Why are there so many lawyer billboards in Las Vegas?
Need a lawyer? It’s almost guaranteed that you’ll find one on any major street in Las Vegas.
Some legal billboards line streets with catchy phrases, getting chuckles from drivers.
Other billboards communicate the seriousness of injury law, hoping to draw new clients who have suffered injuries in car crashes or other incidents.
Despite the funny or serious nature of billboards, they’re hard to miss.
But why so many?
Local lawyers who have their own billboards say that marketing through billboards does particularly well in the Las Vegas Valley.
Billboards work in Las Vegas, and that may be a reason why legal advertising is prominent, said injury attorney Meesha Moulton.
“Vegas is a very unique market in the sense that billboards are very effective out here. I think that casinos and hotels use them often to advertise different restaurants and shows,” said Moulton, who has about 11 billboards around the Vegas Valley.
Billboard marketing has thus expanded out into the legal world, Moulton explained.
Some might assume that injury lawyers advertise heavily because Las Vegas has rising rates of traffic crashes. From 2022 to 2023, there was a 17.8 percent increase in fatal collisions, according to Las Vegas police.
However, attorneys who put up billboards say otherwise.
“I don’t think anybody is ever going to hire you based on the billboard alone,” Moulton said.
“I think it just creates the awareness of your brand and creates that curiosity where someone would further research you,” Moulton continued.
Moulton takes on negligence-related cases, which could be car crashes, slip-and-falls, product defects and dog bites, she said.
Previous restrictions
Legal advertising in Nevada has not always been so prominent. Two decades ago, the state had tighter restrictions than it does now.
Old regulations prevented attorneys from dramatizing or exaggerating instances that call for legal services.
However, in 2004, a Nevada Supreme Court committee began to review rules regarding legal advertising.
A slew of new recommendations were made, including that if fee arrangements were made, the entire fee arrangement should be advertised.
This came after a firm advertised low-percentage contingency fees but did not disclose that the percentage would be increased if a case was not resolved in 30 days.
New and old firms
Farhan Naqvi, whose firm is known for its prolific billboards, said the billboards help fight against the idea that people filing injury claims are in it solely for money.
“The big insurance companies and the corporations suggest somehow that people that pursue claims are doing it for reasons other than getting compensated for their injuries,” Naqvi said.
Naqvi’s firm is focused on getting justice for clients that were the victims of product defects and car crashes.
Billboards for Naqvi Law subconsciously communicate other values the firm holds, Naqvi explained.
For example, paying attention to details on the billboard communicates that attorneys will be detail-oriented in cases, as well.
“They see the fact that we care about the details. And I think that’s a bigger reflection, more than anything else, and more than the messaging itself,” Naqvi noted.
Billboards help newer firms as well as firms that have been around for years.
“I am a newer firm as of the last few years even though I’ve been practicing for a long time, but it’s really just to get my name out there,” Moulton said.
Contact Annie Vong at avong@reviewjournal.com
A previous version of this story mispelled Farhan Naqvi’s first name.
