Western Kentucky University
Exploration of Public Perceptions of the Credibility of Attorney Class-Action Lawsuit Advertising
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Sophomore
Institution 23-24
Western Kentucky University
KY House District #
23
KY Senate District #
9
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Jacob Byl, J.D.
Abstract
Attorneys often advertise for class action clients, including in cases involving pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices. There is a recent push to regulate the content of these advertisements because medical professionals fear that citizens are receiving misleading or false information from attorneys using hyperbolic statements about the dangers of certain drugs. Although these advertisements often include dramatic risk information, they may also help disseminate helpful information about drug side effects. To better understand how people perceive these attorney advertisements and the ways they are regulated, we conducted a national survey of 1,292 participants to gather information about how people feel about credibility of these advertisements and how regulation of the advertisements affects those perceptions of credibility. We find that Democrats are generally in favor of more federal regulation of these ads, as are non-Trump supporting Republicans. Trump voters would find federal regulation of these advertisements less credible, perhaps indicating a general distrust in government bureaucracy and regulation. Our results indicate that a slight majority of participants would feel less confident in the credibility of these advertisements if the federal government were to regulate them. Given the importance of this issue, more research is needed to understand the factors that affect a citizen's confidence in government regulation in order to strike the right balance to encourage the market to provide credible information to consumers.
Exploration of Public Perceptions of the Credibility of Attorney Class-Action Lawsuit Advertising
Attorneys often advertise for class action clients, including in cases involving pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices. There is a recent push to regulate the content of these advertisements because medical professionals fear that citizens are receiving misleading or false information from attorneys using hyperbolic statements about the dangers of certain drugs. Although these advertisements often include dramatic risk information, they may also help disseminate helpful information about drug side effects. To better understand how people perceive these attorney advertisements and the ways they are regulated, we conducted a national survey of 1,292 participants to gather information about how people feel about credibility of these advertisements and how regulation of the advertisements affects those perceptions of credibility. We find that Democrats are generally in favor of more federal regulation of these ads, as are non-Trump supporting Republicans. Trump voters would find federal regulation of these advertisements less credible, perhaps indicating a general distrust in government bureaucracy and regulation. Our results indicate that a slight majority of participants would feel less confident in the credibility of these advertisements if the federal government were to regulate them. Given the importance of this issue, more research is needed to understand the factors that affect a citizen's confidence in government regulation in order to strike the right balance to encourage the market to provide credible information to consumers.