How to Sell Criminal Defense Leads
How to sell criminal defense leads to law firms that want each inquiry to themselves, in their own jurisdiction, the moment it arrives.
Criminal defense buyers are law firms, from DUI-only practices to firms covering many practice areas. Eight of the 10 sellers in our directory offer exclusive, real-time leads, and every one generates its own traffic.
Firms filter on practice area, charge and geography, and two sellers credit leads from people who already have a lawyer. Capture the charge, where it happened, the court date and whether the person is represented before you sell.
Sign firms before you build traffic, have each fund a balance, and keep overflow ready, because an arrest in a county no firm covers has nowhere else to go.
Who buys criminal defense leads
Criminal defense sellers describe four kinds of buyers: DUI firms, multi-practice firms, firms that want a phone call rather than a form, and legal networks that buy from publishers.
| Buyer | What they buy | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| DUI and criminal defense firms | Exclusive leads in a chosen region or jurisdiction, with an immediate notification when one arrives. | One seller here serves only DUI firms and asks about BAC level and prior offenses. Agree the charges and counties these firms take, and have them fund a balance before the first lead. |
| Multi-practice law firms | Criminal defense as one practice area beside injury, family law and other work, each with its own geography. | Six sellers let firms set practice area separately from geography. Put criminal defense on its own lead type so the firm's filters, caps and bids stay clean. |
| Firms that want calls | Live transfers or inbound calls from people ready to talk now, billed only after a set duration or a sign of intent. | Four sellers price per call and five sell live transfers. Juiced distributes web leads, so calls need separate call tracking. |
| Legal lead networks and marketplaces | Leads and calls from publishers, affiliates, media buyers and agencies. | Four of these companies buy from outside sources and ask for an application, transparent sourcing and documented consent. Be ready to show where every lead came from. |
The criminal defense lead buyer directory lists every company we found that publicly buys or sells criminal defense leads, with what each one says it does. It is a research starting point, with no contact details.
What you are selling
What the 10 criminal defense lead companies in our directory say they offer:
| Product | Companies offering it |
|---|---|
| Exclusive leads | 8 of 10 |
| Real-time leads | 8 of 10 |
| Shared leads | 1 of 10 |
| Aged leads | 2 of 10 |
| Inbound calls | 2 of 10 |
| Live transfers | 5 of 10 |
| Booked appointments | 3 of 10 |
| Signed cases or retainers | 2 of 10 |
Counts cover everything each company says it sells, which can include other verticals.
Start with exclusive real-time web leads, since 8 of the 10 sellers offer them. Live transfers appear at five sellers and inbound calls at two, but Juiced distributes web leads, so calls need separate call tracking.
What to capture and screen for
- The charge or case type, with DUI or DWI as its own option.
- The stage: accused, charged, or convicted and seeking an appeal or expungement, or a crime victim.
- Whether the person already has a lawyer.
- The arrest date and the court date.
- The state where the offense happened, which can differ from where the person lives.
- Whether the person is asking for themselves or a family member.
- A short case description in the person's own words.
- A consent record and a source sub ID on every lead.
The field-by-field version is on the criminal defense lead distribution page.
Building it, in order
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Sign firms before you build traffic
Find buyers first. Get each firm's charges, counties and caps, and whether it wants DUI only or every criminal matter. Only then decide where to generate.
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Get every firm to fund a balance
Three sellers in this directory already ask for a deposit or prepaid credits, so firms are used to it. Skip free sample leads, do not promise a number of cases by a date, and do not invoice afterward. In Juiced the firm funds a wallet and is charged as each lead is delivered.
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Write the return policy before the first lead
List what gets credit, such as wrong numbers, duplicates, wrong category, wrong location and people already represented, and what does not, such as no answer or a voicemail. Only five of the 10 sellers here publish reasons, and they disagree, so yours must be written down.
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Set expectations on the first call
Tell the firm that not every person answers the first call, that speed of follow-up matters, and which outcomes the return policy covers. Firms that hear this up front blame the leads less.
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Give criminal defense its own lead type
Add case_type, has_attorney, arrest_date, court_date and offense_state, and mark the ones a firm needs to decide as required for ping. Keep contact details and case_description for the post.
