• New York Law Journal via Yahoo, Tuesday, February 6, 2007 11:31 AM

A New York personal injury law firm and a Washington, D.C., advocacy group are challenging new attorney advertising restrictions in New York. Alexander & Catalano, with offices in Syracuse and Rochester, N.Y., and Public Citizen Inc. have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the rules violate the right to free speech and impose anti-consumer limits on lawyers' ads.

The suit, filed in Albany, seeks to prevent enforcement of the new rules by the disciplinary committees. "The rules overall are a restriction on free speech," says Gregory A. Beck of the Public Citizen Litigation Group. "They are not based on a concern that what is said is false, but on a concern of what some people think is poor taste. The [U.S.] Supreme Court has made clear you cannot regulate speech based on taste."

The filing is no surprise, as attorneys and advocates had questioned the constitutionality of the revised rules. And even the Federal Trade Commission had objected to an earlier draft. Among the firm's concerns are that its routine use of phrases like "think big" and promises to give clients "a big helping hand" are now barred.

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