The Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America aren’t going to just roll over and die after last month’s ethics opinion in New Jersey banned lawyers from advertising their status. Both firms have hired law firms to fight the ruling.

Super Lawyers has hired John Gibbons and Kevin McNulty of Newark’s Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione while Best Lawyers went with Stuart Hoberman and Frederick Dennehy of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer in Woodbridge. Both are weighing their options right now, but Super Lawyers issued a statement saying they’d like the NJ Committee to reconsider their opinion. They hope to explain their methodology and demonstrate that it is objective.

Will Hornsby of the Legal Marketers Association mentioned that the ruling is strange given that Marindale-Hubbell’s rating system was deemed ok while the other two are bad. He says

“This leads to the conclusion that if you participate in a directory with a rating system that people do not understand, then you do not violate this rule,” Hornsby says. “But, if you participate in a directory that uses terms that people do understand, and those terms are superlatives, that is misleading.”

Hornsby also argues that the Opinion is based on an archaic law that was abandoned in a 2002 amendment in favor of a Model Rule, which allows attorneys to use such distinctions as long as they provide a disclaimer that past performance doesn’t mean they can obtain the same results in the future.

Larry Bodine spoke out against the ruling last week on his blog, stating that while he believes the ruling is silly, he’s always thought the designations were “pathetic, self-aggrandizing and meaningless”

I counsel law firm clients not to hype this designation, because it preys upon lawyer egos to publicly praise themselves, and leads to expensive advertising campaigns. It is also weak, because it meant the only source that said you were any good was a silly directory.

Perhaps, but in marketing, one of the most reliable sources for determining whether you’re any good is the opinion of your clients, and NY has already banned the use of client testimonials. What’s next, banning referrals from other attorneys?

The best way for lawyers to advertise is educational marketing – that is, by providing valuable information that helps readers understand the law and their options. For instance, consider publishing FAQs and articles written to your prospects and clients on your website or publishing an article column in your local newspaper or offer a tip sheet or a business resource guide that people can download from your website or request from your office. Focusing on your own ego rarely generates business, but if you focus on your clients’ problems and concerns, you’ll reap the rewards.

Source: New Jersey Law Journal

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