Shatner may get beamed off Alabama TV ad for law firm
MONTGOMERY — William Shatner, the Star Trek captain who now plays a lawyer on Boston Legal, may have to give up one of his roles — that of a TV pitchman for an Alabama law firm.
The state Board of Bar Commissioners has asked the Alabama Supreme Court to place new restrictions on lawyers' ads, including no paid actors or testimonials.
Auburn lawyer Mike Slocumb, who uses Shatner in his TV ads, says the proposed rules would violate his First Amendment right of free speech.
Not so, says Talladega attorney Blake Lazenby, who headed a State Bar committee that developed the proposals to regulate lawyers' ads.
"The goal is not to present anything misleading and to make them as dignified as the law will allow," he said Friday.
Only a small percentage of Alabama's lawyers advertise on radio or TV. But some have found it an effective way to attract clients, particularly people facing problems with auto accidents, Social Security disability determinations, bankruptcy and some criminal charges.
Some TV ads are done exclusively for a single firm. Others, like the Shatner ads, are sold to several law firms across the country that don't share the same market.
Tony McLain, general counsel for the Alabama State Bar, said that in addition to Shatner, Alabama lawyers have run TV ads using actors from the old TV shows L.A. Law and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
It's not just actors who have drawn attention. Some ads have used wreck scenes and other emotional content to grab viewers' attention.
