New regulations will ban advertisements by solicitors

SOLICITORS will be banned from running adverts touting for compo business under new regulations which come into effect on February 1.

Aggressive advertising by solicitors blamed for boosting the so-called compensation culture will be severely restricted by the new rules which their own governing body drew up.

Advertisements which highlight personal injuries and accident compensation will be outlawed, as will offers like "no foal, no fee."

Law Society director general Ken Murphy explained: "Advertising was forced on a reluctant profession in the late 1980s. Only a tiny minority of the profession availed of it." Until the law was changed in 1988, a person seeking the services of a lawyer had to rely on word of mouth or seek out a solicitor's plaque on the street. But the Law Society abandoned its opposition to advertising, as the then

Government considered the ban was anti-competitive. The new regulations, signed this week by Justice Minister Michael McDowell, were drawn up by the Law Society's advertising task force and approved a month ago by the society's council.

In recent years, the proliferation of solicitors' advertisements was blamed for contributing to the mushrooming of army deafness claims, which threatened to spiral out of control and cost the State up to 2bn in compensation. When the rules take effect three months from now, the Law Society will be able to take disciplinary action against any solicitor who advertises in a manner that could be considered an inducement to take a claim.

For example, this includes saying that he or she specialises in personal injury cases, or that accidents can produce compensation.

Cartoons showing hypothetical accidents, at work or elsewhere, will also be banned, as will any emotive words or pictures. The regulations contain limitations on the size, context, content and location of advertisements. Placing such advertisements near hospitals, cemeteries or crematoria, for instance, will not be allowed.

In future, information on advertisements must be limited to the contact details of the solicitor, his or her qualifications and areas of expertise. Mr Murphy said the "great majority" of solicitors regret that advertising was ever allowed, "as it has reduced the esteem in which the solicitors' profession was held by the public generally."