FTC Officials Foresee Problems With Proposed Rules for Attorney

Officials at the Federal Trade Commission are warning that proposed state rules to restrict attorney advertising could lead to even higher legal fees and needlessly restrict competition among personal injury lawyers.

In a letter dated September 14, several officials of the FTC gave a detailed criticism of the proposals by the state's court system. The rules are intended to put an end to misleading and aggressive attorney advertisements. Among other things, the rules would ensure that advertisements featuring attorneys trolling for plaintiffs in the wake of mass disasters are a thing of the past.

The letter says consumers "benefit from robust competition among attorneys" and that broad restrictions in advertising would restrict information about legal services from reaching clients.

The letter also expresses concern that many Web logs and e-mails would be defined as advertisements under the new rules and would be subject to the requirement that they be put on file with local disciplinary committees.

"That rule is going to raise the cost of performing the services, which would be fine if it was giving valuable protections to consumers, but we're concerned that this isn't really protecting," the director of the Office of Policy Planning, Maureen Ohlhausen, said in an interview.

Currently, the Office of Court Administration is reviewing feedback to the proposed rules. A spokesman for the courts, David Bookstaver, said the period of public comment had been extended until November 15 to address concerns such as those raised in the letter from the FTC.

Ms. Ohlhausen said the rules under consideration in New York are more extensive than those she is aware of in other states. She said the FTC has in recent years sent letters containing similar concerns to New Jersey and Alabama following proposed restrictions on attorney advertising in those states.

The FTC has no legal authority to challenge the proposed rules, Ms. Ohlhausen said. Several lawyers, however, have threatened a lawsuit against the court system should the rules be adopted.