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Data

Free legal-marketing data, with sources

The datasets behind our pages, free to reuse: state rules for lawyer ads, the fees for filing ads, ethics opinions, ad-platform policies, fee caps and more. Every record says where it came from and how it was checked.

CC BY 4.0 · No sign-up · Not legal advice

The datasets

Each one has a page to cite, a permanent DOI once it is archived on Zenodo, spreadsheet and JSON downloads, and a free API. You can reuse them, including commercially, if you credit Probative with a link.

  • Lawyer advertising rules by state (50 states and DC)

    The lawyer advertising rules of every US state and DC, in plain English: ad filing, what each ad must include, waiting periods for injury contact, claims and testimonials, referral and lead rules, ads in other languages, call-recording consent, texting law and privacy law. Each cell cites its source and says how it was checked (P, S, D or U).

    Version
    1.0.0
    Last checked
    October 25, 2026
    Records
    459 rule cells
    Look up by
    state or topic
    DOI
    10.5281/zenodo.23645751
    How to cite

    Suggested citation

    Probative. (2026). Lawyer advertising rules by state (50 states and DC) (Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23645751

    Credit line for a chart, table or article

    Source: Probative, Lawyer advertising rules by state (50 states and DC), version 1.0.0, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23645751, licensed CC BY 4.0.

  • California court filings by county: civil, criminal, family, juvenile, probate and appeals, fiscal years 2023–24 and 2024–25

    How many cases were filed in each of California's 58 superior courts (one per county) and statewide, by case type, from the Judicial Council of California's Court Statistics Reports: unlimited civil (motor-vehicle injury, other injury and wrongful death, other civil), limited civil, unlawful detainer, small claims, felonies and misdemeanors, family law, juvenile, probate, mental health and appeals. One record per county and case type, with the prior year beside it. In every table the 58 counties add up exactly to the report's own statewide row, and the totals inside each row add up too. Counts only: no lawyer or firm is listed or ranked.

    Version
    1.0.0
    Last checked
    October 26, 2026
    Records
    2,301
    Look up by
    area (US, state or metro)
    DOI
    10.5281/zenodo.23658524
    How to cite

    Suggested citation

    Probative. (2026). California court filings by county: civil, criminal, family, juvenile, probate and appeals, fiscal years 2023–24 and 2024–25 (Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23658524

    Credit line for a chart, table or article

    Source: Probative, California court filings by county: civil, criminal, family, juvenile, probate and appeals, fiscal years 2023–24 and 2024–25, version 1.0.0, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23658524, licensed CC BY 4.0.

  • Attorney fee caps and contingency-fee rules, by state and federal program

    Legal limits on what a lawyer may charge, by program and jurisdiction: workers' compensation in every US state and DC, Social Security (SSDI and SSI), the Federal Tort Claims Act, VA benefits, Longshore, FECA and black lung, plus medical-malpractice and general contingency-fee rules in the states read so far. Each record gives the cap type, percent, dollar cap or sliding-scale tiers, what the percent applies to and who approves the fee, and cites the statute, rule or agency page with an exact quote and the date read (P, D or U; no secondary sources). A lookup, not a fee calculator.

    Version
    1.0.0
    Last checked
    October 25, 2026
    Records
    79
    Look up by
    state
    DOI
    10.5281/zenodo.23656738
    How to cite

    Suggested citation

    Probative. (2026). Attorney fee caps and contingency-fee rules, by state and federal program (Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656738

    Credit line for a chart, table or article

    Source: Probative, Attorney fee caps and contingency-fee rules, by state and federal program, version 1.0.0, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656738, licensed CC BY 4.0.

  • What US state bars charge, and require, to file or review lawyer advertising

    What each US state bar asks of a lawyer who advertises: whether ads or solicitations must be filed or reviewed, when, the standard, late and advisory fees, the portal or method, whether an expedited review exists, and how long copies must be kept. Every recorded field is backed by a short quote from the bar's or court's own rule or page, with the date read; a field we could not read from a primary source is marked unknown.

    Version
    1.0.0
    Last checked
    October 25, 2026
    Records
    51
    Look up by
    state
    DOI
    10.5281/zenodo.23656746
    How to cite

    Suggested citation

    Probative. (2026). What US state bars charge, and require, to file or review lawyer advertising (Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656746

    Credit line for a chart, table or article

    Source: Probative, What US state bars charge, and require, to file or review lawyer advertising, version 1.0.0, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656746, licensed CC BY 4.0.

  • Spanish-speaking demand vs Spanish-speaking lawyer supply, by state and metro

    How many people who speak Spanish at home, and how many who speak English less than very well, there are for each lawyer who speaks Spanish at home: for the US, every state and DC, and every metro area. Computed from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2020 to 2024 five-year tables and microdata), each figure with its 90% margin of error and a reliability flag; estimates too unreliable to publish are withheld. Aggregates only: no lawyer or firm is listed or ranked.

