Lawyers call for new rules on advertising their services

Independent Senator Anthony Vieira, SC, believes the blanket ban on lawyers being allowed to advertise should be lifted.

He expressed this view at the inaugural law conference hosted by the Law Association of TT (LATT) at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port of Spain, on October 10.

His sentiments were shared by presenter Ravi Heffes-Doon, who suggested the blanket ban contradicts the Constitution.

The prohibition is set out in rules 3,5 and 6 and Part B of the Code of Ethics in the Legal Profession Act.

The rules say a lawyer may not “in any way make use of any form of advertisement calculated to attract clients to himself or any firm with which he is associated,” nor “permit, authorise or encourage anyone to do so or reward anyone for doing so” on his behalf.

It also forbids lawyers to use their professional standing for the purpose of advertising any particular product, service or commercial organisation.

Lawyers who breach the rules can be summoned before a disciplinary panel to face professional misconduct charges.

Delving into the history of the ban, Heffes-Doon said the conversation about the ban began in the 1970s, after some sections of the public ridiculed attorney Israel Khan, SC, for advertising in a newspaper.

Khan was berated by some who felt the advertisements cheapened the profession and was even mocked in the newspaper with a caricature portraying him offering legal services in a stall next to a market vendor.

The ban, implemented in 1986, is based on old British law which suggested clients and legal work should be gained through reputation, and that advertising would go against the nobility of the profession.

But Britain changed its laws that same year to allow advertising.

The laws in the US were changed in 1977 after the Supreme Court upheld a challenge to the rules by attorney John Bates. The court ruled that allowing lawyers to advertise would not harm the legal profession, but would make legal services more accessible to the general public by supplying consumers with valuable information about their availability and cost.

Heffes-Doon said the time had come for the restrictions in TT to be revisited.

“The blanket prohibition on all advertising is not reasonably justifiable in a country that has respect for constitutional rights and freedoms, including, and most importantly, the rights of consumers to receive accurate information on goods and services.

“The rule prohibits attorneys from imparting useful information that does not detract from the ideals of professionalism, and prevents the circulation of information about attorneys and their services.”

He noted many other Commonwealth countries allow advertising by lawyers, with some restrictions related to the content of the ads.

He said commentary from the Bahamas, for example, indicated that relying on word of mouth is insufficient, as the reputation of lawyers and their competence in certain fields may not be sufficiently well known to allow consumers to make an informed choice.

Heffes-Doon said proposed regulations submitted to LATT would encourage advertising by lawyers as long as the advertisement is not false, misleading, deceptive, vulgar, sensational and does not imply superiority over other lawyers or include claims of being an expert.

LATT has battled with the issue for years, particularly with the advent of social media.

In a media release in 2022, it warned lawyers of the rules, saying it had seen many instances of lawyers appearing in Facebook and TikTok videos to give unsolicited advice on certain legal topics and posting content which could be regarded as advertising.

In August 2021, it e-mailed members to say it had been monitoring members engaging in advertising “and/or touting through intermediaries on social media platforms.”

The council said it had noted with increasing concern a proliferation of publications in print and social media which appeared to violate the code of ethics on advertising.

In 2018, then LATT president Douglas Mendes, SC, also reminded attorneys of the restriction on advertising.