Frank Azar’s billboards are commonplace in Denver and much of Colorado. (Denver District Court)
Fresh off a $1.5 million victory in a similar case, Frank Azar & Associates is suing a rival firm in the city for allegedly buying Google ads to divert would-be Azar clients elsewhere.
Last fall, Michael “Alabama Hammer” Slocumb agreed to pay a $1.6 million settlement to Frank “Strong Arm” Azar’s firm after a two-year legal dispute. Azar accused Slocumb of buying Google keywords to ensure that Slocumb’s firm appeared when people searched for Azar, then failing to correct clients’ misconceptions when they called seeking the Azar firm.
“They pick on the big TV advertisers,” Azar told the Denver Post in December. “Because people see their ad, they go to Google to get the phone number and they misclick. And then all the sudden, boom, they’re getting this other law firm that they don’t know anything about.”
Now Azar is taking issue with a similar practice close to home. On March 28, he sued Dominic Genco and his Genco Injury Attorneys, which has offices in Denver and Aurora. Genco launched his own firm in 2022 after a decade as an attorney at Azar & Associates.
“We are unlike the law firms you see advertised on TV who treat everyone as a number,” the Genco firm’s website states. “We like to build personal relationships with each client.”
Both the Azar firm and Genco firm pay for Google keywords, which ensure that their ads appear when people search for certain words. But Azar claims that Genco goes beyond the pale. He bids for Azar’s name, forcing Azar to pay more for his own keyword, and also buys Google ads that say “Frank Azar and Associates” but send people to the Genco firm’s website.
“At the direction of Dominic Genco, prospective clients of Azar are intentionally tricked and deceived into doing business with Genco,” Azar & Associates’ lawsuit alleges.
That lawsuit, which accuses Genco and his firm of trademark infringement and false advertising, among other claims, does not estimate how much money Azar & Associates has supposedly lost to Genco. In the Slocumb case, Azar claimed damages of about $19 million.
“Mr. Genco takes these allegations seriously and intends to defend this lawsuit vigorously,” said his attorney, Carl Hjort from Robinson Waters & O’Dorisio in Denver. “However, as this is an ongoing legal matter, we will not be providing further comment at this time.”
Azar & Associates is represented by a trio of former Sherman & Howard lawyers who are now in the Denver office of the Taft firm, plus two attorneys with Martinez Law Group.
Frank Azar’s billboards are commonplace in Denver and much of Colorado. (Denver District Court)
Fresh off a $1.5 million victory in a similar case, Frank Azar & Associates is suing a rival firm in the city for allegedly buying Google ads to divert would-be Azar clients elsewhere.
Last fall, Michael “Alabama Hammer” Slocumb agreed to pay a $1.6 million settlement to Frank “Strong Arm” Azar’s firm after a two-year legal dispute. Azar accused Slocumb of buying Google keywords to ensure that Slocumb’s firm appeared when people searched for Azar, then failing to correct clients’ misconceptions when they called seeking the Azar firm.
“They pick on the big TV advertisers,” Azar told the Denver Post in December. “Because people see their ad, they go to Google to get the phone number and they misclick. And then all the sudden, boom, they’re getting this other law firm that they don’t know anything about.”
Now Azar is taking issue with a similar practice close to home. On March 28, he sued Dominic Genco and his Genco Injury Attorneys, which has offices in Denver and Aurora. Genco launched his own firm in 2022 after a decade as an attorney at Azar & Associates.
“We are unlike the law firms you see advertised on TV who treat everyone as a number,” the Genco firm’s website states. “We like to build personal relationships with each client.”
Both the Azar firm and Genco firm pay for Google keywords, which ensure that their ads appear when people search for certain words. But Azar claims that Genco goes beyond the pale. He bids for Azar’s name, forcing Azar to pay more for his own keyword, and also buys Google ads that say “Frank Azar and Associates” but send people to the Genco firm’s website.
“At the direction of Dominic Genco, prospective clients of Azar are intentionally tricked and deceived into doing business with Genco,” Azar & Associates’ lawsuit alleges.
That lawsuit, which accuses Genco and his firm of trademark infringement and false advertising, among other claims, does not estimate how much money Azar & Associates has supposedly lost to Genco. In the Slocumb case, Azar claimed damages of about $19 million.
“Mr. Genco takes these allegations seriously and intends to defend this lawsuit vigorously,” said his attorney, Carl Hjort from Robinson Waters & O’Dorisio in Denver. “However, as this is an ongoing legal matter, we will not be providing further comment at this time.”
Azar & Associates is represented by a trio of former Sherman & Howard lawyers who are now in the Denver office of the Taft firm, plus two attorneys with Martinez Law Group.
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