Marketing plan
How do you build a marketing plan for a law firm?
Build the plan backwards from signed cases: the foundation, which channel first for your practice and budget, intake, tracking, and a one-page template.
By Santiago Alvarez, Founder, Ad Hoc Digital
Last updated
The short answer
If you read one part of this page, read this.
Build it backwards from signed cases. Decide how many new matters you want and can handle, fix the foundation (Business Profile, reviews, a clear website, fast follow-up), then put your ad budget into one paid channel that fits your practice, location and budget. Add a second channel once the first is working, and judge everything on signed cases in four-week blocks.
That's the logic our Growth Guide runs on. You answer seven questions about your firm and market, where clients come from now, your reviews and website, how fast you need cases and your budget, and it writes the plan for your firm. AI search is step 1 for every firm, then two or three steps picked from your answers.
A good plan fits on one page. The rest of this guide walks through each line of it. We work with law firms across the US and Canada, and also in Australia and the UK.
The goal
Start with how many cases you want, and how many you can take.
A plan built on traffic or leads has no finish line. A plan built on signed cases tells you how many leads you need and what each one is worth.
Write two numbers: the new matters a month you want, and the new matters a month your team can actually handle. The second number caps the first. Growth only helps if you can service the work.
Capacity is a real limit, not a formality. One tenant defense lawyer we work with was over capacity within two months, and we switched her ads off while she expands the practice to absorb the volume.
The foundation
Every plan sits on the same four things.
Whatever channel you pick, people look you up before they call. The foundation decides whether they like what they find.
- AI search, first for every firm
More people now ask ChatGPT or read Google's AI answer before they call a lawyer, and those tools name only a few firms. It builds over months, so the Growth Guide puts it first for every firm: the earlier it starts, the longer it compounds. Our AI search page explains how it works.
- Google Business Profile and reviews
The Growth Guide adds this step whenever a firm has fewer than 20 reviews, and it's usually the first step when the budget is under $1,000 a month. Google allows one profile per business at a real, staffed address: a virtual office isn't eligible. Our Business Profile guide covers setup.
- A clear website
Added when a firm has no site or a dated one. What you do and where on the first screen, the phone number easy to find, fast on phones, one page per practice area, and ad clicks sent to a landing page built for one case type.
- Follow-up that doesn't let leads go cold
An instant text back to every new lead, a call within minutes, the lawyer on the phone early, and five to seven follow-ups over two weeks before letting a lead go. This one works from the very next lead and costs no ad spend.
Which channel first
Your practice, location, speed and budget pick the first paid channel.
The Growth Guide scores each channel against your answers. These are the patterns behind its picks.
| If your firm looks like this | The plan starts with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget under $1,000 a month | Business Profile, reviews and AI search; no paid ads yet | Calls from the profile are free, and reviews make later ads cheaper |
| US, needs cases this month, practice is a Local Services Ads category | Local Services Ads | Pay per lead, with your rating shown to people searching right now |
| Practice LSA doesn't cover, or in Canada or Australia | Google search ads | You pick the exact searches, and they run in all four countries |
| Injury, employment, immigration, workers' comp, medical malpractice or family | Facebook and Instagram ads, often as the second channel | Many people don't know they have a case until an ad tells them |
| Business, IP or commercial litigation | LinkedIn referral partners, plus search ads | These clients ask a banker or accountant before they ask Google |
| Building for the long term | AI search and short video | Both compound: every month's work makes the next easier |
| Buying directory or lead-vendor leads | Follow-up and intake, then your own channel | Sign more of what you already pay for first |
Budget sets how many paid channels fit. In the Growth Guide, $1,000 to $5,000 a month supports one paid channel, and $5,000 or more supports two: start with one, get it working, then add the second. Our LSA vs Google Ads guide helps with the usual first choice.
Intake and tracking
The plan has to say who answers, and how you'll know what signed.
Two lines most plans skip, and they decide whether the rest can be judged at all.
- Who answers, and how fast
Name the person who answers new calls during business hours, who covers court days and after hours, and the time limit for calling back a form. Our speed to lead guide sets the targets.
- Where every lead is recorded
One CRM, with each lead's source and what happened to it: booked, signed, turned away, lost. Without that, every channel's report is the platform grading its own homework. Our systems work sets this up.
- Which numbers you'll review
Leads, consultations and signed cases by source, and cost per signed case. Our intake metrics guide lists the chain from lead to retainer.
The first 90 days
What the first three months look like with a paid channel in the plan.
These are the stages the Growth Guide lays out. Treat them as a shape, not a promise of results by a date.
Weeks 1 to 3: access, verifications and the build
It feels quiet, but this is where accounts, tracking, pages and verifications get set up properly. Local Services Ads can't run until Google's verification is done.
Go-live: the platforms start learning
For the first few weeks, lead volume and quality swing before they settle.
Weeks 4 to 8: leads first, signed cases after
Signed cases typically follow 2 to 6 weeks after launch. Judge in four-week blocks, not day by day. Our guide on how long marketing takes breaks this down by channel.
Day 90: judge, then push
Leads are flowing and cases are signing. Move budget toward what signs, and add the next step in the plan.
Without a paid channel, the shape is slower: build the foundation in the first three weeks, let reviews and signals stack up over months one to three, and judge on the trend from month three, adding ads once the foundation is in place.
The one-page plan
Ten lines, one page.
