Lawyer Advertising Rules & Lawyers' Right to Blog

An article in the Chicago Tribune (11/7/2006)
addresses lawyers' right to blog in the face of
increasing regulation of lawyer advertising. This
issue is especially relevant for lawyers in New York,
where proposed advertising rules include electronic
communications.

According to the article, lawyers who blog tend to
see their blogs as "forums [for] public service, not
huckster advertising."

The proposed changes to the New York rules, which
would place some lawyers' blogs firmly within the
category of advertising, have some bloggers hopping
mad, says article author Ameet Sachdev. Says one
New York lawyer quoted in the article,

"If I blog and I talk about the law, why should that
be treated any differently from a lawyer who goes
to a senior center and gives a free talk about elder care?"

The text of the proposed amendments to rules
governing lawyer advertising in New York may be
found on the New York Unified Court System
web site.

Hat tip to Robert Ambrogi for pointing us to the
article.