By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

You may struggle at times to remember your own phone number, but if you are in the market for a personal-injury attorney, it's a fair bet that 854-2020 - the telephone number for Cellino & Barnes PC - will pop into your head. Likewise, while there are many attorneys in Western New York who specialize in auto accidents, if you are hurt in a car, you may automatically think to "call William Mattar."

Whether it's market saturation or catchy rhymes that drive their success, firms that advertise via television, radio and billboards say they do so because it works.

A matter of opinion

Lawyer advertising, once prohibited, has long divided the legal community. In February 2007, the Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court weighed in, implementing stricter rules for lawyer marketing.

Attorneys who take issue with their colleagues' advertising often claim that those who invest in flashy campaigns are feeding negative perceptions of lawyers. Those whose firms have become household names through their ad campaigns say they're aware of potential backlash, but believe such concerns are outweighed by the importance of their message.

Representatives from personal-injury firm Paul William Beltz PC, whose television spots and radio presence are built around the catch phrase "Paul William Beltz PC - Your power of attorney," say advertising wasn't even on the firm's radar until about a decade ago.

"To some extent, it was by necessity that we got into advertising. We were drawn into it," says Beltz attorney Steve Foley. "One or two other law firms were out there aggressively advertising, and it completely changed the landscape for everyone."

Foley says after roughly eight years of advertising - the firm retains the services of Travers Collins & Co., a Buffalo advertising/public relations agency - his gut instinct is that the firm is better off with it than without it.

Striking a balance

Sitting down in a local production studio two weeks ago preparing to film the firm's latest television spot, Foley said he's mindful of crossing the line between effective advertising and inviting criticism.

"It was important to us to get that message out as tastefully as possible," he said. "We didn't want any ads with cars crashing behind us, we weren't interested in jingles and we didn't want some catchy phone number."

A partner in O'Brien Boyd PC, Steve Boyd turned to law as a second career following a stint as a news anchor for WKBW-TV. He, too, believes that firms that advertise are walking a tightrope in the court of public opinion.

"You are trying to attract business, but at the same time you want to be careful about what kind of business you attract," Boyd said. "You only have one reputation in the community, and you want your advertising to be something you can be proud of."

Boyd said his firm took the approach that any advertising it chose to do would be part of a bigger anti-drunk-driving campaign that included speaking engagements and charitable activities.

"People may have a negative connotation about attorneys who advertise, but inasmuch as people will crack their lawyer joke, the fact of the matter is, when people need justice, the first thing they do is turn to an attorney," he said.

Cellino and Barnes, largely credited with leading the trend toward prominent advertising by lawyers in Western New York, declined to be interviewed for this story, citing the proprietary nature of the firm's activities. Mattar, whose ads are a fixture on local airwaves, originally agreed to an interview before cancelling. A spokeswoman, Donna Connors, said Mattar was concerned about how his firm might be portrayed.

A do-it-herselfer

While many firms say they advertise out of a necessity to keep up with the Joneses, such is not the case for Lindy Korn, who, as a lawyer representing plaintiffs in workplace-discrimination cases, says there aren't a lot of attorneys locally who do what she does. With a small firm tucked away high atop the Liberty Building in downtown Buffalo, the Law Offices of Lindy Korn might be easy to miss. Enter radio advertising.

"I do not let anyone write my ads for me," Korn explained. "I write all of my own copy, and it's my own voice in my ads." Korn said she sees her radio campaign as a way to educate people about workplace discrimination, and she considers her spots to be infomercials, in a way.

"If you hear my ad and you never come to see me, it still might help you do something yourself to remedy the situation you are in," Korn said. "Even if I never see that person or know about it, that is satisfying."

Korn said as essential as advertising is to getting her message out, there is no replacement for "doing well" for her clients.

"Obviously, the best type of promotion you can get is word-of-mouth referrals," she said. "But I think you have to combine that with the advertising."

More of it

Rick Dvorak, vice president with Lamar, which bills itself as the nation's largest provider of outdoor advertising, says his company has seen a notable increase in lawyer advertising in the last few years.

"Most of them are targeting automobile injuries, DWIs (and) divorce," Dvorak said. "Historically, we have always increased a couple each year. This year, we have had five or six new ones (law-firm advertisers) come on board."

Dvorak said most firms leave the issue of placement to Lamar, and the company locates billboards strategically in an effort to reach the largest relevant audience for a particular practice.

He described a shift in attitudes among firms advertising with his company.

"We had a law firm years ago who said they would never, ever do it (advertise on billboards," he said. "Five years later, they are on our boards."

It can be tricky, however, for a law firm to gauge the effectiveness of its ad campaign.

"You are constantly analyzing what medium is most effective," Boyd said. "For instance, are people taping their favorite show and fast-forwarding through the commercials? Are they changing the station when a commercial comes on (the radio)? You never know."

"Do we keep a real dollars-and-cents metric weighing results against the cost of advertising? No, we don't," the Beltz firm's Foley said.

He said there is a much simpler way to judge whether the firm is getting its money's worth. "In times where we have been in between different types of campaigns, when the ads aren't running," he said, "the phone doesn't ring as much."