Attorneys have moral guidelines about how purchasers could be solicited to turn out to be purchasers of a legislation agency. Attorneys can’t instantly solicit hurricane injury claims. Attorneys can’t have third events do it for them as properly. So, whereas attorneys can promote for purchasers to name their legislation places of work, attorneys can’t name or knock on the doorways of individuals which can be non-clients asking them to enroll as purchasers. They can’t pay or present incentives to 3rd events to get round these guidelines. All attorneys know they will face disciplinary proceedings and probably be disbarred for such misconduct. In some states, these actions are legal. The attorneys and people third events can face jail.
In a rare submitting yesterday,1 an insurance coverage protection lawyer filed a memorandum in federal courtroom which outlined how a 3rd celebration solicited him on behalf of a legislation agency for hurricane injury. The particular allegations of alleged wrongful solicitation have been as follows:
At 6:58 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, undersigned counsel obtained an unsolicited textual content message from a telephone quantity recognized as ‘+52 56 3977 9530’. The unsolicited textual content message states as follows:
You have Hurricane Ian and Ida storm compensation pending, fill out this kind pi4q.com/1PG2
At no level did undersigned counsel take any steps to request this textual content message from any particular person or entity. In reality, undersigned counsel couldn’t consider that he obtained this textual content message after having alerted the Louisiana Bar about MMA’s improper textual content message solicitation on August 3, 2022. The unsolicited textual content message didn’t establish the sender and didn’t establish any lawyer or any legislation agency. There was no location of observe recognized, nor was there a Louisiana State Bar Association lawyer promoting submitting quantity equipped. Rather, there was a promise of cash made by filling out a sure type on the web site that was enabled by the hyperlink ‘pi4q.com/1PG’.
Undersigned counsel clicked on the hyperlink which takes you to the web site: www.HurricaneDamageLawswimsuit.com. On the primary web page of this web site, there isn’t any point out of a legislation agency or lawyer concerned. Rather there’s a sequence of questions offered to viewer with beneath the tab ‘See if you Qualify for Compensation Get a FREE Case Evaluation’….
In order to find out who despatched the unsolicited textual content message, undersigned counsel submitted figuring out data through the web site late within the night of January 25, 2023. The subsequent morning at 8:47 a.m. EST, an individual who recognized himself as ‘Arnold’ referred to as undersigned counsel from telephone quantity (346) 245-6143. The dialog lasted 13 minutes and twenty-eight seconds (13:28). Arnold indicated that he was from a corporation referred to as Strategic Litigation Partners and proceeded to ask quite a few questions much like that set forth within the web site queries above. Arnold had a tough command of the English language but additionally requested whether or not undersigned counsel was married; what was the most effective time and finest strategy to talk; and, indicated that if the legislation agency tried to contact me unsuccessfully thrice that I might lose my alternative to work with them. Arnold made it very clear, at the very least 5 occasions, that he was engaged on behalf of the ‘Velawcity’ legislation agency positioned in Texas.
During this dialog Arnold knowledgeable undersigned counsel that he could be sending an electronic mail and instructed me to open the e-mail whereas we have been nonetheless on the telephone. The electronic mail got here from an tackle ‘Hurricane-Ida-Velawcity-MMA@slplegal.com’. The electronic mail was obtained in the course of the phone dialog at 8:55 a.m. EST. The electronic mail states as follows:
Thank you in your curiosity within the Hurricane / Storm Litigation. This electronic mail has been despatched by the Intake Team Member you’re talking with. Please take a second to overview your settlement if you are on the decision with us so we are able to reply any questions and get began in your case.
Please click on on the hyperlink beneath to signal your settlement. Once it’s accomplished you’ll obtain a welcome electronic mail with extra data. Questions? (409) 683-9069 or Hurricane-Ida-Velawcity-MMA@slplegal.com.
https://useclientconnect.com/GoSignCover.aspx?uid=4567847&e=1&T=1&eid=3 23435353039323630313233
Sincerely,
Intake Department
Strategic Litigation Partners, LP 21324 Provincial Blvd.
