by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The days are quickly falling away from 2009 and the Florida Supreme Court expects the legal community to have its electronic house in order by Jan. 1.
The Florida Supreme Court stated on Nov. 19, in case No. SC08-1181, “... the court intends that Web sites be subject to all of the substantive advertising regulations applicable to other advertising media (except the filing requirement).”
The Court proposed to accomplish this goal by amending Florida Bar Rule 4-7.6, which was meant to protect consumers from misleading information, provide accurate and helpful information to aid in the selection of counsel and respect lawyer’s abilities to provide information about themselves to the public.
Formally acceptable components of Web site advertising in computer-accessed attorney advertising included statements that characterize the quality of legal services being offered, information regarding past results and testimonials. These were accepted previously because Web sites were viewed differently than other forms of advertising due to the need for a customer to open a site with the click of a mouse to view the information.
This ruling has some law firms working toward compliance inside of a short window of time.
“We are doing what we can to be in compliance by Jan. 1,” said Tom Helm, director of marketing for Rogers Towers. “It’s a big deal for firms that are using a Web site to differentiate itself from the competition as it relates to showcasing past experience with the law. We are removing what we can internally, and working with our Web design company to remove structural components of the site affected by the rule change.”
The rule change doesn’t affect just the large firms. Smaller firms utilize the Web to advertise as well because of its wide reach.
“As the legal marketplace becomes more saturated with lawyers looking to gain competitive advantages through gratuitous laudatory advertisement,” said Charles Jimerson, founder of the Jimerson Law Group. “It is incumbent upon the Florida Bar to take action to regulate marketing through self adulation. The new Florida Bar Rules amendments requiring Web sites to be subject to all of the substantive advertising regulations applicable to other advertising media is a logical response to an issue that was troubling to a Bar that was frustrated by its own inability to adequately monitor these forums.”
Jimerson echoed the sentiment of the opinion of the Florida Supreme Court regarding testimonials.
“...laudatory-type statements, such as testimonials, are extremely troubling because they have the most potential for abuse, as well as the most potential for further denigrating the justice system and the legal profession in the minds of the public,” the Court stated.
This substantial decision was not arrived at without some accompanying house cleaning. The opinion also updated some of the language regarding computer-accessed attorney advertising. It listed examples of computer-accessed communications other than Web sites and electronic mail, which now include pop-up advertisements and banner advertisements.
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