Aspects of ethics rules controlling the conduct of lawyers and law firms command perpetual interest and Eric Turkewitz’s May 29 update on the recent controversy over New York Advertising rules forwards some points that are quite relevant to the situation in other parts of the country.  As Eric quotes from the Response Memorandum in the lawsuit brought by Public Citizen:

“The rules do not define a “technique [ ] to obtain attention” or explain what sorts of techniques are “relevan[t] to the selection of counsel.”  Nor do they provide any guidance as to what lawyer characteristics are deemed to be “unrelated to legal competence” or what sorts of statements “impl[y] an ability to obtain results in a matter.”  The rules, by their plain language, are so broad in scope as to cover essentially every advertisement ever used by an attorney beyond a business card, letterhead, or resume.”

Very true – while professionals in other fields enjoy a marked lack of illogical restrictions on advertisement, the legal field imposes restrictions that give word-of-mouth the greatest power.  In our field, rumors can promote or assassinate a career any time.  So, if you are interested in the issue, check out Eric’s post at the New York Personal Injury Law Blog.  (http://www.newyorkpersonalinjuryattorneyblog.com/index.htm)

On personal injuries, here’s one you are bound to admire.  Peter Lattman’s post at Wall Street Journal Law Blog on 29th titled “Ultimate Fighting: Lawyer’s edition” (http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/29/ultimate-fighting-lawyers-edition/) tells of two lawyers from opposing sides who started brawling during in an employee-employer negotiation.  While their clients have settled the dispute between themselves – the lawyers are still fighting each other in a lawsuit over the brawl.

If you are planning to escape such situations as exemplified by those two lawyers here’s a great post from Stephanie at idealawg: “The big advantage to knowing your own biases.” (http://westallen.typepad.com/idealawg/)  The blog is so good that you had better check it out yourselves rather than me blabbing and killing the impact.

So, see you folks next week, but in passing, and while still on mindsets, there’s a new word in the market called “plaintiphobia.”  And yes, it is plaint-i-phobia.  The May 30 post in Deliberations (http://jurylaw.typepad.com/deliberations/) deliberates upon this word used by Cornell professors and the researches that led to its coining.  Like it?  I love it!