Articles Tagged with advertising

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The ad popped-up again in my Facebook feed. The headline screamed, “Have You Been Injured? You May Be Entitled To Compensation!” The post showed graphic pictures of cars crushed together following a crash. It was designed to grab attention. It did. We’ve all heard and seen that headline in numerous lawyer ads. Of course, that’s the call line of almost every lawyer advertisement! But, this ad was different.

How was that Facebook ad different? Most attorney ads contain the name of the lawyer or law firm. Not so with this ad. The ad never mentioned the lawyer’s name or firm. Silence. Instead, the ad was designed to appear like some advocacy group. Fill out this intake form and we’ll help you find a lawyer. Interesting!

The ad reminded me of The Wizard Of Oz. Who’s behind that curtain? Who’s really pulling the strings? If you run a law firm, you are constantly bombarded with emails from “lead generation” services. All these services promise cases for a price. They are awful. So, I suspected the ad was simply some lead generation service.

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Alabama Accident & Injury LawyersI recently read an article which indicated almost 2/3 of all injured plaintiffs in mass tort cases were unhappy. That’s no surprise! Many of these individuals suffered very serious injuries only to be lost in a system that treats them like numbers rather than people. The article discusses a study by Georgia Law Professor Elizabeth Burch and Federal Judicial Center visiting scholar Margaret Williams.

What is a mass tort? I’ll use the ongoing Zantac injury claims as an example. Zantac was a drug distributed across the United States for many, many years. You could even buy Zantac without a prescription for many years. The claim is that Zantac is defective and causes cancer. You have a common product used by everyone. But, the injuries (cancer in this case) are unique. Every person suffers uniquely and individually. Our office has filed several Zantac personal injury claims. Each of our clients is unique and deserves individual attention.

How are these mass tort claims handled? Our Federal Courts will typically assign the cases to a single judge for pre-trial purposes like discovery. The idea is that it saves time and resources for a single judge to oversee all pre-trial issues. Once your individual claim is ready for trial, it will be transferred back to the Federal Court where you filed the case. You get a trial on your unique injuries and damages. At least, in theory, that’s how it is supposed to work. The process is called Multi-District Litigation (MDL).

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Untitled-design-2-300x300One thing is sure — The legal market is saturated with big promises. From billboards to television to radio, they want you to call. They all have their catch phrase. But, I recently watched a lawyer advertising video that was truly insane. That advertising lawyer wants you to hire him simply because he may have had a family member in the past with the same legal problem!

Yes, it was a Huntsville law firm. I clicked on their website where they advertise for personal injury cases (as well as every other legal issue you can imagine). Somebody look at you wrong? These lawyers tell you they got it covered. From A to Z, “we got this” the lawyer says with a smile. They got it all covered, at least in their advertising.

Of course, their website has some really, really small fine print (as required by Alabama rules) telling you the truth — They really just want your personal injury case to refer it to another lawyer for a cut of the fee. The fine print discloses that they really send these cases to other firms for the heavy lifting. Do they really handle personal injury cases all the way through trial and appeal?

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Alabama Accident & Injury Attorneys“He left a voice message yelling at me!” That’s how one injured worker’s story began. “He acted like a jerk.” The worker continued to describe how he suffered a bad lifting injury to his lower back at work. He required surgery. He now suffers chronic pain and limitations. He could not return to work.

Why did his lawyer leave a nasty voice message for him? It comes down to this — The lawyer wanted him to accept a quick settlement. The problem — That settlement was totally unfair and would have left the disabled worker in worse shape a year or two from now.

The guy needed a lawyer who would prepare his case. He needed a lawyer who would discuss how Alabama work comp benefits are calculated, who would develop the medical evidence, and who would prepare the case for the best possible trial. He needed a lawyer in his corner!

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Blackwell Law Firm - Alabama Accident & Injury LawyersLawyer ads are everywhere. They are all very similar. Smiles. Confidence. Promises. What kind of promises? In all of them, the advertising lawyer promises he or she will handle your problem. As one local advertising lawyer says in his ads, “we got this.” Does he? Lots of companies advertise assurances about their products and services.

