Lead Generation Is Not Attorney Referral

Buying referrals is generally a bad idea. The rules are strict. For example, you can give someone a fruit basket for sending a referral — but you can't promise them a fruit basket.

Token gifts aside, the ABA and many state bar associations have constraints about the how, why and what of client referrals. The thing you have to know is that lead generation happens in a completely different framework.

Lead generation is a marketing tool. We can't imply we're sending the leads for free and we can't analyze the cases and we can't recommend your law firm. That's a completely different set of rules right off the bat.

Even if we don't analyze cases or make recommendations, we still do a lot of work to match the interests of our leads with your specific legal services. After that, it's up to you to determine whether their case is a good fit for your law firm.

You Have To Hire Trustworthy Lead Providers

Your lead providers have to operate within the ethical guidelines of your jurisdiction, and you have a duty to make reasonably good choices regarding that. In other words, choosing to hire a sketchy, bargain-level lead service could turn out to be a very expensive decision.

There's an ethical imperative to hire trustworthy services. There's also a business reason: Quality leads generate more clients for your law firm.

State Rules Mostly Follow the ABA — but Not Always

Lead generation practices and regulations tend to change with new technologies and new attitudes. Those changes happen at different rates across the country.

Before you start buying leads, confirm that the business processes you're considering are in line with your regulatory environment. Alternatively, you might want to confirm that your lead generation service is up to date with all requisite territory-specific knowledge.

Since lead generation often starts with complex online advertising campaigns, it's also a good idea to confirm that your service understands these techniques. For example, Legal Locator is backed by Forward Lawyer Marketing, a team with more than 60 years of combined experience in digital marketing that has worked with over 200 small and mid-sized law firms.

Contact Us for a Consultation

As you can see, there can be a gray area when it comes to this subject. It's hard to say, at least on a general basis, whether buying leads would work for any given law firm. Contact Legal Locator today to discuss your firm’s needs and to see if a PPL model could make sense for your firm by calling us at (888) 312-2953 or click here to book a demo.