Burger Calls Lawyers’ Ads ‘Shysterism’

Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, who has repeatedly voiced his opposition to advertising by lawyers, said Sunday that some of the ads are “sheer shysterism” and that he would “dig ditches” before resorting to advertising.

“My advice to the public is never, never, never, under any circumstances, engage the services of a lawyer who advertises,” Burger told an American Bar Assn. commission at the ABA’s convention.

“I am not ready to say that publicly yet, but someday I will,” he said at the unpublicized session. The tone of Burger’s comments indicated that he believed the session was off the record. A spokesman for Burger said later that he would have no comment.

Burger said that “I’d go out and dig ditches before (advertising in that way). . . . Any idea we need the kind of advertising I am addressing . . . the kind that I call sheer shysterism, is nonsense.”