Criminal defense ad rules in Illinois

What are the key facts for criminal defense ads in Illinois?

• Ad filing. A firm that uses an intermediary connecting service (a lead generator, directory or matching service) does due diligence on it at the start and every year (Rule 7.2(c), comment 8).
• What each ad must include. The name and office address of at least one lawyer or firm (7.2(a)). Targeted solicitations say “Advertising Material” at the beginning and end (7.3(c)).
• Results and “specialist” claims. The Illinois Supreme Court recognizes no specialist certifications. “Certified”, “specialist” or “expert” may be used only to name an actual award, with the required Illinois disclaimer (7.4(c)).

Criminal defense is a named sensitive category, so audience tools are limited and no ad should hint that the viewer is accused.

How does Illinois sit on the basics a criminal defense firm runs into?

• Ad filing in Illinois: No filing
• Call recording in Illinois: All-party consent
• Texting law in Illinois: None found beyond federal law
• Privacy law in Illinois: No comprehensive law

Can a criminal defense firm contact people directly in Illinois?

• In-person, live phone and real-time electronic contact are banned (7.3(a)).

What have Illinois’s ethics opinions said?

• Illinois State Bar Association, Professional Conduct Advisory Opinions, opinion 25-02 (2025-02), on participation in 3rd-party for-profit client referral service that offers a money-back guarantee, fails to disclose the use of non-attorney actors in its advertising, and requires the lawyer to communicate with the client on the service’s online platform: A lawyer may not take clients from a for-profit referral service that splits a fixed fee, offers money-back guarantees, hides actors in ads, or controls lawyer-client messages. What to do: Do not join referral platforms that share client fees, promise refunds if you lose, use undisclosed actors, or host your client communications.
• Illinois State Bar Association, Professional Conduct Advisory Opinions, opinion 24-02 (2024-05), on use of the terms “senior counsel,” “special counsel,” and “counsel” to describe lawyers with whom a firm has a close, regular, and personal relationship: A firm may call lawyers "senior counsel," "special counsel" or "counsel" if they have a close, regular, personal relationship with the firm. What to do: Use counsel titles only for lawyers with a real ongoing tie to the firm, and treat shared counsel as linking the firms for conflicts.
• Illinois State Bar Association, Professional Conduct Advisory Opinions, opinion 22-04 (2022-10), on use of Deceased or Retired Partners' Names in Firm Name and Proper Characterization of "Of Counsel" Relationship: After restructuring as a PLLC, a firm may keep deceased or retired partners' names if there is continuing succession in the firm's identity. What to do: Keep a retired or deceased partner's name only if the firm continues in succession, and use "of counsel" only for real ongoing relationships.
• Illinois State Bar Association, Professional Conduct Advisory Opinions, opinion 22-02 (2022-05), on lawyer participating in for-profit client matching service: A for-profit matching service may be used if matching is automated, it does not vouch for lawyers, stays out of the case, and its fees are reasonable and not case-linked. What to do: Use a lead or matching service only if it auto-matches, does not endorse you, charges a flat fee unrelated to cases, and recheck it at each renewal.
• Illinois State Bar Association, Professional Conduct Advisory Opinions, opinion 15-05 (2015-09), on links on a lawyer's website to other businesses or organizations: A law firm's website may include links to other businesses or organizations. What to do: You may link to other businesses on your site, but keep the overall site truthful.

Which Google, Local Services and Meta policies matter for criminal defense ads?

• Google Ads: Other restricted businesses: Bail bond services. Ads for bail bond services are not allowed. Google's examples include immigration bail services and detention bail services.
• Google Ads: Personalized advertising: Commission of a crime. Criminal defense lawyers are a named example of a sensitive interest category. Their ads can't use advertiser-curated audiences: Customer Match, your data segments (remarketing), audience expansion or lookalike segments. Google's own audiences (in-market, affinity, life events) are allowed.
• Local Services Ads: Local Services Ads: service categories (US). Google's US list has 17 lawyer categories: bankruptcy, business, contract, criminal, disability, DUI, estate, family, immigration, IP, labor, litigation, malpractice, personal injury, real estate, traffic, and a general 'Lawyers' category. Unlike some other categories, none of the lawyer categories is limited to certain states.
• Meta: Privacy Violations and Personal Attributes. Meta ads can't assert or imply that the viewer has a personal attribute, including a health condition, disability, vulnerable financial status or criminal record. Meta's own 'not allowed' examples include 'Are you bankrupt?' and 'Are you a convicted felon?'.

The full list for every platform is in the ad platform policy tracker.

What else in Illinois touches criminal defense marketing?

• Ads in Spanish and other languages. No state rule on ads in other languages found in the sources reviewed. Our default applies: every required statement appears in each language the ad uses.
• Texting and telemarketing. The federal TCPA applies; state no-call lists and registration may still apply, but callbacks to people who asked to be contacted are generally outside them.
• Privacy and health data. No comprehensive consumer privacy law in force.

How much Spanish-speaking demand is there in Illinois?

• Illinois: about 1,681,635 (±8,915) people aged 5 and over who speak Spanish at home. ACS 2020-2024 survey estimate.
• Illinois: about 659,015 (±6,452) Spanish speakers aged 5 and over who speak English less than "very well". ACS 2020-2024 survey estimate.
• Illinois: about 266 (±62.3) Spanish speakers with limited English (less than "very well") for every Spanish-speaking lawyer, judge or judicial worker. ACS 2020-2024 survey estimate.

Test Spanish pages and ads next to English ones.

Which Illinois metros do we cover?

Each metro page covers how clients there find a lawyer, what AI answers show and the local courts:

• Chicago law firm SEO, AI search and Google AdsWhat Chicago clients search, how AI answers pick a lawyer, Spanish demand, Northern District venue and Illinois ad rules for local firms.

What does this mean for your firm?

• Check the Illinois filing duty before the first criminal defense ad runs, and ask your attorney to approve each ad.
• Plan each criminal defense campaign around the platform’s own policies, so ads are not disapproved after launch.
• Test Spanish and English side by side where the Spanish-speaking audience is large.

Not legal advice. Probative Growth is a marketing firm, not a law firm. Rules change; your attorney decides what runs.

Questions firms ask about criminal defense ads in Illinois

Does a criminal defense firm have to file its ads in Illinois?

A firm that uses an intermediary connecting service (a lead generator, directory or matching service) does due diligence on it at the start and every year (Rule 7.2(c), comment 8).

Can a criminal defense firm contact people directly in Illinois?

In-person, live phone and real-time electronic contact are banned (7.3(a)).

Can a criminal defense firm in Illinois run Local Services Ads?

Google's US list has 17 lawyer categories: bankruptcy, business, contract, criminal, disability, DUI, estate, family, immigration, IP, labor, litigation, malpractice, personal injury, real estate, traffic, and a general 'Lawyers' category. Unlike some other categories, none of the lawyer categories is limited to certain states.

How much Spanish-speaking demand should a criminal defense firm plan for in Illinois?

Illinois: about 1,681,635 (±8,915) people aged 5 and over who speak Spanish at home. ACS 2020-2024 survey estimate.