What's up with all the ads for law firms?

Planet Money

NPR

Business, News

4.6 • 29.8K Ratings

🗓️ 4 October 2024

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The lawyer commercial is almost an art form unto itself. Learned practitioners of the law doing whatever it takes to get your attention, from impressive dirt bike stunts to running around half naked. All so when you land in trouble, you don't have to think hard to remember their name. Odds are you can name one or two right now.

This world of law ads did not exist fifty years ago. Then, lawyers were not allowed to advertise. Not by law, by the exclusive organization that decides who gets to be a lawyer: state bars.

On today's episode, how that changed. How a couple of lawyers placing an ad in a local newspaper led to the inescapable world of law firm ads we know today. And, how the right to advertise got put on the same level as some of the most important, fundamental rights we have.

This episode was hosted by Nick Fountain and Jeff Guo. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler with help from Sean Saldana. It was edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from the Center for U.S. Voters Abroad Foundation.
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0:17.0	This is Planet Money from NPR.
0:20.0	Of all the homegrown American art forms, like jazz or cap dance or abstract expressionism,
0:32.1	is there anything more quintessentially American than
0:36.0	advertisements for lawyers?
0:38.0	Callins of justice!
0:41.0	Yes, here is one for a lawyer in Texas. He's called the Texas Law Hawk.
0:47.0	El-Hocoon de la Le.
0:50.0	He's wearing a suit and tie, trying to convince the citizens of Texas to call him when they get in trouble all while riding a mini dirt bike
0:59.0	To do process do wheelies!
1:03.0	Another great one, it's from Lerner and Rowe Law Group at Arizona.
1:07.0	Every time you hit the road, you're facing with a lot of possible danger.
1:11.0	This is two grown men, distinguished members of the bar dressed up as Mario and
1:16.9	Luigi driving around in like Mario Kart cars.
1:20.4	If you're hurting a wreck and you don't call a learner and row, it's...
1:25.0	It's a me, your lawyer.
1:30.0	But my all-time favorite is this one from a firm in Missouri that calls itself the Jungle Law Group.
1:36.0	Lost in the legal jungle? Have no fear. The lawman is here.
1:40.0	Yeah, here is a lawyer swinging across the screen on a vine, like Georgia the Jungle style, and he's like half naked.
	...

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