Legal Feeds Blog

Monday, 18 June 2012 11:01

Personal injury firms shun jingles, ‘slick messages’ in new campaign

They’re usually competitors, but that hasn’t stopped a trio of Ontario personal injury firms from linking up in a bid to counter what they say is the aggressive marketing and advertising that has come to play a big role in consumers’ decisions on which lawyers they retain.

“I’m not sure anyone ever imagined the sort of aggressive advertising we’ve been seeing in the last few years in the personal injury bar,” says Roger Oatley, whose firm Oatley Vigmond Personal Injury Lawyers LLP has joined up with McLeish Orlando LLP and Thomson Rogers to form the Personal Injury Alliance.

Starting today, the alliance has begun a radio campaign that “stresses the importance of expertise and track record in achieving financial security and the best rehabilitation possible for victims.” It’ll also launch TV ads on July 9, notes Oatley.

But, he says, the flavour of the ads will be different from other firms.

“You won’t be hearing any jingles from us,” he says, adding there’ll be no “slick messages” about quick settlements.

“It was mutual respect that brought us together,” says Oatley, who says the firms have been concerned that some consumers may not know what to look for in a personal injury lawyer.

“For lawyers to do this kind of work, they have to do it all the time,” he says, adding the area has become more complex over the years and now requires greater expertise.

On his list of things a lawyer should have are trial experience; a network of experts; and relationships with community rehabilitation service providers.

“If they don’t, the insurance companies won’t take them seriously and judges won’t take them seriously,” says Oatley.

Among the other concerns is the trend towards emphasizing quick settlements in personal injury law.

“There’s a saying in our business that the easiest strategy for a million-dollar settlement is to settle a case that’s worth $2 million and do it badly,” says Oatley. “You can’t know you’re blowing it if you don’t have the experience to know what your expectations ought to be.”

Oatley stresses that the campaign isn’t about insisting that only the three members firms have the qualifications consumers should look for. Still, he notes the TV ads will carry the firms’ logos.

Art trafficking: when art and law intersect

Archaeological theft, antiques, and art looted by Nazi probably aren’t filling the minds of many Canadian lawyers today, but according to New York’s Herrick Feinstein LLP lawyer Lawrence Kaye they should be.

The trade of antiquities continues to thrive and a considerable amount of them are trafficked through Canada, says Lawrence Kaye. (Photo: Kendyl Sebesta)

“The sad fact is the trade of antiquities still continues to thrive today and a considerable amount of them are trafficked through Canada,” says Kaye. “But, Canada doesn’t have the type of guidelines that would be necessary to considerably prosecute such thefts. In fact, the FBI often gives many countries the teeth they need to pursue legal action.”

Kaye says artwork looted through war or theft often holds the key to unique aspects of a country’s culture and poses interesting legal questions for lawyers across the globe.

“We should care because this artwork holds the key to our human history,” he added. “If it is stolen and never returned, what will happen to that history?”

Kaye made the comments during a symposium on criminality in the art and cultural property world at Osgoode Hall in Toronto Friday. The two-day event discussed archaeological theft, Canada’s legal framework for art-based law, and managing risk at museums and art galleries.

The session, the first of three on June 15, wrapped up with a discussion on law enforcement and investigations by art crime units across the province, Canada, and the United States. The symposium continued June 16 at Osgoode Hall with discussions on how art museums can manage the risk of theft.

For more on this story, be sure to check out the June 25 edition of Law Times.