SERIOUS QUESTION: Is it Against the FTC’s Influencer Rules for a #BigLaw Partner To Recommend This…

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So just did an article about ANOTHER company getting crushed in a TCPA class action because they trusted #biglaw to defend them and it got me thinking.

Why does this keep happening?

At its root its because of the #biglaw model. Partners get paid under the table– kickbacks if you will– when they recommend clients/companies to use other partners at the firm. Its like an inside sales gig.

But here’s the problem.

This is PLAINLY a conflict of interest and 99% of the time the lawyer making the “recommendation” never reveals to to the client/company that they will be getting a cut of the compensation. So they’re steering and influencing the company/client to use somebody that– in many instances– they know is not as good as others in the field, and they’re getting a secret profit for it without even telling the client.

This is so icky and unethical but also seems like it should be illegal.

The FTC has made it clear social media influencers cannot promote products without advising they’re being compensated to do so. Attorneys are influencers with 100 times the power– why shouldn’t they be required to reveal their secret profits?

Hmmmm.

Deserve to win folks.

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Published by Eric "Czar" Troutman

The Czar of TCPAWorld Eric Troutman is one of the country’s prominent class action defense lawyers and is nationally recognized in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation and compliance. He has served as lead defense counsel in more than 70 national TCPA class actions and has litigated nearly a thousand individual TCPA cases in his role as national strategic litigation counsel for major banks and finance companies. He also helps industry participants build TCPA-compliant processes, policies, and systems. Eric has built a national litigation practice based upon deep experience, rigorous analysis and extraordinary responsiveness. Eric and his team feel equally at home litigating multibillion dollar telecommunications class actions in federal court as they do developing and executing national litigation strategies for institutions facing an onslaught of individual TCPA matters. They thrive in each of these roles – delivering consistently excellent results – while never losing sight of the client experience. While many firms now tout TCPA expertise, Eric has been there from the beginning. He built one of the country’s first TCPA-only defense teams and began serving as national TCPA counsel for his clients nearly a decade ago. This perspective allows him to swiftly develop the right litigation strategies for dealing with recurring problems, without wasting time on tactics that are bound to fail. Eric’s rich historical perspective and encyclopedic knowledge of the TCPA landscape also make him an invaluable resource to institutional compliance teams struggling to comply with the shifting regulatory landscape. No task is too small – or too big. Indeed, Eric and his team have helped build TCPA-compliant systems and processes for some of the largest and most complex corporate entities in the country. He commonly works with in-house compliance counsel to build and implement enterprise and business-line specific TCPA solutions, performs TCPA audits and drafts and reviews proposed TCPA policies and procedures. He and his team also have the technical expertise necessary to assist call centers seeking to develop TCPA-resistant call path architecture or to modify existing telephony and software integration to better insulate from potential TCPA exposure. Eric has built a reputation for thought leadership. An avid blogger and speaker, he has been at the forefront of the industry’s effort to push for clarity and a return to sanity for the TCPA for years. He was selected to advocate for the financial services industry on important TCPA issues before the Federal Communications Commission and co-authored the nation’s only comprehensive practice guide on TCPA defense. In his spare time, Eric leads defense teams representing banks and other financial services companies in consumer finance litigation matters. He has experience representing clients in UCC, TILA, RESPA FCRA, CCRA, CLRA, FDCPA, RFDCPA and FCCPA claims, as well as in fraud and bank operations issues.

1 Comment

  1. Face it, #biglaw is all about the billable hour. A #biglaw lawyer uses the restroom, and manages to bill a dozen clients 1/2 hour each for doing so. A great movie about this came out years back called “The Firm.”

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