Joel Hyatt, at 34, is the Ray Kroc of law. Despite widespread criticism from his professional contemporaries, his low-cost Hyatt Legal Services chain (at the moment with 155 offices in 20 states) threatens not only to become the largest law firm of any kind in the world but to change America's ambivalent opinion of lawyers. His method: a slick national-television ad campaign (starring Joel Hyatt), storefront offices located in shopping centers with evening and weekend hours and extremely cheap rates. Bill Zehme caught up with Hyatt in Kansas City, Missouri, the firm's headquarters, and reports: "Hyatt is every bit as earnest as he seems in those commercials. He could probably be Wally and Beaver's older brother. In his office, visitors are greeted by a huge Andy Warhol lithograph of Justice Louis Brandeis, from the series 'Ten Great Jews of the 20th Century.' Hyatt swears that he often looks up from his desk and catches the legendary jurist winking at him."

Q 1

PLAYBOY: Chief Justice Warren Burger believes that lawyers enjoy such low public esteem that they are near "the bottom of the barrel" because some advertise like used-car salesmen. How do you plead?

Joel Hyatt: Not guilty. He doesn't condemn lawyer advertising; he complains about lawyers who engage in advertising not up to the standards we, as a profession, should set. I don't know what Burger's standards are, but I doubt they're any higher than mine. My ads have been acclaimed even by staunch opponents of lawyer advertising, precisely because they dignify the profession, not demean it.

Lawyers have been held in very low regard for a long time in this country--indeed, for far longer than we've had the right to advertise. It's very important to point out that, while the Chief Justice has made it clear how essential it is for the profession to make legal services more widely available at a lower cost, he has ignored the critical link between having the ability to advertise and reaching that goal. Advertising creates competition and competition reduces the cost to consumers. Hyatt Legal Services is dramatic evidence of how to do that best, because we're doing it for more people than any other law firm in the country. And we couldn't do it without advertising.

Q 2

PLAYBOY: Why are most Americans leery of lawyers?

Joel Hyatt: It didn't help when our country went through a period during which the President of the United States, the Attorney General and the special counsel to the President--all lawyers--were indicted and all but Nixon were convicted of violating laws. Lawyers have been perceived as protecting and enforcing the rights of the rich and powerful and as simply being unavailable and inapplicable to the rights and needs of middle-income people. Indeed, professional attempts to limit competition and oppose lawyer advertising are viewed by the public as being exactly what they are--cynical and greedy efforts to protect lawyers' turf rather than serve the people.

Q 3

PLAYBOY: Give us your word on this: Would you trust a lawyer if your life dependent on it?

Joel Hyatt: Yes. There are many honest, committed and talented lawyers whom I would trust if I were in serious trouble. That's not to say there aren't many lawyers whose talent and integrity don't inspire my confidence. The profession has never properly addressed its responsibility for self-regulation.

Q 4

PLAYBOY: What really slows down justice?

Joel Hyatt: Several things. Until the advent of lower-cost delivery of legal services, obtaining a lawyer was prohibitively expensive for most people. That meant that a person could not protect or enforce his rights. That's changing, but there's a lot more change necessary. First, we need to develop ways of resolving disputes without the legal system. There are many things--divorce, for one--that might be better done outside a courthouse.

Q 5

PLAYBOY: Why haven't you hired John Houseman to do your ads?

Joel Hyatt: I don't think he'd do as good a job as I do. Actually, we couldn't afford John Houseman. Also, many states prohibit the use of actors in legal ads. In Ohio, where we started, for example, the law requires that only a lawyer in full-time practice with the firm appear as the spokesperson. I was the only one of the three cofounders of Hyatt Legal Services who could practice law in Ohio. So, by default, I became the spokesperson. Most people thought that it was because of my large ego, but, in fact, it was legally mandated. Now that my wife, Suzi, has become a full partner, people keep suggesting that she do the ads. She would do a great job. But I'm not sure that my ego could withstand the increase in business that would result.