Should lawyers advertise?

The question of raising the blanket ban on lawyers from advertising their services was raised at the Law Association’s first law conference on October 10.

The formal ban on lawyers’ advertisements was implemented in 1986, following a British law rescinded that same year.

Arguably, the ban itself hasn’t been particularly effective in limiting lawyers from reaching beyond passive word of mouth to get attention for their services, particularly in an era of social media and direct e-mail contact.

In 2022, the Law Association issued a statement condemning the “growing trend of attorneys engaging in conduct or actions tantamount to advertising or touting.”

Under a strict reading of the Legal Profession Act, a professional lawyer offering an unsolicited opinion on Facebook or Tik-Tok runs the risk of presenting themselves as an authority in that area of law. Even if they happen to specialise in that area of law.

Attorneys giving offence this way may argue they are being unnecessarily muzzled on platforms designed to give everyone in the world a chance to have an opinion; untethered by authoritative understanding or even, much of the time, commonsense.

On social media, specifically, professional legal advice offered demurely and mindfully might do some good to douse the wildfires of uninformed opinions that rage across posts there.

The Law Association spending its time chasing every promotion or discussion that appears to advertise legal services online would be both wasteful and pointless.

The TT legal profession should be past the point of engaging in widespread pamphleteering or paying people to walk the streets with a bullhorn touting their services. The current restrictions are perhaps a little precious for a profession known for rough-and-tumble legal tactics in the courtroom.

Advertising specific services isn’t solicitation, and generalised, informed advice isn’t touting. Lifting or relaxing the law would offer the association a chance to provide guidelines and sensible restrictions that would ensure that the reputation of the legal fraternity could be collectively self-policed in the best interests of both the profession and the public.

Such participation might dilute the demand and, therefore, the market for expensive legal services. Lawyers cannot sensibly expect to hold themselves above the reality of the society they serve by maintaining this Chinese curtain barrier between their profession and community.

Everyone deserves proper legal representation but not everyone can exercise the discretion necessary to choose the best lawyer for a situation.

Measured engagement with the public is how professionals generally introduce themselves to their markets. The legal profession should be no different.

The post Should lawyers advertise? appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.