    Version
    1.1.0
    Last checked
    October 25, 2026
    Records
    3,512
    Look up by
    area (US, state or metro)
    DOI
    10.5281/zenodo.23656758
    How to cite

    Suggested citation

    Probative. (2026). Spanish-speaking demand vs Spanish-speaking lawyer supply, by state and metro (Version 1.1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656758

    Credit line for a chart, table or article

    Source: Probative, Spanish-speaking demand vs Spanish-speaking lawyer supply, by state and metro, version 1.1.0, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656758, licensed CC BY 4.0.

  • Mass-tort docket tracker, federal MDL pending actions by month since 2019

    Pending actions in every federal multidistrict litigation (MDL), from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's monthly 'Pending MDL Dockets by Actions Pending' reports. One record per docket in the latest report: the court's docket title, the transferee district, actions now pending, actions ever filed, the change over 12 months, and the docket's monthly pending count since 2019. Every report's rows add up exactly to the court's own totals row. The full monthly series, judge included, is at /data/v1/mdl/history/. Counts and dates only.

    Version
    1.0.0
    Last checked
    October 25, 2026
    Records
    162
    Look up by
    MDL docket
    DOI
    10.5281/zenodo.23656743
    How to cite

    Suggested citation

    Probative. (2026). Mass-tort docket tracker, federal MDL pending actions by month since 2019 (Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656743

    Credit line for a chart, table or article

    Source: Probative, Mass-tort docket tracker, federal MDL pending actions by month since 2019, version 1.0.0, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656743, licensed CC BY 4.0.

  • Legal-marketing ethics opinions, 2015–2026

    An index of US state and ABA ethics opinions, committee guidelines and court rulings on lawyer advertising and marketing, from 2015 to 2026 plus earlier landmarks: lead generators, pay-per-lead, reviews, testimonials, trade names, websites, social media, chatbots and AI tools, competitor keywords and more. Each record gives the issuing body, number, date, topics, a one-sentence holding in our words, a practical step, whether it is still in force, the official link, an exact short quote and the date read. It is not the opinions' full text.

    Version
    1.0.0
    Last checked
    October 25, 2026
    Records
    251
    Look up by
    state
    DOI
    10.5281/zenodo.23656749
    How to cite

    Suggested citation

    Probative. (2026). Legal-marketing ethics opinions, 2015–2026 (Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656749

    Credit line for a chart, table or article

    Source: Probative, Legal-marketing ethics opinions, 2015–2026, version 1.0.0, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656749, licensed CC BY 4.0.

  • Legal ad-platform policy tracker

    The ad-platform policies that affect US law-firm advertising on Google Ads, Google Local Services, YouTube, Microsoft Ads, Meta, LinkedIn and ChatGPT ads: what each rule says in plain English, what a firm should do about it, which practice areas it touches, when it took effect, and a dated log of changes. Each record quotes the platform's own policy or help page and gives the date it was read.

    Version
    1.0.0
    Last checked
    October 25, 2026
    Records
    64
    Look up by
    ad platform
    DOI
    10.5281/zenodo.23656753
    How to cite

    Suggested citation

    Probative. (2026). Legal ad-platform policy tracker (Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656753

    Credit line for a chart, table or article

    Source: Probative, Legal ad-platform policy tracker, version 1.0.0, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23656753, licensed CC BY 4.0.

Can I use this data in my AI assistant?

Yes. Add our MCP server to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code and ask in plain words, such as “Which states make lawyers file their ads?” or “What do ethics opinions say about buying leads?”. The answer comes back with its sources and dates. There is no sign-in.

https://probativegrowth.com/mcp

To load one dataset only, add its own address, for example https://probativegrowth.com/mcp/opinions. Step-by-step setup for each app is on the API and MCP page.

What do the letters P, S, D and U mean?

Every record carries one of four letters, so you can see how much to trust it at a glance.

P Primary source
We read the rule, statute, opinion, platform page or agency table itself (for survey data: computed straight from the agency file).
S Secondary source
Taken from a secondary summary or trade-press report, not yet matched to the official text.
D Default
No specific rule was found, so the default applies (for the rules library, the ABA Model Rule; for fees, the general rule that a fee must be reasonable).
U Open question
Unsettled, contradictory or unreadable, so we state no answer; for survey data, an estimate too unreliable to publish.

Files for developers and catalogs

Static files, open to any website or script, with no key and no usage cap. Each JSON file starts with the credit line, the citation, the license and the page to cite.

Where to go next

If you run a firm, you don’t need the raw data: we handle your state’s ad rules for you. Start by seeing where your firm stands.

Where do I start?

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