The Dark Side of Pit Bulls v. Freedom of Speech

The Florida Bar v. Pape

Two Florida attorneys were disciplined by the Florida Supreme Court for using a depiction of a pit bull in their advertising. The Court asserted that the advertising demeaned all lawyers and thereby harmed both the legal profession and public confidence in the judicial system.

The Court asserted that depicting a pit bull in advertising and using the term "pit bull" as part of the law firm's phone number did not assist the public in making an informed decision in attorney selection, therefore, the First Amendment did not prevent the Court from finding that discipline is warranted.

The attorneys were accused of violating Sections 4-7.2(b)(3) and 4-7.2(b)(4) of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar:

(3) Descriptive Statements. A lawyer shall not make statements describing or characterizing the quality of the lawyer’s services in advertisements and written communications; provided that this provision shall not apply to information furnished to a prospective client at that person’s request or to information supplied to existing clients.

(4) Prohibited Visual and Verbal Portrayals. Visual or verbal descriptions, depictions, or portrayals of persons, things, or events must be objectively relevant to the selection of an attorney and shall not be deceptive, misleading, or manipulative.

Although the referee did not find any violation of the rules, the Court found otherwise. The Court stated:

The referee found that the qualities of a pit bull as depicted by the logo are loyalty, persistence, tenacity, and aggressiveness. We consider this a charitable set of associations that ignores the darker side of the
qualities often also associated with pit bulls: malevolence, viciousness, and
unpredictability. . . .

This Court would not condone an advertisement that stated that a lawyer will get results through combative and vicious tactics that will maim, scar, or harm the opposing party. . . Yet this is precisely the type of unethical and unprofessional conduct that is conveyed by the image of a pit bull and the display of the 1-800-PIT-BULL phone number. . . .

We conclude that an advertising device that connotes combativeness and viciousness without providing accurate and objectively verifiable factual information falls outside the protections of the First Amendment.