state firms that are directed at Florida residents. “Florida attorneys are restricted in what they can present to residents but, say, Georgia attorneys can do what they want.”
• A 30-day ban on solicitation of personal injury victims. There may be a move to broaden it to victims of criminal actions or traffic accidents.
• What firms can place on their websites. “The committee will recommend that websites are ‘on request’ and thus outside the advertising rules,” said Johnson. “However, they can’t put false or misleading statements on the site.”
Johnson is a trial attorney with the firm of Broad & Cassel. She was introduced by past Florida Bar President John DeVault of the Bedell firm. Also at the head table was the Bar’s president-elect, Hanx Coxe, also of the Bedell firm.
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Overstreet said the Bar would soon revamp its website - at least by the June 22-25 annual meeting in Orlando - and would include links to law firms which want to be included.
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Elected to JBA membership were John M. Benton, Adria Beenhakker Dickey, Charles L. Gibbs II, Margaux LeClair, Dirlie A. McDonald, Julie Anna Santioni and James J. Woodruff II.
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The next meeting will be March 17 at the Omni. The speaker: Judge James Ruth.