UK law firms with US clients could be hit by a curb on advertising being enforced by the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), a marketing group warned this week.


Chris Hinze, chairman of the Professional Services Marketing Group, said firms could find themselves subject to the rigorous new rules even if they have no presence in the US or US-qualified lawyers.



The proposed measures will apply to non-US lawyers who 'provide or solicit any legal services' in New York, as well as to New York attorneys. The rules would mean that e-mails classed as advertising would need to carry the tag 'attorney advertising' written in red in the subject box, while Web sites and paper correspondence would have to include similar wording.



The measures will apply to any correspondence that describes a lawyer's services; compares them with another lawyer or firm; is reasonably likely to create an expectation about results or includes endorsements from former clients. Mr Hinze said the rules could easily capture material that gives details of merger and acquisitions deal rankings or legal directory rankings.



He warned: 'The rules are designed to rein in some of the perceived faults of the personal injury market in the US. But they also restrict the sophisticated commercial market. Clients should be allowed to make an informed choice about their legal advisers, and they have a legitimate expectation that firms demonstrate their quality and say what makes them different from their competitors.



'Branding marketing material "attorney advertising" in red ink when it is aimed at a sophisticated senior general counsel of a Fortune 500 multinational is simply unnecessary at best and insulting at worst.'



Mr Hinze added: 'There is no attempt to make any distinction between lawyers who qualified in Minnesota or Munich. The language implies that the NYSBA is regulating by geography - regulating all legal activity in the state - rather than regulating lawyers who are qualified in the state, which is unusual. It is not proportional.'



Mr Hinze added that it could be difficult for the bar association to enforce the rules against foreign firms. He said: 'The NYSBA could decide to name and shame firms that do not comply, or could even instruct in-house lawyers to disregard firms that don't comply.'



The proposed measures, which are subject to a consultation, are expected to come into effect on 1 November.



Rachel Rothwell