Lawyer leads or a directory profile: what are you really paying for?
With leads you pay for contacts; with a profile you pay for being found. Pay-per-lead services sell you inquiries, often shared with other firms, and in some places paying for a referral is restricted — in England and Wales, for example, referral fees in personal-injury work are prohibited. A directory profile is a fixed price for visibility: clients find you, choose you and contact you directly.
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Two models
Leads: a provider collects people looking for a lawyer and passes their details to firms, usually for a fee per lead or per batch. Price depends on the practice area and location, and the same inquiry may go to several firms.
Profile: you pay a fixed price for a presence where clients search — a directory or platform profile. You are not charged per inquiry; what you get depends on how visible the profile is and how well it matches what clients look for.
What the rules say about paying for referrals
In England and Wales, section 56 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 bans referral fees for prescribed legal business, which covers claims for damages for personal injury or death: a regulated person may not pay for such a referral or be paid for making one.
In the United States, each state's rules of professional conduct govern whether and how a lawyer may pay for referrals or leads; check your state bar's rules and ethics opinions before buying leads. Outside the UK and US, many bars ban paying for a client while allowing informative advertising — see our guides on advertising rules.
How to compare
Ask what exactly the price buys: a contact, a share of a contact, or a presence. Check whether inquiries are exclusive, how they are generated and whether the arrangement fits your bar's rules.
Compare cost against the clients you actually sign, not the number of inquiries.
Where LawBridge fits
LawBridge is a legal-tech search engine, not a lead seller: you pay a fixed price for your profile and marketing tools, never for an inquiry, a contact or a case, and LawBridge takes no commission on your fees. Clients find you on legal-situation pages in 9 languages, choose you themselves and contact you directly. A free trial lets you see your profile's views, clicks and inquiries before you decide. LawBridge is not a law firm and does not broker legal services; there is no fee for inquiries.
FAQ
- Are lawyer leads legal?
- It depends on where you practise and the area of law. In England and Wales referral fees for personal-injury work are banned; in the US the rules are set state by state.
- Is a directory profile the same as buying leads?
- No. A fixed fee for a profile pays for visibility; a fee per lead pays for contacts.
- Do I pay LawBridge for inquiries?
- No. Only the profile and marketing tools are paid, at a fixed price.
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