But Can Mom Say I’m the Best Lawyer?

Attorneys in New Jersey who advertise as “Super Lawyers” and “Best Lawyers in America” are violating that state’s prohibition against comparative advertising and advertising that creates an unjustified expectation about results.

The findings on the use of the terms are contained in the recently issued Opinion 39 of the Committee on Attorney Advertising appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court. The opinion was issued in response to advertising containing the terms, which resulted in inquiries to the committee.

The opinion states that designations such as “Super Lawyer” or “Best Lawyer in America” “based on an assessment by the attorney or other members of the bar, or devised by persons or organizations outside the bar, lack both court approval and objective verification of the lawyer’s ability.”

“These self-aggrandizing titles have the potential to lead an unwary consumer to believe that the lawyers so described are, by virtue of this manufactured title, superior to their colleagues who practice in the same areas of law,” the opinion found.

Moreover, the opinion found that the advertising may create an unjustified expectation about results the lawyer can achieve. “When a potential client reads such advertising and considers hiring a ‘super’ attorney, or the ‘best’ attorney, the superlative designation induces the client to feel that the results that can be achieved by the attorney are likely to surpass those that can be achieved by a mere ‘ordinary’ attorney. This simplistic use of a media-generated sound bite title clearly has the capacity to materially mislead the public,” the opinion states.

As a result, the committee found the advertisements describing attorneys as “Super Lawyer,” “Best Lawyers in America,” or similar comparative titles violate the prohibition against advertisements that are inherently comparative in nature, New Jersey RPC 7.1(a)(3), or that are likely to create an unjustified expectation about results New Jersey RPC 7.1(a)(2).

Opinion 39, New Jersey Committee on Attorney Advertising