In 2024, legal services ads hit $164 million in LA, part of a 39% national rise, fueling aggressive marketing, third-party funding, and straining California’s economy and courts.
In 2024, a staggering $164 million was spent on more than 725,000 legal services advertisements in Los Angeles alone. This isn’t just a local phenomenon; it’s part of a national trend that saw spending on legal services advertising surge by 39% in 2024 when compared to 2020. Last year, roughly $2.5 billion was spent on nearly 27 million legal services ads across the country. In comparison, pizza restaurants spent $1.1 billion on 4.1 million ads. Welcome to the modern trial lawyer playbook – a strategy that’s reshaping the legal landscape and potentially jeopardizing California’s economic future.
A recent report on legal services advertising from my organization, the American Tort Reform Association, paints a troubling picture. The number of TV ads for legal services peaked in 2023 with more than 16.4 million spots – a 44% increase from 2017. Radio ads rose even more dramatically, with more than 6.8 million ads in 2024, a staggering 261% increase when compared with 2017.
Law firms and so-called lead generators spare no expense in deploying aggressive advertising campaigns to solicit new clients. These ads, like the accompanying lawsuits, sometimes instill unwarranted trepidation in consumers and can be bereft of scientific substantiation.
But advertising is only the tip of the iceberg. This aggressive marketing often is fueled by third-party litigation funding, a practice that has ballooned into a multi-billion-dollar industry.
Hedge funds and private equity firms now are bankrolling plaintiffs’ law firms in exchange for a cut of future settlements and verdicts. Some proponents may argue that this practice expands access to justice; however, it introduces significant ethical quandaries and distorts the traditional dynamics of litigation.
Adding another layer of complexity is the influx of foreign investment, including from sovereign wealth funds. This opaque funding potentially injects foreign influence into domestic legal matters, raising concerns about the integrity of our judicial system.
The consequences of this playbook are far-reaching. Take, for instance, the ongoing litigation against Roundup®, which has become a poster child for the intersection of third-party funding, aggressive advertising, and questionable science.
California in particular has been home to some of the more lucrative Roundup® verdicts, including a $332 million verdict in 2023 out of San Diego and an $87 million verdict in Alameda County two years prior.
In 2024, legal services ads hit $164 million in LA, part of a 39% national rise, fueling aggressive marketing, third-party funding, and straining California’s economy and courts.
