Residents of the New York Capital Region got to see images of our
own legal “Heavy Hitters,” Martin, Harding & Mazzotti, from a different
perspective this week. Instead of watching the staged tv commercials,
or reading their full-page phonebook ad in the comfort of our homes, we
got to see news cameras pan in on a mountain of upside-down Heavy-
Hitters ads — staring up from the back cover of thousands of new, but
never delivered, Verizon Superpages phone books. CapitalNews9 [Albany,
NY], “Phone Book Dumping,” March 13 – 15, 2006; Troy [NY] Record,
New phone books dumped in Speigletown, March 14, 2006.
full-size, in color
Fox23 News reported on Sunday that:
“Fire Fighters responding to a brushfire in Rensselaer County
find more than just flames — Close by, tens of thousands of
phone books that should have been delivered, instead dumped
in the middle of the woods. . . . Not only is the Department of
Environmental Conservation investigating…. now Verizon is trying
to track down who’s responsible for skipping out on the job.”
Fox23 also noted that each copy of the Verizon phone book costs $2.50 to
produce. It quotes Brian Houle, owner of Brianne’s Flowers and Gifts Boutique,
whose ad appears in the dumped phone books. He aptly notes: “if I wanted to
advertise to hunters, I’d have put it in a hunting magazine.”
“phoneBooks9” CapitalNews9
The Troy Record stated that “Authorities received unconfirmed reports that a
white Dodge Ram pickup truck drove into the woods carrying a palette of phone
books. Our local NBC affiliate, WNYT13, added yesterday that:
“Debbie Johnson of Verizon says three people from the area dumped
the books in Raymertown and in Spiegeltown. The people, she says,
were hired by the distribution vendor, DDA. The phone books, which
were dumped and some set on fire, were supposed to be delivered in
Troy. Johnson says Verizon plans to conduct an audit to make sure
no advertisers or customers are left without books. The company does
not have the names of those arrested yet.”
I suspect that the culprits will be named in newscasts very soon. Some Troy
residents may not have minded missing their third new telephone book of the
month (see our prior post from March 9). Nonetheless, I bet a lot of the adver-
tisers are itching for someone to sue. Aren’t they lucky they have a bunch of
Maybe we’ll soon see just how hard Martin, Harding & Mazzotti can hit.
“heavyHittersMHM”
without consent
my old sneakers
in the trash
– Homework (Snapshot Press 2000)
To get serious for a moment, let’s return to our earlier topic
in “heavy breathing over “heavy hitting” lawyers,” from March 3rd:
Is it in some way deceptive or unfair to consumers for a law firm to
call itself a “Heavy Hitter,” as attorney advertising regulataors in Nev-
ada recently concluded? We don’t think so. Solo California p/i lawyer
Jonathan G. Stein does. Stein also worries about the profession’s image
and his ability to get a jury picked that is not biased against plaintiffs’
lawyers. We give consumers (and jurors) more credit than that. Con-
sumers know when they are seeing an advertising persona or gimmick.
They don’t think Glen Lerner in Nevada actually spins inside tornados,
nor that Mssrs. Martin & Harding float around construction sites.
On the other hand, Stein says his is “your neighborhood law firm.” Is
that any more understandable, meaningful, verifiable than the Heavy
Hitter slogan? Is it more or less likely than “Heavy Hitters” to make
consumers cynical about lawyers and their intentions?
“BathTubG” potluck
about the Early Bather Lawsuit, which was brought by dutiful son
Sheldon H. Smith in Denver, on behalf of his light-sleeping parents.
She also points out that there is a new weblog by Mark Beese, the
marketing director for Smith’s firm, Holland & Hart. It’s called Leader-
ship for Lawyers.
Suz had an earlier piece on the case (Feb. 22, 2006), with the sub-
headline: “The Law is Not An Ass, But No Thanks to Some Lawyers.”
The hearing in this case is set for next Wednesday, March 22. If
anyone hears about a settlement, please let us know.
unrung phone
she won’t stop
leaving me alone
“verizonDumped”
Caesar Bust [Sandro Vannini/Corbis] 
Thanks largely to Shakespeare’s line, in 
