Professional Values and Individual Autonomy

Professional Values and Individual Autonomy: The United States Supreme Court and Lawyer Advertising begins with a comprehensive history of the issue of lawyer advertising in the United States from the early nineteenth century until 1977. It focuses on the changing nature of the legal profession's view of the compatibility of advertising with the concept of law as a "profession."

The second part, which occupies most of the text, is a study the ten United States Supreme Court opinions decided since 1977 that address the limits of state power to outlaw lawyer advertising. In Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977) the Supreme Court for the first time ruled that the First Amendment places limitations on the power of states to restrict lawyer advertising. The Bates decision, which was — and is — highly controversial, dramatically altered the legal landscape. Although the Supreme Court has repeatedly revisited this issue, the propriety of lawyer advertising remains a much debated topic both within and without the legal profession.

Hylton includes lightly edited versions of the ten opinions as well as extensive note material which address the way in which the bar and state courts and legislatures responded to these decisions.

The book's purpose is to explore in depth the complex web of constitutional and professional concerns involved in the debate over lawyer advertising. Although the materials are arranged with an eye toward classroom use in law school courses on the legal profession, legal ethics, professional responsibility, First Amendment law, and law and sociology, the book is not exclusively a text book. Bar association officials, judges, and practicing lawyers can also benefit from this book.