image via YouTube
When it comes to small law firms, getting attention from the world at large (read: potential clients) is the first order of business. At Above the Law, we’ve seen plenty of bold, or erm, interesting attorney advertisements that are designed to make you remember them if and when you find yourself in need of legal services.
Two Waco, Texas attorneys, Will Hutson and Chris Harris, have a novel (and harmonized) approach to attorney advertising. The pair, who both come from musical families, opted to sing and perform in lieu of a traditional lawyer blog. And the endeavor has been successful. One of their most popular pieces, Don’t Eat Your Weed, has over 500,000 (and counting) views on YouTube. And as ABA Journal reports, the catchy ditty counsels against destroying evidence which carries a much stiffer penalty in Texas than marijuana possession:
“Tampering with evidence doesn’t make any sense. Let the cops find your weed,” the two sing in a folk-country style, complete with a Waylon Jennings-esque drawl while strumming guitars on their music video, “Don’t Eat Your Weed.” “There’s a kind of probation called deferred adjudication, and there’s lots of other ways to plead. It’s just a misdemeanor. You can hire a cleaner to get it off your record.”
However, if you make the mistake of destroying, swallowing or trying to hide the evidence, it becomes a felony in Texas.
“As the officer approaches, you try to eat your roaches and you throw your weed out the door. Oh no, the cop sees you ’cause that’s what he’s trained to do. And now you’re in big trouble!” they sing.
Here’s the full piece in all its glory:
Harris credits the ploy with helping to humanize them as lawyers. And of course increasing their relevance and the number of inquiries they receive from potential clients:
“I think it’s intimidating for people to call lawyers,” Harris says. “They feel like they get a sense of who we are before they ever talk to us. Trust is huge in our business.”
As for whether the videos have helped the firm’s bottom line, Hutson says he’s received more phone calls and web queries. Harris, meanwhile, says his civil practice probably hasn’t been helped by a song about marijuana. Nevertheless, he says the firm’s web relevance score has increased, and they get inquiries from a broader base of people than before.
Their repertoire is more than just weed-related songs. They also have a popular number about the Fifth Amendment:
And Hutson and Harris also have “secular” songs. The duo perform as Alamo Basement (shout out to Pee Wee’s Big Adventure) and have recently crowdfunded enough money to record an album. The jury is still out on whether any of their “regular” songs are as good as “Don’t Eat Your Weed.”
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).