Over the years, Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse and our friends across Texas and around the country in local chapters of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse have worked to raise awareness of the absurd lengths some personal injury lawyers may go to recruit clients.
In 2016, TALA and CALA chapters in Texas led the way with our “Don’t Let a Lawyer Be Your Doctor” public awareness campaign, urging legislators to pass common-sense reforms. Doctors sounded the alarm bells over the aggressive advertising, too. When viewing these personal injury lawyer advertising tactics, TALA and CALA emphasized facts over fear.
Over the past decade, the Legislature has passed laws to ensure better transparency, including not having actors “play” a lawyer in ads and accurately disclosing how much the personal injury lawyer has recovered for clients. In 2019, Texas enacted legislation requiring transparency and disclosure requirements in lawyer advertising regarding prescription drugs, including warning patients not to stop taking a medicine without consulting a physician.
However, personal injury lawyer advertising still runs rampant on airwaves, digital platforms, social media, billboards, and more. Not only are personal injury lawyers investing in paid advertisements, but media and marketing firms also make their own pitches to law firms.
A new American Tort Reform Association report highlights some startling statistics. For instance, in 2024, roughly $2.5 billion was spent on nearly 27 million legal service ads across the United States, more than the $1.1 billion pizza restaurants spent on advertising.
In Texas, lawyers spent nearly $167 million on ads in three cities alone last year: Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The motive behind these ads is to generate lawsuits, which end up costing us all whenever we buy virtually any product or service, whether we’re involved in the suit or not.
TALA and CALA also remain concerned about the impact of these advertisements on tainting jury pools and inflating verdicts. Courts should always be used for justice, not fueled by greed.
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