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Full-Text Articles in Law
Can Law Firms Spam?, Kevin Michael
Can Law Firms Spam?, Kevin Michael
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 presents a compliance problem for law firms that issue periodic newsletters to clients or prospective clients. While the Act does not expressly include such newsletters, nor define commercial advertisement in a manner that suggests newsletters will be included, the advisory opinions from state ethics boards suggest that newsletters are advertisements. Arguments can be made that newsletters to current clients are not advertisements. However, given the low cost of compliance with the Act, firms should treat these newsletters as commercial advertisements and adhere to the provisions of the Act.
Balancing Consumer Interests In A Digital Age: A New Approach To Regulating The Unauthorized Practice Of Law, Cristina L. Underwood
Balancing Consumer Interests In A Digital Age: A New Approach To Regulating The Unauthorized Practice Of Law, Cristina L. Underwood
Washington Law Review
States have traditionally relied on unauthorized practice of law statutes and court rules to restrict nonlawyers from providing legal services. A majority of courts assess compliance with these statutes by applying set practice of law definitions and restrictive court precedent to nonlawyer activity. These methods of enforcement have failed to balance consumer protection concerns with the public's need for access to affordable legal services. Most state practice of law definitions have proven inflexible, broadly barring the practice of law by nonlawyers, with few exceptions. Courts interpreting unauthorized practice statutes have created bright-line rules that favor consumer protection, failing to incorporate …