Q:I am from Saskatchewan and wonder if lawyers can advertise. I go to other places and see all kinds of ads on TV, billboards and buses. What are the rules?
A:For many years, the rule was that lawyers could not advertise because it was considered unseemly or undignified. This posed a problem for anyone wishing to build a new practice. Law was regarded as a profession, not a business, and lawyers were expected to act in a professional and dignified manner.
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This evolved as pressure rose to allow advertising, even on a limited basis. The rules changed to limited ads from an absolute ban. A lawyer was first allowed to place a restricted ad, with the same details as found on a business card. That grew to include factual ads detailing the type of law practiced.
Finally, ads were allowed if truthful and “in good taste” but problems arose quickly. Debates ensued over whether advertisements were in “questionable taste”.
Since lawyers are governed by the provinces rather than by Ottawa, the law societies of different provinces began to create different rules for advertising. Saskatchewan remains fairly restrictive.
In recent years, there have been reviews of advertising rules. Remember, law societies’ role is to protect the public. Many critics, including the Competition Bureau of Canada, began to question whether truthful, informative advertising could be bad for the public as opposed to being bad for the image of lawyers.
There is now movement toward relaxing the standards of advertising for legal professionals. Truth and integrity must be preserved, but taste is pretty much in the eye of the beholder.
Jim “The Hammer” Shapiro’s ads became legendary. He lived in Florida but advertised extensively in New York for personal injury law.
In TV commercials, he would smack his fist into his palm in a hammer-like motion, saying “I may be an SOB, but I’m your SOB” and “while I cannot rip the hearts out of those who hurt you, I cannot hand you their severed heads, but I can hunt them down and settle the score.”
Others have been equally creative. One billboard featured a large photo of an SUV, saying “Yeah, these flip over. That’s why God created lawyers.” Another read “Life is short – get a divorce.”
Taste, like beauty, is subjective so expect more ads, and more aggressive ads, in the future.
Rick Danyliuk is a lawyer with McDougall Gauley LLP in Saskatoon.