Copy this into a document and fill in the middle column. The right column is a hypothetical example.
| Line | What to decide | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | New matters a month, by practice area | 6 family, 2 estate |
| Capacity | Matters a month you can handle well | 10 |
| Ad budget | Monthly ad spend, paid to the platform | $3,000 |
| Foundation fixes | Reviews, profile, website gaps | Reviews from 12 to 40; new custody page |
| Step 1 | AI search work | Consistent details, answer pages, monthly AI check |
| Paid channel | One channel, chosen by the table above | Local Services Ads |
| Next channel | What gets added, and the trigger | Custody search ads once LSA cost per signed case is steady |
| Intake | Who answers, callback limit, follow-up | Paralegal answers; forms called within 5 minutes |
| Tracking | Where leads and outcomes are recorded | CRM with source and signed status |
| Review dates | When you'll judge it | Every four weeks; big calls at day 90 |
If filling it in feels like guesswork, the Growth Guide fills in the channel lines for your firm in about two minutes.
The rules
Every line of the plan has to fit the advertising rules.
The ABA Model Rules, and the state versions built on them, shape what you can say and how you can pay for clients.
- Rule 7.1: no false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services, including an omission that makes a statement misleading.
- Rule 7.2(b): no giving anything of value for a recommendation, with exceptions including the reasonable costs of advertising and non-exclusive reciprocal referral agreements the client is told about.
- Rule 7.2(c) and (d): no "specialist" claim without an approved or ABA-accredited certifier named in the ad, and every communication names at least one responsible lawyer or firm with contact information.
- Rule 7.3: no live person-to-person solicitation for the firm's pecuniary gain, with exceptions such as other lawyers and people with a close or prior relationship.
Referral strategies sit squarely under 7.2(b), and ad copy under 7.1. States differ on testimonials, past results and filing, so check yours on our lawyer advertising rules hub. This is a plain summary for marketing planning, not legal advice. Check the current rule with your bar or law society.
What we see
Firms rarely have one problem, so the plan covers the whole chain.
The firms that grow steadily aren't running a clever channel. They have every link working, from the first search to the signed retainer.
When we launched one Florida immigration firm, it signed 11 cases in its first month. The playbook was the one we use everywhere: build the foundation, plug in the right paid channels, layer in fast follow-up. More on that practice is on our immigration marketing page.
The right plan isn't always ads. For a corporate law client whose buyers ask a banker or accountant, we built a referral-first strategy and lined up six referral partners in six months. A boutique tax firm started with its reputation, then added ads, and now gets more cases from referrals than from paid. See our business law marketing page for how those clients choose.
Common mistakes
Where firms go wrong.
Where we see law firm marketing plans go wrong.
Building the plan around a channel someone sold you
Start from the goal and the firm's situation. The channel comes out of those, not the other way round.
Spreading a small budget across three platforms
Under $5,000 a month, one paid channel done properly gives you enough leads to learn from. Three thin ones give you three inconclusive reports.
Skipping the foundation because it's slow
Reviews, the profile and a clear site make every paid channel convert better. Start them the same week as the ads.
Leaving intake out of the plan
If nobody owns the phone and the follow-up, more leads mean more missed cases.
Rewriting the plan every two weeks
Leads arrive in clumps and platforms take weeks to learn. Change the plan at the four-week reviews, not after a quiet Tuesday.
Real results
What this looked like for real firms.
Three plans built for three different situations: an immigration firm on foundation, paid channels and fast follow-up; a corporate firm on referral partners; and a tax boutique that started with reputation.
Identifying details are anonymized to protect our clients. Individual result, not a promise or prediction of any specific outcome for your firm.
FAQ
Questions lawyers ask us.
Straight answers to the questions that come up most.
What should a law firm marketing plan include?
A goal in signed cases, your capacity, a monthly ad budget, the foundation fixes, AI search, one paid channel and what gets added next, who handles intake, how leads are tracked to outcomes, and when you'll review it. The one-page template above has all ten lines.
How much should a small law firm budget for marketing?
Start from your case goal and what a case is worth. For ad spend, the ranges we work with are $1,000 to $10,000+ a month on Local Services Ads, $2,000 to $20,000+ on Google search ads and $1,000 to $10,000+ on Meta. Our marketing cost guide covers the math.
What should a new solo lawyer do first?
Set up and verify the Google Business Profile, start asking every client for a review, get a simple clear website live, and set up instant replies to new leads. Under about $1,000 a month, that foundation returns more than ads. Add one paid channel when the budget allows.
Do I need a website before I run ads?
For search and Meta ads that send people to a page, yes: each case type needs a landing page. Local Services Ads lean on the Business Profile, so the site matters less there, but people still look you up before they call.
How often should we change the plan?
Review it every four weeks and make the bigger calls around day 90. Change channels when signed cases, not a single week's leads, say so.
Is a marketing plan different for a Canadian or Australian firm?
The structure is the same. The channel choice changes: Google's Canada page lists no legal Local Services Ads categories and LSA isn't offered in Australia, so search ads usually come first. Our Canada guide covers the rest.
Can I get a plan written for my own firm?
Yes. The Growth Guide asks seven questions and writes a step-by-step plan sized to your budget. To walk through it with us, schedule a consultation.
Where we do this
The services this guide touches.
What this looks like when we run it for a firm, with a demo for your practice on each page.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
Official pages we read when writing this page. Platforms and rules change, so check the current version before you act on any of it. This is marketing guidance, not legal advice.
- American Bar Association, Model Rule 7.1: Communication Concerning a Lawyer's Services
- American Bar Association, Model Rule 7.2: Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services: Specific Rules
- American Bar Association, Model Rule 7.3: Solicitation of Clients
- Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google
- Google Local Services Help, Getting started with Local Services Ads (United States)
- Google Local Services Help, Getting started with Local Services Ads (Canada)
Written by
Founder of Ad Hoc Digital. Leads strategy and works directly with every client firm on AI search, Local Services Ads, Google Ads and Meta ads.
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