With advancements in the digital world, the field of legal counsel has experienced a great shift. The conventional ways of finding leads and acquiring clients, including the case referral model, is no longer enough to build a strong clientele and have a successful career. Consequently, many lawyers are turning to paid for leads. Others, however, have mixed feelings about acquiring leads online.
So, should lawyers buy paid for leads or not? Let’s find out!
Is Buying Leads Legal and Ethical?
This is one of the most common concerns of lawyers when it comes to paid for leads. Is it legal? Is it ethical? Let’s see what the Bar Association Rule 7.2 and comment [5] has to say about it.
“Paying Others To Recommend A Lawyer [5] A lawyer may pay others for generating client leads, such as Internet-based client leads, as long as the lead generator does not recommend the lawyer, any payment to the lead generator is consistent with Rules 1.5(e) (division of fees) and 5.4 (professional independence of the lawyer), and the lead generator’s communications are consistent with Rule 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer’s services).. To comply with Rule 7.1, a lawyer must not pay a lead generator that states, implies, or creates a reasonable impression that it is recommending the lawyer, is making the referral without payment from the lawyer, or has analyzed a person’s legal problems when determining which lawyer should receive the referral..”
In simple words, buying paid for leads is legal and ethical for lawyers as long as:
- The lead generation service doesn’t make claims about the expertise of the lawyer.
- Informs the client that the lawyer has paid to receive the leads.
Can Paid for Leads Help Attorneys?
Now that we know that buying paid for leads is completely legal and ethical, the only question is, can they help lawyers build a career? Well, paid for leads can help lawyers in many ways.
- Lead generation services can help you maintain a steady stream of clients.
- Buying paid for leads allows you to narrow down your practice area. As a result, you emerge as an expert in the respective area.
- Buying leads will save you a lot of time and effort, which you can divert towards your existing clients.
- Finding leads online requires you to have expert technical knowledge of SEO and various lead generation tools. You can opt for paid for leads and skip this learning curve.
The Final Verdict
So, should lawyers buy paid for leads? Yes! In fact, it is one of the best decisions that you can make for your career! Contact us for a free quote.