In the Defense of EZ Justice

Friday, June 07, 2002

 

            On April 29th 2002, Virginia Lawyers Weekly published a full-paged advertisement for a law firm called “Oblon” with a slogan is “It just makes sense”. ®

  1. The slogan expresses a subjective viewpoint regarding the law firm or its selection by a prospective client. It expresses an opinion that use of the firm or selection of the firm is more “sensible” and more likely to bring positive results that the use or selection of a competitor. The advertisement contains no information whatsoever to support such a conclusion.

 

  1. Selection of the Oblon firm, or use of that firm to perform legal services for a particular client with a particular set of facts, may not be “sensible” in individual cases. For example, the firm may not have any experience in the area of law in which the client requires representation. Alternatively, the firm may not be licensed in the jurisdiction in which services are to be performed. The facts of a particular case may be so hopelessly arrayed against a client that her only logical solution is to settle for full dollar (or to plead guilty).

 

  1. “EZ Justice, PLC” is not a sentence. It is a phrase containing a noun and a collection of letters of the alphabet. There is no verb and no adjective. The corporate name conveys nothing more that the words “equal” or “fair” might themselves communicate. Many adjectives describe attributes of our system of justice. The fact that not all adjectives apply to all cases is not necessarily a reason no adjective can ever be applied to any law firm. For some clients the court process might seem “easy” without being desirable or financially worthwhile. For example, a client might resolve a legal issue in record time yet be unsuccessful or spend a fortune. Paying a fine is easy. Sometimes it is hugely expensive.

 

  1.  In the same issue of Lawyers Weekly, the McCammon Mediation Group claims they are “Virginia’s First Choice”. According to whom? By what criteria? The ad contains no answer to these questions.

 

  1. EZ Justice does not claim anything is easy. EZ is not a word recognized in the English language. It is my own creation, and has my own definition.