Sacramento firm sues Jacoby & Meyers over ‘Justice 4 You’

A plaintiffs’ law firm in Sacramento sued Jacoby & Meyers Law Offices LLP, claiming it infringed a copyright on the phrase “Justice 4 You.”

The complaint by Clayeo Arnold PLC seeks to force Jacoby & Meyers to stop using the phrase and close variations, and to pay damages and legal fees. Clayeo Arnold, Professional Law Corp. v. Jacoby & Meyers Law Offices, 2:23-at-01215 (E.D. Cal., filed Nov. 28, 2023).

Clayeo Arnold received a service mark on the phrase from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2021, according to the complaint, but the firm has used the moniker since 2007. Since 2010, the firm has spent almost $5.5 million “on the marketing, advertising, and promotion of the legal services sold under the Service Mark,” wrote Craig A. Simmermon, an intellectual property lawyer in Roseville who is representing the Clayeo Arnold firm.

The mark also protects “the Pseudo Marks: JUSTICE FOR YOU and JUSTICE FOUR YOU,” Simmermon contended. He declined to comment for this story.

Neither the Clayeo Arnold firm nor Jacoby & Meyers could be reached for comment and, as of Wednesday afternoon, the court listed the complaint as sealed.

“It seems like the plaintiff has an uphill battle here,” said Conor Tucker, a trademark specialist at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati PC. “Their federal registration is not incontestable and lawyers commonly describe themselves as seeking justice for their clients.”

According to the complaint, Jacoby & Meyers began using “JUSTICE FOR YOU” in promotional materials in January. The Clayeo Arnold firm sent a cease and desist letter on Feb. 15. On March 3, Jacoby switched to using “JUSTICE FOR YOU SINCE 1972,” a reference to the year the firm was founded.

Simmermon argued that “second infringing mark” used an “identical component” that was still covered under the trademark. “JUSTICE FOR YOU SINCE 1972” still appears in Google search links to Jacoby, but doesn’t appear on the landing page of the firm’s website. Instead, it has been replaced with “Helping People Get the Justice and Compensation They Deserve Since 1972.”

Clayeo Arnold then sent more cease and desist letters. Simmermon wrote that Jacoby sent a response Nov. 14 that said it would “start using the mark JUSTICE FOR YOU SINCE 1972 again” and would not agree to any settlement terms.

If the case moves forward, it could join several other recent trademark cases involving law firms. In June, two personal injury firms in New York agreed to settle their dispute over their competing “NYC-HURT” telephone hotlines. 7-Eleven Inc. recently sued a small Chicago law firm with a similar name claiming trademark infringement and unfair competition under state and federal law. 7-Eleven Inc. v. Seven Eleven Law Group LLC, 1:23-cv-15567 (N.D. Ill., filed Nov. 1, 2023).

Florida based Morgan & Morgan, which bills itself as “America’s largest personal injury firm,” sued the U.S. Patent Office in January in federal court in Orlando for denying its application to register the “#LAW” mark it has used since 2006. It dropped the case in September when the patent office agreed to review the decision. Pound Law LLC v. Vidal, 6:23-cv-00061-RMN (M.D. Fla., filed Jan. 11, 2023).