Gov. DeSantis signs bill placing restrictions on legal ads

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Law firms in Florida won’t be able to create and show advertisements presented as a “medical alert” or a similar public service announcement after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill imposing restrictions on ads for legal services.

The bill (HB 1205) was one of 10 signed by DeSantis on Friday and was pushed by big business groups who have bemoaned ads by law firms they deem misleading.

Under the measure, which takes effect July 1, legal service ads can’t be presented as a medical alert, health alert, drug alert or a PSA. Ads also can’t show state or federal government logos or insignia in a way that suggests their affiliation with the law firm. The use of the word “recall” when referring to a product that hasn’t been recalled is also banned under the bill.

Ads that deal with a faulty prescription drug or medical device will also be required to include a statement declaring that it is a “paid advertisement for legal services” at the beginning of the spot, as well as the statement, “Consult your physician before making any decision regarding prescribed medication or medical treatment.”

The bill clarifies that law firms and lawyers that make the ads are responsible for any violations, not the media outlets that air or run the ads. Violations are deemed deceptive and unfair trade practices under the new law.

The measure is one of a series of aimed at restricting lawsuits against companies Florida lawmakers have passed in the last year, including measures to end one-way attorney fees and assignment of benefit contracts in property insurance claims; limit attorney fees; reduce statute of limitations to bring an action for negligence from four years to two years; and raise the bar to prove a bad faith claim.

Those changes have long been sought by big business lobby groups who have claimed Florida is a “judicial hellhole,” as the Florida Chamber of Commerce has described it.