Bar Associations
Spammed Lawyers Angered Over Fla. Bar’s Sale of E-Mail Addresses
Posted Jan 28, 2009 10:14 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Lawyers are complaining about the Florida Bar’s sale of their e-mail addresses to third parties who have flooded their in-boxes with unwanted marketing posts.
The state bar charges $8,500 for a DVD with lawyer contact information and makes about $200,000 a year on the sales, according to the Daily Business Review. The bar says it is a public agency that is obligated to provide the contact information.
But a handful lawyers at a recent committee meeting of the state bar fumed about the practice, according to the article. One of the critics is Ury Fischer, who has written the state bar to voice his objections.
“I believe that there are very simple and inexpensive ways for the bar to meet its public records obligations without exposing its members to spam abuse," the letter says.
- How B of A’s GC Got Fired: Leave Now, and Leave Your BlackBerry Behind
- Schools Ranked by 'Super Lawyers' Produced
- Law Firm Price Wars Break Out as Some Try ‘Loss Leader’ Bids for Work
- Five Questions for Law Firms Abandoning Lockstep Compensation
- Judge Jails 2 Attorneys for Contempt in 4 Days
- Reed Smith Will Ask Nonequity Partners to Pony Up Possibly 15% of Pay
- Court Deputy Ordered to Apologize or Face Jail After Taking Lawyer's Paperwork
- Skadden Jumps on the Bonus Bandwagon
- ABA Executive Director Resigns
- Nasty Attitude to Co-Worker, Naughty Word in E-Mail Cost 2 Their Jobs
Should Supreme Court Justices Be Able to Review News Accounts Before Publication?
Comments
youm
Jan 29, 2009 12:32 PM CST
“A public agency that is obligated to provide the contact information” (to spammers)?
Do we need a public agency that cuddles up to spammers?
Flag this comment
Josh
Feb 25, 2009 12:27 PM CST
After I joined the ABA, I started getting much more legal service related spam than ever before.
Flag this comment
Pam, Esq
Feb 25, 2009 1:59 PM CST
Joining the bar is required to practice—it is already like forced Unionization. To then divulge E-mail addresses to anyone who pays the $8500 is exposing all its members to not only spam, but to computer viruses. Are our SS#‘s being provided as well?
Flag this comment
Brian Levy
Feb 25, 2009 4:25 PM CST
Interesting that the FLABAR considers itself a gov’t agency. If so then everything it has is discoverable under the FOIA. So if I want to review the bar app of xyz lawyer and his background investigation all I have to do is file for it under the FOIA.
Flag this comment
Thomas
Feb 25, 2009 5:34 PM CST
The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) only applies to FEDERAL agencies; it does not apply to state agencies. Moreover, it has a number of exemptions, and certain personal information regarding individuals like a background investigation for licensing or employment by the government is generally exempt from disclosure.
Florida’s own open records act (whatever it may be called) is what would apply here if the bar were a government agency. I’d hope that it would similarly exclude from disclosure personal information of individuals like SSNs, results of bar background investigations, and the like.
Flag this comment
Cal Atlaw
Feb 25, 2009 8:28 PM CST
This may be happening in california too. I’m getting all kinds of law spam at my work email, which is listed with the state bar. Of course, my email is also on my card, and listed a few other places as well. I can’t be sure, but I suspect the State Bar has something to do with it.
Flag this comment
Kalifornia Arnold
Mar 7, 2009 10:40 AM CST
Guess the FLA BAR will just have to Tallahasee what happens if spammers continue to Tampa with their emails,
Flag this comment
Add a Comment
We welcome your comments, but please adhere to our comment policy.
Commenting has expired on this post.