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Case: 09-30925 Document: 00511366200 Page: 23 Date Filed: 01/31/2011

To meet its burden to justify the disclosure requirements imposed by this rule,

LADB relies on various responses from the Louisiana surveys. It argues that

advertisements that employ reenactments, manufactured pictures, or actors to

represent clients, without identifying the use of these devices can be deceptive

and decrease public confidence in the Louisiana judicial system. It submits that
disclaimers identifying these items will prevent their use from misleading the

public or reflecting poorly on Louisiana attorneys and courts.
The survey responses highlighted by LADB indicate that 59% of the public

and 63% of Bar Members could not always tell when a testimonial in a lawyer

advertisement was provided by an actor rather than a real client. When asked

about advertisements containing reenactments of accidents or accident victims,

29% of the public said that the featured attorneys have more influence on

Louisiana courts; 54% of Bar Members believe that these advertisements imply

that the attorney can obtain a positive result without regard to facts or law. In

addition, 59% of the public said that these advertisements decrease their

confidence in the integrity of Louisiana lawyers and 78% of Bar Members did not
believe that these advertisements raised public opinion of the integrity of

Louisiana lawyers. Focus group participants expressed negative opinions of the

use of accident scenes and victims in attorney advertisements.

The evidence, combined with the court’s “simple common sense,” Went For

It, 515 U.S. at 628, leads this court to conclude, as the district court did, that the

disclaimers required by Rule 7.2(c)(1)(I) are reasonably related to the State’s

interests in preventing consumer deception. See Public Citizen, 642 F. Supp. 2d

at 556S57. They are also sufficiently related to the substantial interest in

promoting the ethical integrity of the legal profession. Rule 7.2(c)(1)(I)’s

requirement that attorney advertisements explain when a “client” in an

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