Competition

• Author: International Law Group

Three lawyers of a Geislingen law firm filed a suit that challenged the issuance of "vanity" telephone numbers that refer to "lawyer" or "law firm," such as the telephone number 0800-RECHTSANWALT (Editorial Note: The U.S. analogue would be "1-800-LAWYER").

Plaintiffs alleged that this kind of telephone number causes or promotes anticompetitive behavior on the part of lawyers. The Ulm district court enjoined lawyers' use of such telephone numbers. Defendants appealed to the State Supreme Court in Stuttgart.

This Court has held that attorney advertising with a vanity telephone number breaches Section 43 b of the Federal Regulation of Attorneys (Bundesrechtsanwaltsordnung, BRAO). The Court affirms in this case also, holding that the lower courts correctly barred defendant from offering or actually assigning such telephone numbers to lawyers. Section 43 b of the BRAO restricts lawyer advertising to general and rational statements that do not specifically solicit a client.

A vanity number, however...