It seems that Bar Associations are on a crusade to regulate lawyer marketing at all cost. Recently, New Jersey stepped up its restrictions by stating that “Super Lawyer” and “Best Lawyer in America” designations are inappropriate for lawyer advertising. (see PDF)

The New Jersey Committee on Attorney Advertising had a problem with the “Super Lawyers” designation because it the magazine that announced them (New Jersey Monthly, May 2006) encourages lawyers to advertise in an advertising supplement. The Committee notes that it doesn’t understand the methodology for picking “Super Lawyers”, so it disapproves of the designation. “Best Lawyer” doesn’t seem to solicit lawyers to advertise – yet – but since it has that potential, they decided to ban that as well.

According to the Committee

Advertising which promotes a designation such as “Super Lawyer” or “Best Lawyer in America” does not comply with RPC 7.1(a)(3). RPC 7.1(a)(3) states that a communication is misleading if it “compares the lawyer’s service with other lawyers’ services.” Use of superlative designations by lawyers is inherently comparative and thus, not within the approved ambit of New Jersey’s Rules of Professional Conduct. Such titles or descriptions, based on an assessment by the attorney or other members of the bar, or devised by persons or organizations outside the bar, lack both court approval and objective verification of the lawyer’s ability. These self-aggrandizing titles have the potential to lead an unwary consumer to believe that the lawyers so described are, by virtue of this manufactured title, superior to their colleagues who practice in the same areas of law.

The Committee contrasts these designations with Martindale-Hubbell’s AV, BV, or CV ratings, which they feel are “likely [to] have minimal recognition to the public.”

So, basically, the New York regulations blatantly imply that some attorneys act unethically -and therefore are not as good as other attorneys (or at least the public must be protected from certain attorneys) – but when legal magazines pick top lawyers based on peer reviewed surveys (and what field doesn’t give out yearly “best of” designations?), it violates the spirit of “Professional Conduct.”

What exactly does the legal profession want people to believe? Either all lawyers are equal or they’re not. The very act of allowing competition within an industry means that some lawyers will emerge as “better” than their peers. Those with business sense behave ethically and treat their clients well. Those few that behave unethically, can’t manage client expectations, or treat their clients poorly won’t get repeat business and may find themselves with harsher penalties to deal with. It doesn’t take a ruling in court to figure that out. It’s just the way business works.

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