What you should know about Lawyer Advertising in Memphis, Tennessee and Mississippi
There are a few things that everyone who is looking to hire a lawyer should know about lawyer advertising. The first place many people turn to when they look for an attorney to help them is often times the telephone book. In it you'll find tons and tons of yellow page ads placed by lawyers that all say virtually the same exact thing. Very few of them actually give good useful information to help you with picking a lawyer for your case.
Here are a few things to think about if you're looking at the yellow pages to hire a lawyer:
- There is no rule which requires that the lawyer have a minimum amount of experience handling the case which the lawyer wants to advertise.
- There are virtually no restrictions on the different types of law that a lawyer can advertise for.
- Any attorney can buy a big slick ad in the yellow pages. The phone company typically doesn't verify any of the claims that a lawyer may make in his or her ad. The telephone company usually doesn't even verify if the lawyer is in good standing!
- Just because you see the lawyer on tv or in the yellow pages doesn't mean that he will be the one handling your case. A lot of lawyers that you see simply hand off the clients who call to other associates in their firm or just refer most or all of their clients to another lawyer who will do all the work and give the lawyer who advertised his services a "piece of the pie".
- Just because a lawyer buys a full page ad in the telephone book or who pays for slick TV commercials doesn't mean that he is super successful. Some lawyers who do this operate a "volume practice" or "lawyer mill" for the sole purpose of just making a little money on themany cases that are generated from the ad. Many times these "lawyer mills" tie to settle all or most of the cases to earn the most amount of money in the least amount of time. The only time you ever actually see an attorney might be when you see them on TV!
- Many lawyers who run huge ads on TV and the yellow pages constantly to fill the "volume practices" will rarely even work on a case. These lawyers farm out every aspect of the case to a paralegal or legal assistant. The only time the lawyer may even look at your case is after it has settled and the lawyer wants to collect his fee!
- Be extremely cautious of any attorney advertisement that shouts "Fast Settlements", "Money in 30 Days", or "Money for you in less than a month". These attorneys probably never go to trial and settle cases for far less than what they are actually worth. In most cases, good settlements take time and effort.
- Sometimes lawyer advertising can negatively affect your own case. If your case goes to trial and jurors recognize your lawyer from him "outrageous" advertising, it may undermine your lawyer's credibility during trial. Do you want jurors to remeber your lawyer as the one who can get "BIG MONEY DAMAGES!!" OR "FAST SETTLEMENTS $$$" for pain and suffering??? Jurors watch television too you know.
Did you know that there are companies that offer pre-written and pre-shot TV commercials for personal injury attorneys? You've probably seen one. Sometimes they have famous personalities speak for them, and other times an attractive man or woman is shown speaking behind a desk or holding a legal book to act like a lawyer. And other times the person is the "Heavy Hitter" or "One call that's all" guy. The person usally says something like, "If you've been in an accident, get the money you deserve. Speak to an attorney for free. Call 1-800-XXXX."
What you need to know is that these firms work on a volume practice. They try to settle as many cases as possible as quickly as possible. Is that how you want your case handled? As quickly as possible without regard to its' value?
When you're looking for an attorney, whether it be in Memphis or anywhere else in Tennessee or Mississippi you need to make you know what you're looking at. If you need help and don't know where to go call us, and if we aren't a good fit for you we will send you to an attorney who is.
