Marketing Communication as an Instrument Designed to Shape Image of Advocates and Legal Counsels – What Forms of Client Impact Are Permitted and How Are They Perceived in Legal Circles

The article aims to examine what opportunities advocates (in Polish: adwokat) and legal counsels (radca prawny) have in Poland to undertake promotional activities, as well as to find out what is lawyers’ opinion regarding the use of selected marketing communication instruments by the aforesaid legal professionals. The paper is a scholarly and research publication, and its coverage fits both into the fields of law and management and quality studies. Exploring the issue in question fills the identified research gap, in particular, as regards the juxtaposition of existing provisions contained in codes of ethics and opinions about them expressed by legal professionals. The research problem was determined as follows: To what extent are advocates and legal counsels aware of the opportunities – consistent with the legislation in force – for their use of respective marketing communication forms and how do they perceive activity aimed at soliciting clients and creating an image of a law firm in their minds? The research conducted was qualitative in nature, with the method employed being an individual in-depth interview, which was also a semi-structured interview. The group of respondents was comprised of nine advocates and legal counsels. The research was limited to Poland, and its results provide significant findings and conclusions about lawyers’ perception of promotional activities, the assessment of whether they are ethical and determinants for effectiveness. The research results have practical implications. They can be used not only by advertising agencies providing their services to law firms, but also by advocates and legal counsels engaged in promotional activities on their own.