FOR YOUR INFORMATION................June 9, 1987



     The Federal Trade Commission staff has said that proposals
to modify rules regulating Florida attorneys would, to a limited
extent, benefit consumers, but that some of the proposals would
hurt consumers and should be modified.
     The Florida Supreme Court is considering a petition from the
state bar association to modify the rules.
     In a statement submitted to the court, the FTC staff said
that the proposed rules "would relax the restrictions on fees and
should permit more price competition than do the existing
rules."  The staff added, "We are concerned, however, that some
of the other proposed rules may harm consumers by discouraging
referrals and associations between attorneys, and by
unnecessarily limiting the information available to consumers."
     The staff said that, so as not to reduce the quality of
legal services offered to the public, it supported a proposal
that would relax restrictions on the "reasonableness" of fees and
also recommended that the Court remove the ceilings on contingent
fees.
     In order to help consumers select the attorney best
qualified to handle their cases, the staff recommended that the
court allow referrals and associations of attorneys in different
law firms for particular cases, and allow the payment of referral
fees and participation in for-profit lawyer referral services.
The staff also said that consumers might be provided with a range
of professional services if the court eliminated a restriction
against practice with nonlawyers.
     So that consumers could more easily obtain information about
lawyers' services, the FTC staff recommended that the court:


    --   allow the use of truthful, nondeceptive endorsements and
         experience, success, and comparison claims;

    --   eliminate a requirement that advertisements "comport
         with the dignity of the profession";

    --   remove the broad ban on solicitation; and

    --   allow express and implied claims of specialty and
         certification.

     The statement represents the views of the FTC's Bureaus of
Competition, Consumer Protection, and Economics, and does not
necessarily reflect the views of the Commission or any individual
Commissioner.
     Copies of the statement are available from the FTC's Public
Reference Branch, Room 130, 6th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-2222; TTY 202-326-2502.

                              # # #


MEDIA CONTACT:     Susan Ticknor, Office of Public Affairs,
                   202-326-2179

STAFF CONTACT:     Charles W. Corddry III, Bureau of Competition,
                   202-326-2920

(FlaAtty)