Plaintiff relies on
Peel to argue that the speech is not potentially misleading, but such reliance is misplaced. In
Peel, the Supreme Court examined an attorney's right to advertise his or her certification as a trial specialist. The Supreme Court concluded that certification is “simply a fact, albeit one with multiple predicates, from which a consumer
may or may not draw an inference of the likely quality of an attorney's work in a given area of practice.”
Peel, 496 U.S. at 101, 110 S.Ct. at 2288 (emphasis added). In contrast, “Ph.D” or “Dr.” are not merely terms from which a listener could draw an inference of qualification. Rather, they are in and of themselves assertions of significant academic achievement. A Ph.D is one of the highest academic degrees conferred by a university and a “doctor” is one “who has earned the highest academic degree awarded by a college or university.”
American Heritage Dictionary 414 (2d ed. 1985). Use of these terms thus does more than give rise to an inference about the user's qualifications, it is a
declaration of a very distinguished level of qualification.