I have to tell you that I am pretty excited about the article I read in the New York Times this morning.  Here is how it starts:

“Some companies pay millions to have their logos on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s racecar, but others prefer to pay Brian Katz $500 or more a month for space on his Ford Expedition.

Mr. Katz, 32, of Manhattan, is one of the tens of thousands of motorists who have signed up to have their cars and trucks wrapped in advertisements in exchange for a stipend up to $800 a month.

These offers are becoming so popular that car owners have been willing to limit where they shop and abide by a code of conduct while they are behind the wheel.”

Wow!  I think this concept holds some real promise to be developed in conjunction with the “Client Advisory Panels” that I’ve been helping my attorneys put in place.

If you’d like to talk about this, give me a call!

Cindy Speaker, 610-692-3217

Syracuse, New York is at the center of a debate that recently challenged the limits placed on advertising for peronal injury attorneys.  Alexander & Catalano called itself “heavy hitters” in ads and had run TV commercials depicting its lawyers as giants towering over skyscrapers, counseling space aliens about an insurance dispute and speeding to reach a client.  Although some of the images were referred to in the case as “silly stuff” Gregory A. Beck, who argued the case, said that “attention-getting is what advertisements do.”

The case did a couple of things.  First of all the decision said that statewide rule changes that took effect on Feb 1 violated the free speech of lawyers.  It cleared the way for lawyers in New York to use pop-up ads on the Internet, but did not answer the bigger but more subtle issue of whether firms must label newlsetters and e-mail messages to clients as advertising.

According to the New York Times, “the new rules defined advertising as any public or private communication made on behalf of a lawyer or law firm about that law firm’s services, the primary purpose of which is for the retention of the lawer and the law firm.”  So does that mean that e-mail messages must have a note in the subject line stating that it is “attorney advertising” a designation that could trap the messages in spam filters?  A companion issue is the discussion as to whether or not it is necessary to include the disclaimer “attorney advertising” at the bottom of a firm’s web site and on any proposals seeking business.

All of this is rather unclear and will tend to vary from state to state.  If any of our readers have insight into these issues, please share it with us in the comments section of this post.

I was at a conference last week and had the opportunity to meet Mike Vondran of TAG legal marketing.  Mike did a great presentation and I want to share some of the numbers that he gave us.  Mike stated the following:

• 60-70% of new case calls are from women
• 61% of decisions relative to a PI case are made by women
• 25-54 is the average demo with a high school diploma or less.  Blue collar
• Average family PI attorneys service are single wage earner families that make $25-$50k a year
• 54% get their information from TV
• 67% spend less than 2 hours deciding on a lawyer

Mike went on to emphasize the importance of achieving TOMA in your market.  Decisions are made very quickly and the tendency is to go with the first lawyer that comes to mind or is seen during that window wherein the decision is made.

 If you want to reach Mike directly, you can do so at www.taglegalmarketing.com.