Lawyer Advertising Rules Proposal Draws Mixed Reactions from Texas Attorneys
Proposals to allow the use of trade names in law firm advertising drew a big response to proposals by the State Bar of Texas to change ad rules, writes Bruce Vincent in a blog post for Muse Communications.
Response to the ad proposal and other possible revisions led the State Bar of Texas’ Committee on Rules and Referenda to scrap the original proposal and issue a new one based on the committee’s work and public comments.
“Several attorneys supported the idea of using trade names but most people who weighed in say it is a bad idea,” Vincent writes. “Those in favor typically argued that they were put at a competitive disadvantage by not being allowed to use trade names. Those on the other side often went to great lengths to explain why they think trade names will hurt the profession.”
The Bar also drew responses on the “specialist” label in advertising and on the requirement to have lawyer websites preapproved by the Bar — for a fee.
