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Monday, November 15, 2010

Law - "Kentucky Bar Association seeks to regulate attorneys' Facebook comments offering services"

Jason Riley of the Louisville Courier Journal reported Nov. 14th in a lengthy story:

When Louisville attorney Christian Mascagni wanted to reach a few thousand potential clients during the Breeders' Cup weekend, he didn't take out TV ads or radio spots, he turned to Facebook — and never paid a dime.

Mascagni posted on his Facebook page, to his more than 2,000 friends, that he wanted “the Breeder's Cup and weekend partiers to call if you get into trouble or need out of jail before Monday,” and he said these kind of postings have paid off.

“I have picked up a lot of business on Facebook,” Mascagni said, noting that the social-networking site allows him to directly reach out to his target market, club-hoppers in their 20s and 30s who are difficult to reach through traditional advertising.

But to the Kentucky Bar Association, such postings represent a dangerous trend that needs oversight. In fact, the bar is proposing a regulation that would prohibit lawyers from trying to solicit potential clients on social media unless their comments are regulated by the bar's Advertising Commission — and they pay a $75 filing fee.

The rule wouldn't affect postings that are “non-legal” in nature, according to the proposal.

But some legal bloggers and attorneys contacted by the newspaper say the proposed regulation is unclear on what types of comments would be regulated, and they argue it could stifle free speech.

The regulation is so vague that simply listing an attorney's employment and education might be a violation, retired Judge Stan Billingsley, the senior editor of the blog and research service LawReader.com, said on his blog recently. “Technically, as written, simply listing your name brings an attorney within the purview of the rule. Should we use an alias?”

Michael L. Stevens, attorney and editor of the blog Kentucky Law Review, has this entry this morning on the LCJ story. Here is a quote:

And if you don't believe the use of Facebook by lawyers for client solicitation has not become explosive, the following two texting abbreviations should open your eyes a little (for list of abbreviations click here):

  • MVA - Motor vehicle accident
  • MVA no PI - Motor vehicle accident with no personal injury
  • MVA w/PI - Motor vehicle accident with PI
  • DUI - driving under the influence
  • DWI - driving while intoxicated
Stevens also has posted this useful "Blog Caveat."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 15, 2010 10:41 AM
Posted to General Law Related