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St. Thomas Law Review

First Page

91

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This article will discuss the history of the commercial speech doctrine as part of the First Amendment, its past and present protection, and the current test applied to state regulation of commercial speech, concentrating on state regulation of in-person solicitations of professionals, like attorneys and CPAs. This article will further discuss the reasons why an attorney's in-person solicitations can and should be regulated by the states, and why the same reasons apply to CPAs. Additionally, this article will discuss the United States Supreme Court's 1993 decision, Edenfield v. Fane, where the Court held that states cannot regulate in-person solicitations of public accounting services, and this author's proposal that the case was wrongfully decided. Finally, this article will present factors and a sample statute for states to consider when regulating in-person solicitation of CPAs and other professionals, as well as how to implement this regulation consistent with the First Amendment.

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