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CONTACT PERSON: VALERIE WILLARD
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
(504) 310-2590
| FEBRUARY 18, 2009 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Chief Justice Catherine D. Kimball announced today that the Court’s recently-adopted amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct pertaining to lawyer advertising will become effective on October 1, 2009, rather than April 1, 2009, as previously announced.
The Court adopted the new rules following a lengthy study conducted by the Louisiana State Bar Association, recommendations of the LSBA House of Delegates, and further study by a Court Committee chaired by Chief Justice Catherine D. Kimball. These processes were triggered by a 2006 Senate Concurrent Resolution finding that lawyer advertising in the state has become undignified and poses a threat to the way the public perceives lawyers in this state. The new rules resulting from these processes balance the right of lawyers to truthfully advertise legal services with the need to improve the existing rules in order to preserve the integrity of the legal profession, to protect the public from unethical and potentially misleading forms of lawyer advertising, and to prevent erosion of the public’s confidence and trust in the judicial system.
The Court has decided to defer implementation of the new rules until October 1, 2009, in order to allow the LSBA and the Court to further study certain rules in light of the constitutional challenges that have been raised.
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