A recent Law 360 story by Lynn LaRowe, “NJ Atty Reprimanded For Claiming ’Lowest’ Fees In The State’”, reports that a New Jersey lawyer has been reprimanded by the state's highest court for touting on his website that his firm offered "the lowest fees in the state," as well as for related misconduct, court records show. In an order, the New Jersey Supreme Court accepted the recommendation of its Disciplinary Review Board to reprimand Alan N. Walkow, who was reportedly based in Oakhurst when he operated the website in 2019.
The website violated professional conduct rules by misleading potential clients with the claim that the firm had "attorneys" when Walkow was actually a solo practitioner, and by claiming to have "the lowest fees in the state," according to the board's decision. The board noted that Walkow "could not have known the rates of all lawyers in the state," adding that the state's professional rules of conduct prohibit a lawyer from comparing their services to that of other lawyers in advertising unless the claim can be substantiated.
The board also faulted the attorney for failing to cooperate with disciplinary authorities while a complaint was pending against him from the state's Office of Attorney Ethics. Walkow failed to respond to certified, regular and email correspondence sent to him by the OAE after it launched an investigation in response to a referral from the state's Committee on Attorney Advertising. The ethics office also published notices about the complaint in several area legal publications. Walkow phoned the ethics committee in February 2020 and told them he was no longer practicing law, had moved and provided them with new contact information.
Walkow never filed a written response to the referral and failed to appear for a virtual demand interview in June 2022. "Respondent violated this [rule of professional conduct] twice – first, by failing to participate in any way in the OAE's investigation of the CAA's referral, and again by failing to answer the complaint," the disciplinary review board said in its decision.
A formal complaint was filed against Walkow in November 2022, which resulted in the current reprimand for failing to participate in the investigation, for failing to respond to the complaint and for misleading advertising. "Additionally, respondent did not include the disclaimer regarding the fact that his advertisement had not been approved by the court," the decision said.
Walkow was previously reprimanded in March for practicing law while his license was suspended for failing to keep up with continuing legal education requirements. "It should be noted that respondent also defaulted in the matter in which the court recently reprimanded him," the disciplinary board's decision said. "Thus, having experienced the disciplinary processes underpinning that matter, respondent had a heightened awareness of his obligation to cooperate with disciplinary authorities."