Deceptive Web Ads Misleading Maine Consumers Seeking Free Legal Services

Bernstein Shur files federal lawsuit against online company on behalf of Pine Tree Legal Assistance

PORTLAND, Maine - Low-income Mainers searching online for free legal services are being deceived by a web advertisement illegally using the Pine Tree Legal Assistance trademark to lure unwitting consumers, according to a federal lawsuit filed by Bernstein Shur on behalf of Pine Tree Legal.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Portland on Feb. 28, seeks an injunction to prevent the defendant, LegalMatch.com Corporation, from continuing to use web advertisements to confuse consumers.

“Pine Tree Legal is dedicated to giving free legal assistance to low-income people in Maine, often in times of significant needs related to adequate housing, health care, and protection from abuse. These web advertisements confuse people when they are most vulnerable,” said attorney Arnold C. Macdonald of Bernstein Shur. “We fear that many people who are trying to access the free legal services offered by Pine Tree Legal end up confused or deceived by these web advertisements.”

The suit by non-profit Pine Tree Legal Assistance seeks damages against the San Francisco-based online company for trademark infringement, unfair, and deceptive trade practices, and false advertisement. Attorneys Macdonald and John G. Osborn with Bernstein Shur in Maine, and attorneys Thomas C. Mahlum and Damien A. Riehl from Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi, L.L.P, a national law firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, are handling Pine Tree’s case pro bono.

According to the lawsuit, LegalMatch uses “keyword” advertising on online search engines that are triggered when someone types in the terms Pine Tree Legal or Pine Tree Legal Assistance, which are both considered trademarks of Maine’s largest legal service provider for low-income individuals. Since 1967, Pine Tree Legal has served more than 500,000 Maine people from six offices across the state.

In the Yahoo search engine, for example, the LegalMatch ad appears at the top of the screen with the heading Find Pine Tree Legal Assistance Services. Viewers who “click through” are directed to the commercial LegalMatch site. The site states in large, bold letters that the service is “Fast, Free, and Confidential,” which the suit claims is intended to comport with the misdirected consumers’ expectations of Pine Tree Legal Assistance, which offers free and confidential legal services.

In contrast, however, LegalMatch’s customers must ultimately pay for any legal services rendered, though that fact is not clearly provided to consumers, the suit alleges. Misdirected consumers on the LegalMatch website are encouraged to “Find a Lawyer Now” by entering their city, state, and zip code.

On the subsequent page, consumers are told that they must go through a 20-minute process of filling out an online form, including their contact information and the nature of their legal issue. LegalMatch provides that information to a local attorney, who pays a referral fee to LegalMatch and charges for legal services rendered to the consumer.

The LegalMatch ads are “an attempt to siphon off web traffic looking for [Pine Tree Legal Assistance] and to purposely confuse consumers into believing there is an affiliation between LegalMatch and Pine Tree Legal Assistance,” according to the lawsuit.

Pine Tree Legal Assistance is seeking damages and asking a judge to order LegalMatch to stop using the Pine Tree Legal trademark, post corrective advertising on its website, and fund an advertising campaign to enable Pine Tree Legal to correct the misperceptions.

About Pine Tree Legal Assistance
Pine Tree Legal Assistance has provided free legal assistance to more than 500,000 Mainers since 1967. With nearly 30 attorneys and 55 total employees, Pine Tree Legal has six offices, located in Portland, Lewiston, Augusta, Bangor, Machias, and Presque Isle, and currently supports a fellowship attorney based in Alfred with the York County Shelters.

Under federal guidelines, Pine Tree Legal Assistance is available to assist persons with household incomes at or below 125% of the federal poverty rate, which constitutes roughly 20 percent of Maine’s population. Each year, more than 50,000 people contact Pine Tree Legal seeking help with their legal problems.

When Pine Tree Legal Assistance launched its website – www.ptla.org – in 1996, it was the second legal services program in the country to do so, and it was the first to make client education and self-help materials available over the Internet. Since 2001, the site has become one of the most popular legal services sites in the country.

About Bernstein Shur
Bernstein Shur is one of northern New England’s largest full-service law firms, with more than 80 attorneys in Portland and Augusta, Maine and Manchester, New Hampshire. Established in 1915, the firm provides practical legal counsel to a diverse group of public and private clients throughout the region and around the world. For more information, visit bernsteinshur.com.

About Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P (www.rkmc.com) is a national law firm with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Naples (Fla.), and Washington, D.C.

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