Advertising and Intermediaries in Provision of Legal Services: Bates in Retrospect and Prospect

Abstract

It is entirely fitting that serious efforts be made to assess the significance of the revolution in lawyer advertising that resulted with the Supreme Court's decision in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona. That decision provided the shield of the First Amendment free speech protection for lawyers' efforts to make known the availability of their services to members of the general public. The First Amendment shield still is held in place, although with some qualifications and misgivings. Lawyer advertising evidently has come to stay, not only in this country but also, to an increasing degree, in other legal systems as well. That being so, it is appropriate to review how lawyer advertising has worked out and also to consider possible developments in the future.