O.C.G.A. § 10-1-427 (2019)
False advertising of legal services; good faith exemptions; investigation and enforcement by Attorney General; penalties for violation of cease and desist order
(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) “Duly licensed attorney at law” means a person authorized to provide legal services in this state. (2) “Legal services” means acts recited in Code Section 15-19-50 and in subsection (a) of Code Section 15-19-51. (3) “Media” means any publication, including, but not limited to, any radio or television advertising device, public outcry, proclamation, Internet search engine ad, or any other such manner or means of public outreach. (4) “Misleading statement” means any communication that is untrue, fraudulent, or deceptive and is known, or which by the exercise of reasonable judgment, should be known to be untrue, fraudulent, or deceptive. Such term shall include, but shall not be limited to, communications that: (A) Contain a material misrepresentation of fact or law; (B) Omit a fact or law resulting in the information conveyed being a material misrepresentation or unsubstantiated; (C) Are presented with such specificity as would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the claim or comparison can be substantiated, but cannot; (D) Are substantially likely to lead a reasonable person to: (i) Formulate erroneous conclusions: (I) About the legal services, abilities, practice areas, scope of work, success rate, claim or case management and oversight, or fees of a duly licensed attorney at law; (II) Regarding comparing a duly licensed attorney at law to another or similarly situated duly licensed attorney at law; or (III) To take action to preserve such person’s rights or claims when, in fact, no action is required; or (ii) Have an unjustifiable expectation of future success based on prior performances;
SELLING/OTHER TRADE PRACTICES
(E) Fail to disclose or otherwise provide qualifying language to preclude a person from being deceived or otherwise having a mistaken impression; (F) Falsely portray individuals as clients; or (G) Falsely portray individual circumstantial outcomes in a light where an ordinary person would be misled to believe hiring such duly licensed attorney at law would create or lead to a similar outcome. (5) “Person” means an individual or a firm, corporation, or association, or any employee thereof. (6) “Solicit” means actions taken directly or indirectly to perform or to do anything of any nature whatsoever to induce the public to enter into any obligation relating thereto. (b) No duly licensed attorney at law shall solicit in any media by any misleading statement concerning legal services or concerning any circumstances or matter of fact connected with the proposed performance of legal services. (c) Nothing in this Code section shall apply to any visual or sound broadcasting station or to any publisher or printer of a newspaper, magazine, or other form of printed advertising who broadcasts, telecasts, publishes, or prints such advertisement in good faith without knowledge of its false, fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading character. (d) The Attorney General is authorized and empowered, upon the receipt of a complaint or upon his or her own initiative, to investigate any advertising which might be in violation of subsection (b) of this Code section. If the Attorney General determines that any advertising is in violation of subsection (b) of this Code section, he or she is authorized and empowered, after providing the offender with reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing, to issue a public reprimand, to issue a cease and desist order against the offender, to report any such action to any board, agency, commission, association, or other entity governing or supervising the legal profession, and to publicize any such action in a medium or media likely to reach the recipients of the improper advertising. Any person against whom the Attorney General issues an adverse decision may, as his or her sole remedy in equity or at law, seek a restraining order against such adverse decision in the superior court. (e) Any person who violates a cease and desist order issued pursuant to subsection (d) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor in the county in which such person resides. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit any board, agency, commission, association, or other entity governing or supervising the legal profession from taking any
lawful action against such person as a result of such improper practices. Each publication of an advertisement in violation of any such cease and desist order shall constitute a separate offense.
History
Code 1981, § 10-1-427, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 1556, § 1; Ga. L. 2015, p. 1088, § 4/SB 148; Ga. L. 2023, p. 248, § 2-4/SB 74, effective May 1, 2023. Amendments. The 2023 amendment, effective May 1, 2023, added subsection (a), redesignated former subsections (a) through (d) as present subsections (b) through (e), rewrote present subsection (b), which formerly read: “(a) No person, firm, corporation, or association or any employee thereof, with intent directly or indirectly to perform legal services or to do anything of any nature whatsoever to induce the public to enter into any obligation relating thereto, shall make or disseminate or cause to be made or disseminated before the public in this state, in any newspaper or other publication, radio, television, or advertising device or by public outcry or proclamation or any other manner or means whatever, any statement concerning such legal services or concerning any circumstances or matter of fact connected with the proposed performance thereof which is untrue, fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading and which is known or which by the exercise of reasonable care should be known to be untrue, fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading.”; substituted “subsection (b)” for “subsection (a)” in two places in subsection (d); and substituted “subsection (d)” for “subsection (c)” in subsection (e). See Editor’s notes for applicability.
Annotations
Cross references. Misrepresentation of notary services as deceptive trade practice, § 45-17-8.2. Code Commission notes. Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2024, “or” was deleted from the end of subparagraph (a)(4)(C) and a semicolon was substituted for a period at the end of subparagraph (a)(4)(E). Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 2023, p. 248, § 2-1/SB 74, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The General Assembly finds that:
“(1) The First Amendment protects commercial speech unless it involves illegal conduct or is misleading or fraudulent; “(2) Commercial speech that does no more than propose a commercial transaction through advertising or solicitation is entitled to First Amendment free speech protection, but only if it concerns lawful activity and is not misleading; “(3) The state should take necessary actions to ensure that all Georgians have their constitutional rights protected and appropriately vindicated when violated; “(4) The government has a substantial interest in protecting Georgians from false or misleading commercial practices relating to the handling of legal matters before the courts of this state and the courts of the United States; “(5) These practices have been particularly damaging to Georgia’s older residents who may have become confused or misled by such treatment; and “(6) A ban on commercial speech falsely claiming to handle legal matters before the courts of this state and the courts of the United States is necessary to directly advance the government’s interest in protecting Georgians from false or misleading business advertising and solicitations that offer to protect or vindicate constitutional rights of Georgians.” Ga. L. 2023, p. 248, § 4-1/SB 74, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval, provided that: “(1) Part II of this Act shall: “(A) Apply to contracts entered into on and after such effective date; and “(B) Not apply to contracts entered into before such effective date; provided, however, that any contract in violation of the provisions of Part II of this Act entered into before such effective date shall be void after the initial period set forth in such contract and shall not be renewed or otherwise extended on terms in violation of Part II of this Act; and
SELLING/OTHER TRADE PRACTICES
“(2) Part III of this Act shall apply only to causes of action occurring on or after July 1, 2023.” Law reviews. For note on 1992 enactment of this Code section, see 9 G. St. U.L. Rev. 159 (1992).
For annual survey on legal ethics, see 44 Mercer L. Rev. 281 (1992).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS Anti-SLAPP suit involving lawyer placed ad challenging nursing home standards. - In a suit involving ads placed by a lawyer challenging nursing home standards, the Supreme Court of Georgia held that the trial court overlooked certain preliminary questions as the court did not properly apply the required two step analysis under the anti-SLAPP statute,
O.C.G.A. § 9-11-11.1, with respect to the plaintiffs’ claims as there was no discussion or analysis of whether the plaintiffs had stated and substantiated a legally sufficient claim for the violations of the statutes. Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. v. LTC Consulting, L.P., 306 Ga. 252, 830 S.E.2d 119, 2019 Ga. LEXIS 440 (2019).
RESEARCH REFERENCES ALR. Propriety
of
radio
and
television
attorney advertisements, 20 A.L.R.6th 385.
PART 5 LIMITED EDITION ART REPRODUCTIONS