Today, a friend who is a collection lawyer in New Jersey, told me a story about a woman who he represented for free. The woman was previously represented by a New York lawyer in the Bronx who stole her entire $25,000 settlement. The client, on her own, obtained a default judgment against the lawyer but was unable to collect any money. My friend successfully obtained reimbursment for her from the New York State attorney-client fund.

My friend said that he found out that the lawyer in the Bronx had been disbarred because he stole money from many other clients, but was never prosecuted. He said it’s like Lays potato chips, once you have one, you can’t have just one. He said that New Jersey prosecutes lawyers when they steal money from clients, but that New York does not.

Strict new lawyer advertising ethics rules are being proposed in New York, I suppose to improve the image of lawyers in the eyes of the public. The rules will become effective November 1, 2006. Will new lawyer advertising ethics rules have any effect on shaping the look of lawyer advertising or improving the image of lawyers? It depends upon the creativity of the lawyer or the advertising agency.

It’s really not that difficult to convey a thought without stating it. It just needs a little creativity. Consider the Verizon Wireless TV commercial for their new Chocolate cellphone by LG. If you watch TV, you must have seen it. Their TV commercial exudes sex more than any TV commercial I have ever seen, yet they do it all with chocolate and music, without any mention or images of any sex in the commercial.

It has been reported that Cellino & Barnes, a law firm in western New York, has approximately 150 billboards advertising their law firm. Of course, the law firm name of Cellino & Barnes is prominently displayed on the billboards. Recently, one of its principal attorneys Ross M. Cellino was suspended for six months from the practice of law.

The Appellate Division, 4th Department said that an attorney who is suspended cannot hold himself out as a lawyer. Consequently, the law firm changed its name to The Barnes Firm and and will now have to change every one of its billboards. At a cost of approximately $1,000 in printing and installation costs to change a large billboard, this will cost the law firm just a few dollars to change approximately 150 billboards.

Lawyers have several sets of rules to consider when creating advertisements. The FTC regulates all advertising in every state; each state may have its own regulations concerning general advertisers; and the attorney ethics rules of the state in which you are advertising will regulate lawyer advertising. A review of FTC rules can be seen at FTC Advertising Guidance. Most rules are just plain common sense and are meant to protect the