Advertising and Marketing Laws apply to all businesses, even the service industries. Recently, an attorney in New York was suspended for various reasons, one being false and misleading advertising. The Court stated “With regard to the charge that the respondent engaged in false advertising, the Statement of Charges alleged that the respondent maintained a website for his law practice at the address … which contained misrepresentations and omissions. For instance, the respondent placed the seal of New York University above his law school education, even though he attended and graduated from New York Law School, not New York University Law School. The respondent represented, inter alia, that he had successfully handled hundreds of debtors in need of financial relief, but omitted the disclaimer “prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.”
Unfortunately, this attorney had transparency and substantiation issues, among other legal and ethical issues. The laws, rules and regulations in Advertising and Marketing Law are there to protect the consumers. Following them, provides transparency that the consumer needs to make informed decisions. Lack of transparency leads to lack of trust! Lack of substantiation leads to lack of trust! Lack of trust leads to lost business. Professionals should have their advertising/marketing campaigns reviewed to minimize risk. #substantiationequalstrust, #transparencyformstrust