There was a bill introduced at the legislature this session prohibiting lawyers from sending letters offering their services to folks accused of crimes until 30 days after the arrest. It seems to be modeled on the statute which places a 40-day moratorium on contacting victims of accidents. I don’t know who sponsored the thing, but it is a good guess that it was a lawyer.
When I wore the disciplinary counsel hat, it was a frequent thing to get a call from a judge or a lawyer complaining that some friend or client who had been arrested was being bombed with letters. My invariable response was that as long as the letter bore the "legal advertising" legend on the letter and envelope in red ink and began with the talismanic, "If you have already retained a lawyer…," there was no offense. No one was ever happy with that answer.
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