Legal
Legal Lead Generation: How Law Firms Buy Cases, Calls and Leads
How legal lead generation works: web form leads, inbound calls, live transfers and pre-signed cases compared, which practice areas buy them, and how to judge a vendor on cost per signed case.
Key takeaways
- Law firms buy four main products: web form leads, inbound calls, live transfers and pre-signed cases.
- They differ in how much screening happens first, who signs the case and what the firm pays for.
- Judge every vendor on cost per signed case, not cost per lead.
- Ask where calls come from, what you are billed for, and how consent is captured.
Legal lead generation is how law firms buy potential clients from outside marketing companies instead of finding every client themselves. Firms buy four main products: web form leads, inbound calls, live transfers and pre-signed cases. They differ in how much screening happens before the client reaches the firm, who signs the case, and what the firm pays for. The right one depends on whether your firm has an intake team and how fast you need cases.
What are the types of legal leads?
| Product | What the firm receives | Who screens | Who signs | Usually paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web form lead | Contact details and form answers | The firm, after a callback | The firm | Per lead |
| Inbound call | A caller who rang the firm's line from an ad | The firm, on the call | The firm | Per call |
| Live transfer | A screened caller, connected live | The vendor's intake team | The firm | Per transfer |
| Pre-signed case | A signed retainer and the completed intake | The vendor | The vendor, to the firm's retainer | Per signed case |
At RingOnDemand we sell live transfers and pre-signed cases to law firms, and live transfers to pre-settlement funding companies. We do not sell web form leads: calls and live transfers convert better in legal.
Which practice areas buy leads?
Personal injury firms are among the biggest buyers, and motor vehicle accident (MVA) cases are among the most common they buy. Firms also buy leads for workers' compensation, lemon law, medical malpractice and mass torts, and funding companies buy plaintiffs with pending cases. We run calls in motor vehicle accidents, workers' compensation, lemon law, medical malpractice and pre-settlement funding.
How does a legal lead generation company work?
- The firm sets its case criteria: case types, dates, states and the questions every caller must pass.
- The vendor runs the ads, its own and often a publisher network's.
- The vendor screens every caller against the firm's criteria.
- Qualified callers are delivered, as a live transfer or a signed retainer.
How do you judge a legal lead vendor?
Judge every vendor on cost per signed case, not cost per lead. Then ask:
- Where do the calls come from? Ours come from our own ads and a vetted publisher network, through the same intake script.
- Who writes the screening questions? You should.
- What do I pay for? With us, only callers who passed your questions and were connected live to your intake line.
- What protects me if cases do not sign or fall out? Our MVA live transfers carry a guaranteed cost per signed case, and pre-signed MVA cases a 28-day replacement.
- How is consent captured? Every intake call is recorded, and we capture third-party consent certificates. See our compliance page.
- Who runs the ads in states with strict attorney advertising rules? In California, our ads run under your firm's name and you approve every creative before it runs.
For a longer checklist, read how to choose a personal injury lead generation company.
How fast can legal leads start?
Live transfers usually start within 24 hours of the signed order. We need the phone number that receives the calls, the hours you take them, and a daily cap, and there is no recurring volume commitment.
See all practice areas, or book a call with a licensed attorney on our team.