The American Tort Reform Association released a new analysis today revealing that spending on local legal services advertising in Oregon almost doubled in 2025, soaring to $8.6 million — a leap fueled largely by a surge in high-impact television and radio ads.
The report found that local lawyer TV advertising jumped 106% in a single year, reaching an estimated $5.46 million in 2025, while radio ad spending rose to $1.54 million last year — a more than 430% increase since 2021.
“These ads aren’t just noise between morning traffic and the evening news,” said Lauren Sheets Jarrell, ATRA’s vice president and counsel for civil justice policy. “They’re part of a sophisticated, multimillion‑dollar effort to recruit clients, shape public opinion, and ultimately expand avenues for litigation — often at the expense of consumer safety and trust.”
Across the U.S., trial lawyers and aggregators increasingly pour billions annually into these ads, many of which use fear-based messaging around medical devices and pharmaceuticals, which can prompt patients to stop necessary treatments without consulting their doctors.
“Oregonians deserve to know that many of these ads are more than just tacky jingles,” Sheets Jarrell said. “They can sow fear, erode trust in health care professionals, and encourage litigation that drives up costs for everyone.”
Every Oregon resident pays $1,401 each year in a hidden “tort tax” due to excessive litigation costs, which further leads to a loss of roughly 51,410 jobs across the state annually.
Top spenders in Oregon’s 2025 legal ad market included firms such as Advocates Injury Attorneys, Craig Swapp & Associates, and Gatti Law Firm, which together accounted for millions in airtime across the state’s major media markets.
“We’re seeing through data one way in which the plaintiffs’ bar is investing heavily in Oregon as a business opportunity, while state lawmakers simultaneously are considering policies that would make it easier to sue.”
A public hearing is scheduled for Thursday in the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection on House Bill 4098. The bill, sponsored by Democratic lawmakers Sen. Floyd Prozanski and Rep. April Dobson, would dramatically expand private lawsuits under the state’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act, potentially creating the most aggressive insurance litigation framework in the country while lacking protective mechanisms adopted by other states.
“HB 4098 would open the door to unprecedented litigation and right as trial lawyers are flooding the airwaves to recruit new clients,” said Sheets Jarrell. “Expanding avenues for lawsuits may sound like consumer protection, but in practice, it’s the consumers who pay the price — in higher premiums, fewer choices, and an economy weighed down by excessive litigation.”
The full Oregon legal advertising report is based on data from MediaRadar and is available at atra.org.
