Is there any standard left for legal advertising? I have reviewed advertisements, some of which appear very undignified. Some appear to violate rules, and some appear to be outright false, but many of them continue unabated. What is going on?
Samuel C. Stretton.
In terms of prosecution of legal advertisement, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel does prosecute when it is brought to their attention. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel has only limited resources. As most lawyers know, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel was not funded by taxpayer’s money. It is funded by the annual fees lawyers pay to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court each year. As a result, the offices are understaffed, and particularly understaffed in terms of investigators. That is one reason why it is so important for misconduct to be reported to the board. The board doesn’t have necessarily the staff to go out and find the misconduct. That is why the reporting system or really Rule 8.3 of the Rules of Professional Conduct state it is important that lawyers participate and report unethical conduct.
