BBB Ad Torched by Colorado Bar Groups
“You inherited a fortune . . You hired a lawyer . . Now it’s his fortune.”
It was a pretty funny lawyer joke, but two Colorado bar groups were so offended that they’ve forced the Denver/Boulder branch of the Better Business Bureau to pull its 15-second “check with us first” tv ad from the air. The BBB’s sin: daring to suggest that consumers might obtain useful information about lawyers from the Bureau.According to an article from the Rocky Mountain News, the Denver and Colorado bar associations, brought their complaints before the BBB’s new advertising and ethics committee, complaining that “the ad was offensive and demeaning to their profession.” (”BBB pulls ad after flak from attorney groups,” by John Accola, 03-13-04) (thanks to W.O. for the pointer) The article reports that,
“With 12 members voting, the committee advised the BBB to pull the ad and reword the narrative. One suggestion called for revising the “You hired a lawyer” line to ‘You hired the wrong lawyer.’”
The local BBB president complied, noting:
“I don’t agree with them . . . but I don’t want to go around ticking people off,” said Jean Herman, president and chief executive of the Denver/Boulder BBB. “I have to respect their opinion.”
As if this doesn’t make the legal profession look bad enough, Greg Martin, deputy executive director of both bar groups, declared that they would not even approve the modified narrative, “You hired the wrong lawyer,” saying
”[O]ur goal was not to have that ad on TV anymore.” ..
The RMN article states, “Martin said poking fun of bad lawyers isn’t the same as disparaging, say, bad plumbers. . . . The BBB isn’t in a position to judge crooked lawyers from the honest ones, Martin said.”
“For them to hold themselves out as having some special knowledge about attorneys is really inappropriate.”
Martin emphasized that Colorado’s lawyers are highly regulated. I bet he did not point out, as HALT did in its 2002 Report Card, that Colorado has “the seventh worst investigation rate in the nation,” looking into less than 10% of grievances filed.
- The effectiveness of the ads almost certainly bothered the Colorado lawyers – there was a fourfold increase in consumer inquiries last month on legal services, compared to February 2003 (from 158 to 639 requests for a “reliability report”). But, I have to credit spokesman Martin for his frankness about their primary purpose — the bar groups want no monitoring of lawyer conduct and client complaints by nonlawyer organizations (especially not respected ones).
The facts of the BBB situation show just how extreme the bar’s position is. The BBB specifically says that it does not handle “Complaints raising issues concerning the competency of doctors, dentists, licensed therapists, veterinarians, and lawyers.” Instead, in order to “Help consumers make informed pre-purchase decisions,” the BBB handles marketplace issues, that is
“Complaints involving marketplace activities — misleading advertising, improper selling practices, non-delivery of goods or services, misrepresentation, un-honored guarantees or warranty, unsatisfactory service, credit/billing problems, contracts not fulfilled, etc., are handled by the Better Business Bureau where the company is located.”
In performing this role,
“BBB does not take either side in a dispute. Instead, we work to facilitate communication between the company and the consumer, to help both sides come to a satisfactory resolution to the complaint.” It does:
Advocate mediation to resolve disputes
Award only two levels of ratings to businesses – “Unsatisfactory” or “Satisfactory”
Emphasize preventative steps to avoid a dispute, not just remedial steps after it has occurred
Gather and deliver information about buyers/sellers in an objective manner
Give all sides in a dispute a fair and reasonable chance to cure/resolve
Help consumers make informed pre-purchase decisions
Keep records on all sorts of transaction-related disputes over a three-year period
In contrast to this practical, informal process aimed at resolving disputes, the bar associations have two basic suggestions for a client with a complaint: (1) try to work it out with your lawyer; and (2) file a formal complaint. Of course, the Denver bar advises clients who do turn to the formal complaint process that “If you file a request for investigation, this would put you in an adversary position with your attorney and you would want to hire another attorney.”
Given the well-documented failure of the lawyer discipline systems nationwide to provide adequate relief to unsatisfied clients, local bar groups should be doing all they can to establish or cooperate with less formal methods, such as those provided by the BBB.
- To oppose such processes — and especially to fear the use of data banks that help consumers make better-informed choices among lawyers — makes it clear that lawyers put their own interests above those of their clients. That is not funny at all.
- In case your are wondering, the Colorado BBB does have quite a few lawyer members, who willingly subscribe to its code (often as a useful marketing tool). For example, the 15-lawyer business firm, Minor and Brown, PC.
Update (03-17-04): In a well-crafted post on this topic, Overlawyered.com notes, “Now suppose that some other profession or industry — medicine, say — were to assert that its mysteries are so esoteric, and its success in self-regulation so complete, that lay observers should not presume even to compare notes with each other on their bad experiences with it. Hard to imagine, these days, isn’t it?”
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