Lawyer Advertising

Sometimes I browse other lawyers' websites to see what's out there. It looks like some of these folks are spending a lot of money on fancy advertising; their websites make my websites, Bennett & Bennett and Fight the Feds, look . . . homemade. Should I spend some money on having a professional design and maintain my websites? What do you think? One thing I've seen other lawyers do in their advertising that just seems wrong is to list the names of clients whose cases had successful outcomes. If I had to hire a criminal defense lawyer for something, I sure wouldn't want to think that information would ever be published on the web. Some of my colleagues fill their websites with content by republishing press releases from the Department of Justice and other government agencies. This also seems wrong to me. The DOJ, FBI, and so forth aren't publishing these press releases for the good of the people; they're doing it to glorify themselves. These press releases name people who have been accused or convicted of crimes. Why would a criminal defense lawyer want to help do the government's work of destroying people's reputations?

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