Augment LeadsPart of our guide on how to grow a personal injury law firm.
What are the main marketing channels for PI firms?
| Channel | What it is | Strength | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referral network | Other lawyers and past clients send cases | Warm, trusted inquiries | Slow to build; fee division rules apply |
| Website and content | Pages that answer injured people's questions | Builds over time | Needs steady publishing |
| Local search and maps | Your listing in local results | High-intent searches | Listings need accurate details |
| Paid search ads | Ads on injury searches | Fast to start | Competitive; track cost per signed case |
| Social ads | Ads shown by audience and location | Reach and volume | Inquiry quality varies |
| TV, radio and outdoor | Broadcast and billboard ads | Brand recall | Hard to tie to signed cases |
| Pay-per-lead sources | A vendor delivers claimant inquiries | You pay per lead, no campaign to run | Check exclusivity and written terms |
How do you build a PI marketing plan?
- Write down your case types and states. Marketing for car accident cases and workers' comp cases are different jobs.
- List your current sources and what each one signed last quarter.
- Fix intake first: answer within minutes and follow up on a schedule. See speed-to-lead intake scripts.
- Pick one new channel at a time and give it a fixed test period and budget.
- Decide who runs it: your team, a marketing agency or a pay-per-lead vendor. See PI marketing agency vs pay per lead.
- Review cost per signed case by channel every month and move budget accordingly.
What do the ethics rules say about lawyer marketing?
ABA Model Rule 7.2 lets a lawyer communicate about their services through any media and pay the reasonable costs of permitted advertising. Rule 7.2(d) requires any communication under the rule to include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content. Rule 7.2(c) limits saying a lawyer is a certified specialist unless the certifying organization is approved and named.
Comment 3 to Rule 7.2 says a lawyer may pay vendors engaged to provide marketing services, such as website designers. Comment 5 covers paying for client leads.
This guide is general information for law firms, not legal advice. Your state's version of the ethics rules and your own counsel have the final say.
How do you measure personal injury marketing?
Tag every inquiry with its channel. Each month, divide what you spent on a channel by the cases you signed from it. That's your cost per signed case. Compare it across channels, and against the fees your cases tend to bring in, before you change budgets.
Cost per click, cost per call and cost per lead are useful along the way, but they don't tell you which channel brings cases you'd actually take.
Where exclusive cases fit
Exclusive leads are one source of new cases, not a whole growth plan. They pay off most once your intake can answer fast and you know which cases you want.
Exclusive MVA cases
Augment Leads runs its own car accident campaigns nationwide. The injured person fills in the form, and each MVA lead goes to one firm only, with an SMS-verified phone and a TrustedForm certificate, delivered to your CRM or intake team in real time. You choose the states and accident types you take.
Exclusive workers' comp cases
Each workers' comp lead comes from a person hurt on the job who filled in the form themselves. It's screened for whether they were injured while working, whether they reported it and whether they already have a lawyer, then sent to one firm only. Unqualified leads are replaced under your agreement.
Augment Leads is a Canada-based company, founded in 2025, that serves US law firms nationwide and is trusted by over 50 law firms. You pay per lead, with no agency retainer and no minimum term. See how it works or read the FAQ.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most effective marketing for a personal injury firm?
There isn't one answer for every firm. Measure each channel by cost per signed case, and most firms find a mix of referrals, search presence, ads and paid lead sources works better than any single channel.
Do ethics rules allow PI firms to advertise?
Yes. ABA Model Rule 7.2 lets lawyers communicate through any media and pay the reasonable costs of permitted advertising. Your state's version and its advertising rules have the final say.
Do PI ads need a lawyer's name on them?
Under ABA Model Rule 7.2(d), a communication under the rule must include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content. Check your state's version.
How should a PI firm measure marketing results?
By cost per signed case: spend on a channel divided by the cases signed from it. Cost per click or per lead alone doesn't show which channel brings cases you'd take.
Should marketing for MVA and workers' comp cases be separate?
Yes. Injured drivers and injured workers look for help in different ways, and intake screens them for different facts, so plan and measure each case type on its own.