Former rapper turned lawyer's ad goes viral

Just when we thought we had seen the worst attorney ad of the year during the Super Bowl (see here and here), in comes an internet commercial for a lawyer in the Pittsburgh area.  You can watch it below.  It speaks for itself.  But to give you a hint of how it has been received, here is a quote from the blog Res Ipsa Loquitur: "The advertisement is clearly tongue-in-cheek but in the end I find it less than comical. Muessig [the lawyer] promises to help felons get back to crime and proclaims that he “think like a criminal.” It fulfills the worst stereotypes of criminal defense lawyers as felons are shown committing crimes and saying “Thanks, Dan.” Muessig may have a skill for thinking like a criminal but he clearly has yet to master the talent of thinking like a lawyer."  You should read the full comment here.

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Tom Loftus, spokesman for the Allegheny County Bar Association, said he found the ad "insulting to Pittsburgh lawyers and lawyers across the country, who take great pride in their profession."  Without more, of course, that is not enough to justify the state to ban the ad or to discipline the lawyer.  In the end, the issue here is not whether the state has the authority to intervene, but whether it is really a good idea for the lawyer to engage in this type of campaign. Just because you have the right to do something does not mean you should do it.  For more comments on the ad go here, here and here and check out the short video below.