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Generate only where a funded firm is waiting
Point traffic at the states and counties your funded firms cover. A DUI arrest in a county no firm buys can only go to overflow.
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Let several firms bid on each lead
One seller here sets a fixed price per lead. Several firms bidding usually beats one firm at a flat price. Firms bid above your minimum and the highest bid wins in seconds, while each lead still goes to one firm, matching the exclusive offer most sellers here make.
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Have overflow ready
Two sellers in this directory sell aged leads, and one runs a discount marketplace for unsold exclusive leads. In Juiced, unsold leads go to your own marketplace, where the price falls until a firm buys with Buy Now or a standing Buy Order.
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Keep a source sub ID on every lead
Carry source_sub_id so that when a firm's returns pile up with wrong numbers or represented defendants, you can see which traffic source sent them and cut it.
What makes criminal defense different
- Every criminal defense company in our directory generates its own traffic, often from its own legal information sites and free evaluation forms.
- Exclusive real-time leads are the norm, offered by 8 of the 10 sellers, and only one sells shared leads.
- DUI is big enough that one seller runs a DUI-only network with its own evaluation questions.
- Sellers compete on buying terms as well as price: one runs a discount marketplace for unsold exclusive leads, and one adds funding bonuses and reward points.
- Funding terms split sellers: three require money down, while three others advertise no minimum at all.
- None of the sellers says it scrubs leads against do-not-call lists, and only half say anything about consent.
Common mistakes
- Mixing DUI, felony and expungement inquiries in one lead type, so a firm gets charges it does not take.
- Leaving has_attorney out of the ping and then fighting over returns for people who are already represented.
- Giving firms free sample leads or invoicing later instead of having them fund a balance first.
- Leaving deposit and refund terms vague, when sellers here spell out which part of a balance is refundable.
- Buying traffic in counties where no funded firm is waiting.
- Selling to one firm at a fixed price when several firms would bid on the same lead.
- Letting the sales page promise more than the written agreement covers, a gap the researchers found on more than one legal site.
Related
- Criminal defense lead buyers and sellers: every company in this market, checked against its own website
- Criminal defense lead distribution: the fields, screens and routing for this market
- Legal lead distribution: the wider vertical
- Pay-per-lead vs. pay-per-call: why selling records is simpler than selling live calls
Frequently asked
Who buys criminal defense leads?
Law firms, from DUI-only practices to firms that buy criminal defense among many practice areas, plus a few legal networks that also buy from publishers. All 10 sellers in our directory generate their own leads, and most sell to firms directly.
Should I sell criminal leads exclusive or shared?
Exclusive. Eight of the 10 sellers offer exclusive leads and only one also sells shared. In Juiced, several firms can bid on a lead while only the winner receives it.
What should a criminal defense lead include?
The charge or case type, the stage of the case, whether the person already has a lawyer, the arrest and court dates and the state of the offense, along with contact details, a consent record and a source sub ID.
How quickly do firms expect criminal leads?
Nine of the 10 sellers in this directory describe real-time delivery or an immediate notification when a lead arrives. In Juiced, the highest bid wins the lead in seconds and it is delivered by webhook into the firm's CRM, email or text.
Do criminal defense firms sign contracts?
Mostly not. Six of the 10 sellers say there is no long-term contract, though three ask for a deposit or prepaid credits. Funding a balance up front protects you without a contract.
Do criminal defense firms accept aged leads?
Two sellers in this directory offer aged leads, and one sells unsold exclusive leads at a discount. In Juiced, leads no firm takes go to your marketplace, where the price falls until someone buys.
What do criminal defense leads sell for?
No prices are published here. Sellers rarely publish them, and what a criminal defense lead sells for depends on whether it is exclusive or shared, a web lead or a call, the geography, how fresh it is and how many buyers want it. The pay-per-lead pricing guide shows how to work out your own floor from cost and let buyers bid above it.
Does Juiced handle criminal defense calls or live transfers?
No. Juiced distributes web leads and delivers them by webhook, email or text. It does not track or route phone calls, so if calls are part of your product you need call tracking software for that side.
Selling criminal defense leads to more than one buyer?
Juiced is lead distribution software for companies that sell leads. Buyers fund a wallet and bid above your minimum, each lead goes to the highest bid in seconds, and leads that miss their first buyer go to your own marketplace instead of being lost.
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