{"id":4432,"date":"2006-03-15T17:30:01","date_gmt":"2006-03-15T21:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2006\/03\/15\/ny-heavy-hitters-get-dumped-w"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:54:05","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:54:05","slug":"ny-heavy-hitters-get-dumped-who-you-gonna-sue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2006\/03\/15\/ny-heavy-hitters-get-dumped-who-you-gonna-sue\/","title":{"rendered":"n.y. heavy hitters get dumped: who you gonna sue?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Residents of the New York Capital Region got to see images of our <\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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own legal “Heavy Hitters,” <\/FONT>Martin, Harding & Mazzotti<\/FONT><\/A>, from a different <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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perspective this week.   Instead of watching the staged tv commercials, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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or reading their full-page phonebook ad in the comfort of our homes, we<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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got to see news cameras pan in on a mountain of upside-down Heavy-<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Hitters ads — staring up from the back cover of thousands of new, but <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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never delivered, Verizon<\/FONT><\/A> Superpages phone books. CapitalNews9<\/EM> [Albany, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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NY], <\/FONT>“<\/FONT>Phone Book Dumping<\/FONT><\/A>,” March 13 – 15, 2006; <\/FONT>Troy<\/EM> [NY] Record<\/EM>, <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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New phone books dumped in Speigletown<\/FONT><\/A>, March 14, 2006.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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                                                                                \"HeavyHittersCoverG\"  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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                                                                                                             <\/FONT>full-size<\/FONT><\/A>, in color<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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Fox23 News<\/EM> reported<\/FONT><\/A> on Sunday that: <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“Fire Fighters responding to a brushfire in Rensselaer County <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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find more than just flames — Close by, tens of thousands of <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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phone books that should have been delivered, instead dumped <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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in the middle of the woods. . . .  Not only is the Department of <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Environmental Conservation investigating…. now Verizon is trying <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to track down who’s responsible for skipping out on the job.” <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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Fox23 also noted that each copy of the Verizon phone book costs $2.50 to<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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produce.  It quotes Brian Houle, owner of Brianne’s Flowers and Gifts Boutique,<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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whose ad appears in the dumped phone books.  He aptly notes: “if I wanted to <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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advertise to hunters, I’d have put it in a hunting <\/FONT><\/FONT>magazine.” <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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“phoneBooks9”  CapitalNews9<\/FONT><\/EM><\/A><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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The Troy Record<\/EM> stated that “Authorities received unconfirmed reports that a <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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white Dodge Ram pickup truck drove into the woods carrying a palette of phone <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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books.  Our local NBC affiliate, <\/FONT>WNYT13<\/FONT><\/A>, added yesterday that:<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“Debbie Johnson of Verizon says three people from the area dumped <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the books in Raymertown and in Spiegeltown. <\/FONT>The people, she says, <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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were hired by the distribution vendor, DDA. <\/FONT>The phone books, which <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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were dumped and some set on fire, were supposed to be delivered in <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Troy. <\/FONT>Johnson says Verizon plans to conduct an audit to make sure <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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no advertisers or customers are left without books. <\/FONT>The company does <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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not have the names of those arrested yet.”<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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I suspect that the culprits will be named in newscasts very soon<\/FONT>.  Some Troy <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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residents may not have minded missing their third new telephone book of the <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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month <\/FONT>(see our <\/FONT>prior post<\/FONT><\/A> from March 9).  Nonetheless, I bet a lot of the adver-<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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tisers <\/FONT><\/FONT>are itching for someone to sue.  Aren’t they lucky they have a bunch of <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Heavy <\/A><\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT>Hitters<\/FONT><\/A><\/EM> who should be among the most aggrieved yellow-pages advertisers.   <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Maybe we’ll soon <\/FONT><\/FONT>see just <\/FONT><\/FONT>how hard <\/FONT>Martin, Harding & Mazzotti<\/FONT> can hit.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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“heavyHittersMHM”  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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without consent
my old sneakers
in the trash<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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   Tom Clausen<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A> <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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   – Homework<\/EM> (<\/FONT>Snapshot Press<\/FONT><\/A> 2000)<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV><\/FONT><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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vivid dreams<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the din of a garbage truck <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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drives you away<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV>
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   Yu Chang<\/STRONG> – <\/FONT><\/FONT>Upstate Dim Sum<\/FONT><\/EM><\/A> <\/FONT>(<\/FONT>2004\/II<\/FONT><\/A>)<\/FONT> <\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT>
<\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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distant thunder<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the home run hitter<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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drops a bunt<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV>
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  Ed Markowski<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A>
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  – <\/STRONG> games<\/EM> (pawEprint 78, Nov. 2004)<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/DIV><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/FONT>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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\"tiny  To get serious for a moment, let’s return to our earlier topic  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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in “heavy breathing over “heavy hitting” lawyers<\/FONT><\/A>,” from March 3rd:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Is it in some way deceptive or unfair to consumers for a law firm to <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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call itself a “Heavy Hitter<\/EM>,” as attorney advertising regulataors in Nev-<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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ada recently concluded?   We don’t think so<\/A>.  Solo California p\/i lawyer <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Jonathan G. Stein<\/FONT> does<\/A>.  Stein also worries about the profession’s image <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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and his ability to get a jury picked that is not biased against plaintiffs’ <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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lawyers.   We give consumers (and jurors) more credit than that.  Con-<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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sumers know when they are seeing an advertising persona or gimmick.  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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They don’t think <\/FONT><\/FONT>Glen Lerner<\/FONT><\/A> in<\/FONT> Nevada actually spins inside tornados, <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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nor that Mssrs. Martin & Harding float around construction sites.  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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On the <\/FONT>other <\/FONT>hand, Stein says his is “your neighborhood law firm<\/FONT><\/A>.”  Is <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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that any <\/FONT>more understandable, meaningful, verifiable than the Heavy <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Hitter slogan?  Is it more or less likely than “Heavy Hitters” to make <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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consumers cynical about lawyers and their intentions?<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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“BathTubG” <\/FONT>potluck<\/STRONG><\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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I’ve been meaning to thank Suz-at-Large<\/FONT><\/A><\/EM> for <\/FONT>pointing<\/FONT><\/A> to <\/FONT>our post<\/FONT><\/A>   <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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about the Early Bather Lawsuit, which was <\/FONT>brought by dutiful son  <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Sheldon H. Smith<\/FONT><\/A> <\/FONT>in Denver, on behalf of his light-sleeping parents. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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She also points out that there is a new <\/FONT>weblog by Mark Beese<\/FONT><\/A>, the <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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marketing director for Smith’s firm, Holland & Hart. It’s called Leader-<\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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ship for Lawyers<\/EM>.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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Suz had an <\/FONT>earlier piece<\/FONT><\/A> on the case (Feb. 22, 2006), with the sub-    \"donkey\"<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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headline: “The Law is Not An Ass, But No Thanks to Some Lawyers.”<\/EM><\/FONT> <\/EM><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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The hearing in this case is set for next Wednesday, March 22.  If <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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anyone hears about a settlement, please let us know. <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/P>
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unrung phone<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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she won’t stop<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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leaving me alone<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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    dagosan<\/EM><\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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                                                                                            “verizonDumped”<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-19u","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4432"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12735,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4432\/revisions\/12735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}