The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) has reported that trial lawyer advertising expenditure reached $2.5 billion in 2024, surpassing the spending on pizza restaurant advertisements. Nearly 27 million legal services ads were aired nationwide, according to a press release issued on March 5.
According to the press release, there was a significant increase in legal services advertising spending, which rose by approximately 39% from 2020 to 2024. This growth was observed across multiple platforms, with out-of-home advertising alone reaching $541.6 million in 2024—a 260% increase since 2017. Las Vegas emerged as one of the top U.S. media markets for legal ad spending, indicative of the city's competitive legal services landscape.
In Nevada, trial lawyers spent over $137 million on more than 1.6 million legal ads in 2023, with personal injury firms accounting for over 63% of this messaging. Several leading advertisers such as Richard Harris Law Firm and Naqvi Injury Law are also among the state's prominent political donors. ATRA noted that Nevada residents face an annual "tort tax" exceeding $1,100 each due to excessive tort costs, which are linked to over 31,000 lost jobs statewide.
The Institute for Legal Reform highlights that third-party litigation funding allows external investors like hedge funds to finance lawsuits in exchange for a portion of the payout. These investors can influence case outcomes despite not being parties to the cases themselves and often do so without disclosure. However, some courts and states have begun implementing limited transparency requirements.
ATRA further states that Joyce is an alumnus of Princeton University and Catholic University Law School. He previously served as a legislative assistant to Senator John C. Danforth before becoming minority counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee and has held his current position since August 1994.