Law Dogs: Banned in Florida

At ALM Research, we have our own dog mascot, Data Dog, who even has his own site on the blog. And Womble Carlyle has their mascot, Winston the Bulldog, who appears in the firm’s ads and on their Web site. But the Florida Bar ruled that the law firm Paper and Chandler could not use this image of a pit bull in its ads because they say it is “demeaning” to the profession. Larry Bodine posted about the situation on his blog, noting that “firm mascots are a powerful marketing tool that firms can use to establish a recognizable brand.” But he also poses the question: “Is use of a pit bull or bull dog or other kind of animal advertising ‘demeaning’ to the profession? Or is it clever marketing?”