Antony Bruno
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Local lawyering legend Frank Azar has a history of strong-arming other legal firms over trademark infringement, but a small team is trying to strike back against the empire … largely from the grave.
Denver and Salt Lake City-based law firm Great West Injury Law filed a complaint on Aug. 6 for declaratory judgment against Azar’s firm, Franklin D. Azar & Associates, commonly known as “The Strong Arm.” According to the filing in Colorado federal court, it’s an effort to stop Azar from suing Great West over trademark infringement allegedly caused by advertising company Agree Media back in 2024.
“Azar has several times threatened to sue Great West, and its owners, if Great West did not pay millions of dollars for Agree Media’s advertising on its behalf,” the law firm wrote in the complaint, calling the demand for millions of dollars “outrageous.”
The preemptive strike stems from an ongoing lawsuit between the widely known injury lawyer and Agree Media that was filed on June 21, 2024. In that case, Azar’s firm claimed that Agree Media had bid on Google keywords containing “Azar” as a means of “targeting potential clients for referral” and infringed on Azar’s trademarks, which, of course, includes “The Strong Arm.“
That lawsuit is currently ongoing, now in the summary judgment phase where a judge is asked to decide the case without a full trial, according to court records. Meanwhile, Great West is no longer in business.
Great West was a client of Agree Media. The firm claims it had only one ad through Agree Media featuring the Azar name. That ad read, “Don’t Call Frank Azar, Call Us” and allegedly only brought in a single referral, according to the complaint. The law firm paid Agree Media $2,500 for the referral.
Overall, the declaratory judgment request is an attempt to stop Azar from being able to sue the firm, or getting the defense out of the way before it even begins.
Great West also argues that if it were really at fault, Azar should have named the firm in the original lawsuit back in 2024. Furthermore, trademarks aren’t used at the point of sale when working with Great West, so communication with Great West should not lead to confusion about it being Azar’s firm, its filing adds.
“In fact, evidence in the Agree Media Lawsuit has established that Great West prominently identifies itself and displays its Great West Injury Law brand in both its retention agreement and medical waiver form,” Great West said in the complaint.
In a slight jab, the law firm said the click-through rate on Agree Media’s ads that bid on Azar keywords was less than 2%. The click-through rate on ads using “Azar” directly in its copy was only 2.6%. So, the actual effects aren’t big enough to lead to a substantial lawsuit anyway, Great West said.
This isn’t the first time the Strong Arm has flexed muscle on trademark infringement, however.
Azar settled with Alabama-based Mike Slocumb Law Firm back in 2024 for $1.55 million after alleging the Slocumb team had created misleading ads that made people believe they were clicking on links for Azar’s firm.
“And when they call in, ‘Is this Frank Azar?’ And they change the subject or they pretend they’re me,” Azar told CBS News after the settlement, ultimately calling the tactic a “scam.”
Westword reached out to Azar’s office but did not receive a response. Great West, on the other hand, is listed as permanently closed on Google in both Denver and Salt Lake City. GreatWestInjuryLaw.com is also no longer up and running.
The founder of Great West, Christopher Fears, was also listed as a plaintiff. He has two registered law firms in Texas under Fears Law and Fears Dudley Injury Law, according to court documents.
