On this page · 10 sections
- Step one. Where is the firm now?
- Step two. What is the one goal?
- Step three. Who do you want to reach?
- Step four. Which channels fit your situation?
- Step five. Can intake handle it?
- Step six. What is the budget?
- Step seven. Do the ads meet your state’s rules?
- Step eight. How will you review it each month?
- How does the plan change by practice area?
- Download the plan
A marketing plan for a law firm fits on a few pages and answers eight questions. Where are you now? What one goal? Who do you want? Which channels? Can intake handle it? What budget? Do the ads meet your state’s rules? How will you review it monthly? Download it free as a PDF or an editable spreadsheet.
Step one. Where is the firm now?
Write down what you already have, because the plan starts from it. Many firms have more than they use: a Google Business Profile nobody updates, reviews nobody asked for, an ads account left running. Take last quarter’s new clients from your own case records, by source.
| What you have | Yes, no or partly | Who looks after it |
|---|---|---|
| Website with a page for each practice area | ||
| Google Business Profile, verified and up to date | ||
| Reviews, and a way to ask every happy client | ||
| Google, Microsoft or Local Services ads | ||
| Facebook, Instagram or YouTube | ||
| Who answers the phone, days, evenings and weekends | ||
| Where every lead is recorded (case management system or CRM) |
Step two. What is the one goal?
Write one sentence: how many signed cases a month, of which case types, by when. Then check the other side of it: can your intake team and your lawyers handle that many more consultations? A goal the firm can’t absorb is a goal for an unhappy quarter.
Goal: _______ signed cases a month, of these case types: _______________, by _______________.
Step three. Who do you want to reach?
Be specific: the case types you want more of, the cases you turn away, the area you serve, and the languages your clients speak. A plan for “everyone with a legal problem” spends money on calls you can’t take.
Step four. Which channels fit your situation?
Choose by where you are, not by what is fashionable. Getting found (your Google profile, your website and being named in AI answers) and ads (search, Local Services, Microsoft, social and video) work best together.
If the firm is hard to find today:
- Fix your Google Business Profile, categories, hours, photos and services first.
- Ask every satisfied client for a review, the same way every time.
- Write one clear page per practice area and per main city you serve.
- Run search ads for the one or two case types you most want, so calls start while the rest builds.
If the firm already gets steady calls:
- Find out which source sends the cases that sign, from your case records, before adding anything.
- Add one new channel at a time and give each a fair test before judging it.
- Check how often your firm is named when people ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Google’s AI for a lawyer in your city.
- Spend more where cost per signed case (what you spent divided by the cases you signed) is lowest, not where leads are cheapest.
Step five. Can intake handle it?
Many cases are lost on the phone. Decide who answers and how fast, who covers evenings and weekends, which languages you cover, how every caller is followed up, and where every lead is recorded. Test it: call your own firm as a new client would. Our intake secret-shop worksheet shows how.
Step six. What is the budget?
Work back from the value of a case. Write what a signed case in each case type is worth to the firm, the most you would pay to win one, and a monthly amount you can hold long enough to learn from. Split it between ads, which bring calls now, and the work of getting found, which builds over months.
| Case type | What a signed case is worth to us | Most we would pay for one | Monthly budget |
|---|---|---|---|
Step seven. Do the ads meet your state’s rules?
Before anything runs, check your state’s rules on what every ad must say, whether ads are filed with the bar, how long to wait before writing to an accident victim, and what you may say about results and testimonials. Our state rules library has each state, and the direct mail and TV ad pages go deeper. Your responsible attorney approves every ad.
Step eight. How will you review it each month?
Once a month, put one page in front of the partners: signed cases and cost per signed case by channel, against the goal; what changed; and the one thing you will change next month. Count signed cases from your case records, not from the ad platforms, using the definitions in The Probative Standard.
| Channel | Spend | Leads | Signed cases | Cost per signed case | Keep, fix or stop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
How does the plan change by practice area?
The steps stay the same; what changes is the channel mix, the intake script and the rules that bite hardest.
- Personal injury and mass torts: the most competitive search and TV markets; waiting periods for targeted letters; fast, around-the-clock intake.
- Family law: many calls are not ready to hire; a consultation process and follow-up matter more than volume.
- Criminal defense and DUI: calls come at night and on weekends, often from a family member; answer them live.
- Immigration: language, trust and reviews from the community; watch for “notario” wording, which misleads in Spanish.
- Estate planning: longer decisions; seminars, referral partners and clear prices on the website.
- Employment and workers’ compensation: screening questions up front, because many callers don’t have a case you can take.
- Bankruptcy: price-sensitive callers comparing firms; clear fees and fast answers win.
- Social Security disability and VA claims: fees are limited by law, so work out what a case is worth to you before you set the budget; plan intake for long, detailed calls.
- Business law, medical malpractice and lemon law: fewer, higher-value matters; referrals and specific practice pages matter more than broad ads.
Download the plan
Reviewed by our editor. A planning aid, not legal advice. Check your state’s ad rules with your state bar and your own counsel before anything runs. The template is free under CC BY 4.0.