Summary: The legal market is forcing law firms to resort to desperate and powerful measures to secure big paydays and more business.
Lawyers are taking to advertising to drive business forward. The report, Trial Lawyer Marketing: Broadcast, Search, and Social Strategies, found that lawyers are using television ads to get their names out there and at a big expense.
Spending on television ads has grown faster for lawyers than any other. Lawyers are expected to spend nearly $900 million for television advertising this year. In 2008, spending was 68 percent lower than the numbers today.
The high spending goes along with Google keyword searches with a search like “San Antonio car wreck attorney” that costs $670 per click. The report found that 23 of the 25 top search linking ads are for personal injury lawyers.
The President of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, Lisa A. Rickard, states “The plaintiffs’ bar orchestrates some of the most sophisticated and relentless marketing campaigns in our society. With top key words for lawsuits costing more than $600 per click, there is clearly huge money to be made in the lawsuit industry. But is this the kind of civil justice system we wish to have?”
The most ads run are by Tampa and Orlando, Florida personal injury lawyers. A single law firm in Houston, Texas will pay $25 million for their ads. The largest category of TV ads is for pharmaceuticals, with medical devices and asbestos/mesothelioma coming next.
Law firms are also resorting to creating informational websites that are much more like “fishing” sites that collect the personal data of visitors. They also rely on social media to communicate with journalists about lawsuits, to align with activist groups for support, and utilize bogus accounts to market their lawsuits.
Photo: coloribus.com