MEET THE LEGAL ADVERTISING HALL OF FAME ’ S INAUGURAL INDUCTEE :
We all work hard . But sometimes we forget to look back , honor the past , and recognize those who have shifted the open , accessible legal world we operate in today . Each year at the National Trial Lawyers Summit we get a chance to do just this . As the Chairman of the Golden Gavel Awards for lifetime achievements in the legal industry , this is a particularly special time for me . This past year we took these recognitions a step further with the induction of Len Jacoby into the first-ever Legal Advertising Hall of Fame .
As the “ Grandfather of Legal Advertising ,” I am passionate about this initiative to recognize the significant achievements made by some of the best minds and most powerful voices in the business . I have watched the evolution of attorney advertising unfold from the very beginning , which started five decades ago . Today advertising legal services are critical to every firm in the country . It is only fitting to create a place and time to acknowledge what is now one of the most important elements of the business of law . This past January at our NTLA Summit in Miami we had the opportunity to do just that .
But it all started in 1972 when two young lawyers Leonard ( Len ) Jacoby and Stephen Meyers triggered a campaign for free speech that they could have never expected . Their goal ? Simply to make advertising more accessible , affordable , and universal to middle America . You see , 50 years ago , there were two camps for legal services : the rich and the poor . The rich could afford high-priced representation without batting an eye . The poor were typically covered by free legal aid . But what about the middle class ? Weren ’ t they , too , deserving of legal services that they could understand , access , afford , and benefit from ?
That ’ s when two 30-year-olds started to think differently about operating a law firm , hanging their first for-the-people shingle in Van Nuys , California . From the get-go , they did everything in an unconventional style . But they had a plan . Instead of vaulting themselves away from the public in a downtown high-rise , they located in an accessible area near where regular folks already shopped and lived . They would take walk-ins , hold weekend office hours , and charge lower fees by credit card .
The unprecedented system for handling a volume of standard cases in practice areas such as family law , criminal defense , and bankruptcy extended to operating manuals . Free to other lawyers , these manuals explained how to manage multiple locations , increase intake efficiencies , and access pre-printed forms that paralegals could quickly complete while lawyers did the lawyering . Now the intentionally named Legal Clinic of Jacoby & Meyers just needed the volume — people knocking on the door for legal advice — to support the new concept . The client volume came from the most unexpected place : publicity over the power of free speech . You see the California Bar came after Jacoby and Meyers following a press conference the two held at a Consumer League Action Council event . The Bar called the appearance at the public forum a form of advertising , which was forbidden at the time for any professional , from doctors to lawyers .
Fighting back , the legal duo held another press conference letting the world know that , in effect , the Bar wanted to bar them from making legal services more accessible to the middle class . Following years of hearings and lost court cases , which eventually rose to the California Supreme Court , the pair finally prevailed . Their case , which set precedent for the allowance of advertising with the professional realm , coincided with the 1977 case Bates v . State Bar of Arizona , a similar win for a similar legal advertising fight in the federal courts .
The decision was clear : Advertising by the members of professional associations could be regulated , but no longer prohibited altogether . One month later , Jacoby & Meyers put their first ads on TV , the launch of legal advertising as we know it today . It forever changed the way lawyers would communicate with and educate the public . It represented everything good about keeping the legal system attainable for all .
There ’ s no more fitting figure for the first Advertising Hall of Fame inductee than pioneer Len Jacoby . ( Meyers passed in 1996 ). His contribution to society , credibility in the legal community , and impact on legal marketing cannot be overstated . By fighting for freedom of speech , he created an opportunity for millions of Americans who would go on to seek legal counsel for themselves and them .
In January 2023 , we will be presenting our two Inductees to The National Trial Lawyers Advertising Hall of Fame class of 2023 . We look forward to this great opportunity to recognize just how far we all have come and to reflect on our past history and pioneer the future .
36 x The Trial Lawyer