Prolific Advertising Favored by High Volume Tennessee Personal Injury Lawyers

You see it whenever you turn on the television or radio or drive along any major highway in the state: lawyer advertising is on the rise in Tennessee, especially among personal injury attorneys.

Once widely considered a violation of professional ethics and strictly prohibited, a 1977 US Supreme Court decision, ruling that advertising is commercial speech protected by the First Amendment, changed everything. While some lawyers still feel that advertising their services is unprofessional, the majority have jumped on the marketing bandwagon. Today, most law firms consider advertising a necessary business practice. One Tennessee Personal Injury attorney estimates that his firm spends a staggering $5 million dollars on advertising!

Lawyer Advertising and the Tennessee Consumer

Does lawyer advertising help or harm the legal consumer? One the one hand, it makes information about the availability of legal representation widely available; but in many cases, advertising consists of little more than sound bites, and fails to provide the information a consumer should have to make an informed decision in choosing a lawyer.

It is difficult to keep from wondering how any lawyer who is handling a multi-million dollar marketing budget and appearing in commercials and online videos has time to represent clients and process their cases. Do these attorneys actually practice law?

Advertising and the Large-volume Legal Practice Model

When law firms spend gargantuan sums on advertising, they expect to bring in a huge number of clients. They frequently rely upon non-lawyer staff, such as paralegals and case managers, to handle many of the functions of their firms. They typically process each case quickly and move on to the next, relying on volume of cases to produce income, rather than personal attention to each client. Large-volume firms often avoid time-consuming trials and settle nearly every case out of court.

This can lead to an assembly-line type of processing of cases where clients rarely even speak with an actual attorney and almost never with the lawyer who appeared on the TV, radio, or billboard advertisement. It is an impersonal approach that may not always be in the client’s best interest.

The Client-centered Practice Model

A client-centered law practice focuses on quality rather than quantity and does not rely on high-profile advertising but is largely referral-based. Attorneys who favor a client-centered approach to practicing law emphasize personal service by the lawyer or lawyers who own the practice. The caseload is kept to a manageable level that allows the attorneys to consult with each client and personally work on every case. In this model, law is viewed as a service profession aimed at helping clients in the pursuit of justice. Staff members assist with administrative and clerical tasks while the attorneys handle actual legal matters and negotiations with the insurance companies. As in large-volume practices, client-centered lawyers settle most cases out of court, but when a fair settlement offer is not forthcoming, they are more likely to be willing to take the matter to a jury.

A Personal Decision

Selecting an attorney to represent you in your accident case is a personal matter that should be made by examining the lawyer’s experience, qualifications, and the regard with which the lawyer is held by clients and peers in the legal community, rather than from an advertisement. The best sources of this information are the Tennessee Bar’s website (http://www.tba.org).

If you prefer a firm of highly-rated, thoroughly experienced, and well-qualified lawyers who favor a client-centered approach to the practice of law, call us today for an appointment to learn how we can assist you in recovering damages in your personal injury claim.

Free consultation and you pay nothing unless we recover funds

Call us today toll free at 901-680-9777 to speak with one of our seasoned Tennessee personal injury attorneys to maximize your chances of obtaining a recovery adequate to compensate you for all that you’ve suffered. We will provide you with a copy of our free books and set up a free consultation to discuss your case.  You pay no fee unless we obtain a verdict or settlement.