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Law questions

Name

Institution affiliated
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Law questions

Advertising by lawyers

The first prohibitions on advertising by lawyers came into effect in the 1930s, and, since

then, advertising by attorneys has remained a controversial subject in the mainstream media.

Although the Supreme Court lifted the prohibition in the mid-1970s, advertising by members of

this profession has never really gotten off the ground. In 1930, a group of elite attorneys started

amounting pressure against advertising. In their view, advertising demeaned the profession

(Lippman, 2017). Consequently, the bar association

instituted several measures to restrict advertising, including charging a fee for any

marketing-related practices. The effort to limit, or even ban, advertising did have a cause. Cases

of unethical practices, such as questionable behaviors by lawyers, in-person soliciting, and

contacting victims, had become rampant, thus spoiling the reputation of the profession.

Restrictions on unethical advertising are mandatory. However, courts have to balance the need to

protect members of the public, as well as lawyers’ liberties.

Contingent fee arrangements

Contingent fee arrangements occur when lawyers agree to receive a portion of the

settlement/judgement fee as their payment instead of charging clients upfront for the service

(Lippman, 2017). A lot of controversies exist over contingent fee arrangements. One of the

arguments in favor of this practice is that it enables poor people to afford legal counsel since they

do not have to pay upfront for lawyers' services. The counterargument is that this practice makes

lawyers to cunningly select cases they know have significant settlements or those they know they

have a good chance of winning. Another argument in favor of contingent fees draws from the

idea that clients do not pay lawyers hourly because they cannot predict how much work they are
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up for. This system, therefore, allows lawyers to compute their wages at the end of their cases.

On the flip side, however, opponents of contingent fees argue that the approach enables lawyers

to make incredibly vast sums of money from working little hours. The opponents also say that

since clients do not computer their attorney's fees hourly, they have incentives to hurry things up,

thereby spending very little time with clients.

Legal services plans

There are two basic types of legal services plans, including prepaid and access legal

service plans. In prepaid services, clients pay a fixed fee at intervals in exchange for specified

classes of legal services. Access plans involve the provision of legal services to members of a

union, a professional organization, or part of employee benefits. In access plans, clients or their

employers pay monthly subscription fees, and, in exchange, they get legal services from specific

lawyers.

Cause lawyering

Cause lawyering, as the name suggests, refers to using the law for a "cause." Often,

lawyers may decide to use their legal knowledge and resources to support a social movement or

need when they believe doing so helps the society. Attorneys who are practicing for a cause join

professional and social justice organizations. Cause lawyering is driven by attorneys who have

unique beliefs and interests, which is professional. There is nothing wrong when lawyers decide

to represent specific issues in society. It only shows that they have specialized in a particular

area.
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Reference

Lippman, M. (2017). Law and society. Sage Publications.