Katy, Texas 774504
As could be seen by the plain textual content of the settlement, the e-mail was despatched in the course of the telephone name and undersigned counsel was requested to ‘please click on the link below to sign your agreement’. Arnold inspired undersigned counsel to click on on the hyperlink. When the hyperlink was clicked, a display screen pops up indicating ‘Your document is ready to sign!’ This digital correspondence asks the potential shopper to observe three easy steps with a view to arrange the signing mechanism for the settlement. The subsequent step within the course of instructs the reader ‘Draw your signature’ and ‘Draw your initial:’ Once the reader clicks on the ‘Continue’ button, the reader is supplied with a MMA Attorney Employment Contract with directions to ‘Click Here to Begin Signing’. At no level on this course of was anyone from MMA concerned or recognized. Upon viewing the contract, undersigned counsel even requested Arnold why was MMA on the contract when Arnold beforehand said that he was calling on behalf of the Velawcity legislation agency. Arnold insisted that he was engaged on behalf of Velawcity and was unfamiliar with MMA.
An astute reader could ask: “Chip, the solicitation started out as a text message. Can lawyers solicit via text?” Each state Bar has guidelines for this, and people particular guidelines need to be adopted. Quite a few states enable textual content promoting as long as different guidelines are adopted. For instance, the Florida Bar said:
‘We found that in fact that text messaging is not prohibited in person solicitation and that they are instead a form of written communications such as that are the same as any other written communications and must comply with [Bar] Rule 4-7.8(b),’ Schwait stated. ‘We permit emailing we permit [paper] mailing and other types of advertising, and our committee found after listening to the applicant. . . that they have a new method going forward that is permissible.’
The texts, he stated, will adjust to all Bar guidelines, together with that the primary line of the textual content will proclaim the communication is promoting, and if focused it would comprise the disclaimer that if the recipient already has an lawyer she or he ought to ignore the textual content, and can disclose how the legislation agency bought the recipient’s identify.
The agency will preserve a document of the texts’ content material and who obtained them, and can work with cellphone service suppliers to make sure that the agency pays for the textual content if that’s one thing the recipient would pay for beneath the recipient’s cell phone plan.
I’m not sure about particular Louisiana Bar guidelines concerning textual content promoting.
What appeared so unusual to me was the third celebration encouraging the signing of a contract the place no lawyer from the legislation agency ever spoke with or reviewed the matter earlier than having the shopper signal a contract with the legislation agency. The third-party marketed after which obtained a signed lawyer contract for a payment, and the legislation agency did nothing apart from rent the third celebration to supply new purchasers. This is quite a bit completely different than a 3rd celebration producing “leads” of potential purchasers for a legislation agency, and the attorneys then observe up. Some states enable this type of advertising.
The allegations made by an insurance coverage protection lawyer are one facet of the story, and there can be “another side to the story.” However, in Sunday’s submit, Louisiana Department of Insurance Accuses Texas-Based Law Firm of Fraud and Unfair Trade Practices, I made the next comment:
The Louisiana Department of Insurance has taken the extraordinary step of submitting an administrative motion towards a Texas-based legislation agency. I’ve been working within the first-party insurance coverage claims enterprise for over forty years. I’ve by no means seen something like this.
I’ve by no means seen something like this, both. In this case, a legislation agency by no means talks with a possible shopper and by no means sizes up a case on its deserves earlier than signing up the brand new shopper via a third-party promoting agency.
I’ll wait to learn the response from the legislation agency. Maybe I’ll study from soon-to-be filed responses that that is ethically permissible. The Louisiana insurance coverage protection lawyer doesn’t suppose so as a result of he has requested for sanctions in extra of $13 million from the legislation agency soliciting via texts and third events.
Thought For The Day
People have total relationships through textual content message now, however I’m not a fan of texting. I would like context, nuance and the heat and tone that may solely come from a human voice.
—Danielle Steel
1 Franatovich v. Allied Trust Ins. Co., No 2:22-cv-02552, [Doc. 58, filed Feb. 22, 2023] (E.D. La.).