About
In 2008, the Louisiana Supreme Court passed new lawyer advertising regulations that were originally scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2008. The advertising regulations were largely modeled on the rules in Florida and New York, both set of rules already being rendered unconstituational by federal courts. The advertising regulations are among the most restrictive in the nation.
In the fall of 2008, personal injury attorney Morris Bart, a pioneer in lawyer television advertising, teamed up with the Washington D.C. Public Citizen, Inc. to challenge the constitutionality of the new lawyer regulations. Public Citizen had filed similiar constitutional challenges in Florida and New York, and filed suit to enjoin the enforcement of the Louisiana Rules just two months before they were scheduled to take effect.
Morris Bart and Public Citizen’s challenge of the rules in large part focuses on the section of the rules that restricts that content of lawyer advertising, arguing that the Supreme Court’s regulations are a regulation based on their distaste of truthful advertising, rather than a regulation on misleading or false advertisements.
In November 2008, Wolfe Law Group – a New Orleans construction law firm – joined the fight by filing its own constitutional challenge to the rules, arguing that the new rules unconstitutionally limit an attorney’s right to “speak” online.
This website was launched in the fall of 2008 to track the progress of Wolfe Law Group’s challenge.
Recent Comments