Board Review Committee on Professional Ethics to review ads
The chair of the Board Review Committee on Professional Ethics wants the panel to review a law firm’s humorous TV ads, including one that depicts a certain Founding Father bragging about his settlement “Benjamins.”
The Standing Committee on Advertising voted 6-2 in August to reverse a staff determination that the ads, which include an actor portraying Benjamin Franklin gripping a settlement check and declaring “I got my Benjamins,” are impermissible under Bar Rule 4-7.13 (b)(1).
The rule prohibits ads that can be interpreted as a “prediction or guaranty of success or specific results.”
In a related decision, the Standing Committee on Advertising voted 5-3 to reverse a staff opinion that another of the firm’s ads is also an impermissible predictor of success under Bar Rule 4-7.13(b)(1).
The ad depicts an actor portraying Santa Clause telling an attorney “It’s grandma, she got run over by a reindeer. They say she doesn’t deserve a penny.” The lawyer responds, “Don’t worry, Santa. Our army of trial lawyers….will sleigh them!”
The ads also feature the message, “You Don’t have to be a VIP to hire America’s Largest Injury Law Firm.”
“The Standing Committee on Advertising determined that the advertisements use humor to deliver the message that the firm represents ordinary people, and a person does not have to be famous or important to hire the firm,” according to a staff analysis.
The Board Review Committee on Professional Ethics will review the ads at its December 2 meeting and, if it disagrees with the committee, forward that recommendation to the Board of Governors.