One local Huntsville law firm advertises for workers’ compensation cases by saying a settlement may be in your best interest. Their ad starts by noting “the uncertainty that surrounds” lots of comp cases. Then, it offers the hope of a settlement. Finally, the ad says you should call them for help. It’s a classic marketing ploy — Step one, highlight the need or fear. Step two, disclose a potential solution. Step three, offer yourself as guide to solve the need.

Is a settlement in your best interest? Maybe it is. Maybe it is not. I talk to injured workers every day. Most people are unfamiliar with the work comp process. For many callers, it is the first time they have ever suffered any significant personal injury at work. The whole process can be uncertain. Medical treatment. Continued employment. Vocational rehabilitation. Money Benefits. It’s a new, and very different, process. Some lawyers exploit that unknown by smiling and telling clients the results are good when they really are not.

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Untitled-design-5-300x300Credibility. It’s one of the biggest failures in the legal field. What is a leading cause of this credibility problem? Bad lawyer advertising! Lawyer ads are everywhere. They are overwhelming. They are almost all terrible.

Instead of authenticity, too many lawyers will say or publish anything to sign clients. From fast cash promises to fake blogs to ghostwritten content, lawyer marketing is terrible. Some lawyers even chase clients and cases in legal areas they really do not handle. That’s a terrible practice and terrible insult to the legal profession. Our friends and neighbors deserve better.

If you’ve watched any television, you’ve seen the onslaught of bad lawyer commercials. Have you taken this drug? Call me! Have you been in a car wreck? Call me! Many of these advertising lawyers have never even seen the inside of a courtroom. They do not try cases. They are not going to work your case for maximum value. Some of these advertising lawyers do not even have an office in Alabama.

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Injured-by-a-dangerous-drug-or-defective-medical-device-200x300On December 22, the 11th Circuit issued a new opinion dealing with the Learned Intermediary Doctrine under Georgia law. Many states, including Alabama, follow the same or similar versions of this doctrine. The Learned Intermediary Doctrine is a key issue in personal injury cases involving dangerous or defective prescription medications. If you suffered a serious injury from a bad drug, this legal doctrine may decide whether or not you can recover damages for your injuries.

What Is The LEARNED INTERMEDIARY DOCTRINE? How The Doctrine Impacts Bad Medication Cases.

So, what is the learned intermediary doctrine? Let’s start with the new 11th Circuit case, Hubbard v. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals. The case involved a Georgia lady who suffered a catastrophic stroke while taking the prescription contraceptive Beyaz. Later, she sued Bayer claiming the company failed to warn adequately of the stroke risk.

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Huntsville Personal Injury AttorneysWe’ve all seen and heard the ads. If an advertising company put a billboard in the middle of the ocean, a settlement mill attorney would buy it! Usually, it’s a smiling face, phone number and short catch-phrase like:

Call Me [Insert City or State]!

In Huntsville, one local group of DUI lawyers decided to raise billboards and sign all manner of clients. Those same DUI lawyers sign the cases simply to refer the serious ones for a fee. That’s wrong.

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billboard-3220111_1920-300x164“Do you have a billboard?” I was sitting with a group of parents at a recent school event when one mother innocently asked me the question. “I thought I saw your name on a billboard.”

“No,” I politely answered. What I really felt like saying — “Never. I know a lot of lawyers and would personally never hire one who is on a billboard.” For our firm, it is a matter of professionalism. At their core, all legal matters are personal. Sometimes, these very personal matters require detailed preparation and special study. What do you typically get with a billboard lawyer? You get the false bravado of a lawyer with a manufactured smile or stare telling you some catch phrase to get your business. Catch phrases like:

  • “We got this”
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Huntsville Personal Injury Lawyers - Blackwell Law FirmIn May 2017, I wrote an article that asked — Who Writes For Your Injury Lawyer? It’s an important question. It’s a question of authenticity and trust.

After all, you are hiring a person who will soon know your most personal information. Medical information. Financial details. Family issues. Criminal background. Your lawyer will know your background. You are trusting a person with your information. That begs the question — If a lawyer cannot even honestly write for himself, how can you trust him or her with your personal details?

Based on what passes for lawyer advertising and lawyer website content, I must be in the minority. For many advertising lawyers the formula is simple — Pay a marketer to generate content. Write check. Smile for photos when requested. Repeat some catch phrase like “we got this” or “call me.” This lack of authenticity is precisely why lawyers do not build trust in their community.

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