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More and more companies are getting in on April Fools’ Day fun, including an area company in an industry not generally known for being tongue-and-cheek.
St. Petersburg-based Gallagher & Associates Law Firm PA sent out a press release this year about its launch of a holographic “Pocket Lawyer” app. The release says the app is available through Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store for $15. It comes with a holographic lawyer feature that allows clients’ smart phones to “project a 3-D hologram in order to advocate on specific matters.”
The statement was posted April 1.
Managing Partner Charles Gallagher tells Coffee Talk the idea of a holographic lawyer might be going too far, but he says there could be a need for an app that provides answers for small businesses and consumers with legal questions.
From an April Fool's standpoint, the post was a hit.
“Everyone tried to go to iTunes and couldn’t find it,” Gallagher says. He says people kept asking him how they could download the app. He had to spill the beans, telling them it was an April Fools’ joke. “The fun part is the responses.”
The firm’s history of publishing April Fools’ Day stories goes back to around 2012. It used to run the stories in the firm’s newsletter, but since it stopped publishing a newsletter, the firm shares its April Fools’ messages through press releases, its email list and social media. “The idea was to have a laugh and be humorous with clients,” Gallagher says.
The practice handles cases on behalf of consumers in the real estate, insurance and banking industries.
Over the years, the firm has created several April Fools’ Day stories, both legal-related and otherwise. Past stories include one about implantable cell phones, NFL referees using Segways during football games, trial by combat and one of the firm’s law clerks taking a leave of absence to star in the MTV show “The Hills.”
One April Fools’ Day post from the firm included details about a dress code for lawyers imposed by the Florida Bar. The guidelines said lawyers could only wear suits in certain colors like navy, black and brown and ties only in certain colors, too. People wrote in about that one, Gallagher says. Some liked the change and told him, “It’s about time.” When he told them it wasn’t true, the response was laughter. Then they said, “You got me really good.”
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