Canadian Lawyer

says Keith, who practises in Vancouver. While most of her clients are still retained through referrals, a lawyer' ries have made it more diffi cult to have a volume practice. As a re- sult, advertising is still limited in the province, says Craig Gillespie at Cuming & Gillespie in Calgary. "We spend a lot of time on our web site content and lots of [legal] blogging. We have a Facebook page and Twitter account. At the same time, it is still reasonably traditional, In Alberta, statutory changes that reduced caps for minor inju- " says Keith. tario, he says his fi rm is involved in signifi cant charity work. "You want your name in a favourable light with brain injury rehabilitation groups." So, for now at least, U.S.-style personal injury marketing cam- " says Gillespie. Similar to their counterparts in On- paigns appear to be only an Ontario phenomenon in this country. Advertising and referral fees are clearly good for the bottom line of local media outlets and some law fi rms, but whether these rela- tively new activities are good for the profession as a whole and ul- timately for clients is not something that is actively being analyzed by the province' duct for marketing services are fairly general in nature. Among the requirements are that the marketing is "neither misleading, confusing, or deceptive" and that it is in "the best interests of the Th e Law Society of Upper Canada's Rules of Professional Con- s legal regulator. ity of its content is very important, even aſt er the initial meeting. "People are much more savvy consumers" and if a lawyer does not have a web site or if its online presence looks unprofessional, "it says something about you, s web site and the qual- public and is consistent with a high standard of professionalism." Changes to the Rules were made about a decade ago in Ontario (and other provinces) to permit referral fees from lawyer to law- yer. Th e LSUC requires the fee is "reasonable, client, consented to by the client, and does not increase the overall fee charged by the lawyer. Th e web sites of a number of personal injury fi rms in the province trumpet their willingness to pay be- tween 15 to 20 per cent of their fi nal compensation for successful referrals. Susan Tonkin, communications adviser at the law soci- ety, says there is no suggested percentage for a referral fee. "Th is is not an area that is a source of complaints from clients or the pub- lic." In terms of monitoring advertising of law fi rms, the LSUC is "generally aware of advertisements by our licensees and we would look into an advertisement that appeared to off end our Rules." Referral fees are not a bad thing, suggests Grant, at Lerners. " is disclosed to the law society might play a greater role is in its oversight of legal ad- vertising. "I don't think they have been giving much guidance so far. " Where he does think the "Th ere is always the potential for abuse. But the referral relation- ship is to be guided by the best interest of the client. If the system works, the fi le ends up where it should. what reluctantly a part of a large-scale, albeit soſt er-sell, advertis- ing campaign. "I think the law society is doing an inadequate job of regulating in this area," says Oatley. Th e explosion in hard-sell advertising, he says, "has done the perception of our profession harm. Something ought to be done to ensure good taste, to ensure that consumers are not misled. " It is a view shared by Roger Oatley, even if his fi rm is some- " GET NAMES, MAILING ADDRESSES, EMAIL ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS FOR LAWYERS AND LAW OFFICES IN B.C., NUNAVUT, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES AND THE YUKON In one handy volume you'll have a single means of access to every lawyer and law firm in B.C., Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon. PUBLISHED ANNUALLY, THE CURRENT EDITION INCLUDES: • B.C. Notaries • B.C. Land Surveyors • Shorthand Reporter's Association Published October of each year Spiralbound • L88804-588 Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. CANADIAN LAW LIST THIS DIRECTORY HAS: • Durable spiral-bound format • E-mail addresses (where available) • Federal court listings • Federal government departments 1 - 9 copies: ……………$40.00* ea. 10 - 49 copies: …………$38.00* ea. 50 - 99 copies: …………$36.80* ea. • Canadian Association of Para-Legals • Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon listings. • Up-to-date addresses, telephone numbers and fax numbers MULTIPLE COPY DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE: 100 or more copies: …$35.20* ea. (*Plus applicable taxes) ORDER ONLINE AT WWW.CARSWELL.COM (JH00??) BCLTD CL 1-2H 2013.indd 1 www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com N O VEMBER / D ECEMBER 2012 33 12-08-21 4:32 PM

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