Any old radio station in your town (most probably one playing “Classic Rock”) can provide you with a Two-For-Tuesday, but where else will you find a Three-For approach to this otherwise underrated day of the week?
First, I recently let you know that Tennessee was in play with a proposed version of RPC 8.4(g) to make harassing and discriminatory conduct related to the practice of law a violation of the ethics rules. The Tennessee Supreme Court has put that joint petition out for public comment and has set a March 21, 2018 deadline for submissions. So, by the time we know the outcome of the joint petition, you’ll have had the chance to go see two highly-anticipated film adaptations of very good books, A Wrinkle in Time, and Ready Player One.
Second, I’ve written recently about how rare lawsuits tend to be where a lawyer or law firm sues another lawyer or law firm over marketing activities. There are lots of reasons that firms can tend to be reluctant to file such suits, but if you are looking for various objective indications of just how harshly competitive the marketplace for legal services is getting these days – and how much lawyers perceive their futures to be at risk – the fact that such suits seem to be happening with greater frequency is one such indicator. Here is a link to the latest example where one advertising law firm has sued another over advertising firm over the design of billboards and whether those are serving to mislead consumers into confusion over which is which.
One of the billboards says “Injured? Results You Deserve.” The other says “Injured? Don’t stand alone.” Now, neither one of them are exactly fabulous exemplars of good marketing I guess. I mean, you might see the first one and think, I’m kind of a shiftless person and I’m not sure the accident was anyone’s fault. I’d rather not get the result I deserve. And the other one might strike you as tone-deaf if you were so badly injured that you can’t stand at all.
Either way though, let me say this, there is a movie out in theaters now called Three Billboards, and I think a good third one to put out on this Massachusetts interstate would be one that reads: “Injured? Not by my billboard.”
Third, and speaking of advertising, based on this recent headline out of Ontario, it appears pretty clear that my words of wisdom and encouragement to a throng of Canadian lawyers suggesting they chill out about advertising issues was not a butterfly-flapping-its-wings-bringing-about-global-change kind of moment, but more akin to the impact that a butterfly makes on the windshield of a moving car. In keeping with today’s theme, while it is incredibly untimely as far as movie recommendations go, it is still true to say that if someone is going to force you to watch an Ashton Kutcher film, The Butterfly Effect is your best option.