Personal injury leads are inquiries from people who may be seeking legal representation relating to an injury or accident. Lead vendors may deliver contact records, inbound calls, completed forms, appointments or transferred conversations.
Law firms should evaluate PI leads as both an acquisition product and an attorney-advertising/vendor-governance issue.
Lead Models
| Lead product | Typical delivery | Key buyer issue |
|---|---|---|
| Shared lead | Multiple firms may receive inquiry | Competition |
| Exclusive lead | One participating firm receives it | Definition of exclusivity |
| Inbound call | Prospect calls tracking number | Source/message |
| Qualified lead | Vendor applies agreed factual criteria | Qualification rules |
| Live transfer | Caller transferred to firm | Pre-transfer workflow |
Source Transparency
A law firm should understand:
- where the consumer encountered the advertising
- whose branding appeared
- what claims were made
- what information was requested
- whether the lead is resold
- whether the vendor represents itself as recommending a particular lawyer
ABA Model Rule 7.2 permits lawyers to pay for certain advertising and lead-generation services, but its commentary distinguishes permissible lead generation from impermissible paid recommendations and emphasizes that lead-generator communications must remain consistent with professional-conduct rules. State rules can be more specific and control the firm's actual obligations.
Qualification
Factual screening might include:
- incident type
- geography
- date
- whether counsel is already retained
- basic contact information
- other criteria defined by the firm
The lead vendor should not represent that a consumer definitely has a valid claim merely because screening criteria were met.
Freshness
Track the time between:
consumer inquiry → lead delivery → first firm contact
But speed should not replace responsible intake and conflict processes.
Economics
The meaningful funnel is:
lead → contact → completed intake → attorney review → signed matter → retained case economics
Raw cost per lead can be misleading.
Vendor Oversight
Ask for:
- landing pages and ad examples
- sourcing channels
- exclusivity terms
- disclosures
- qualification rules
- data retention
- complaint handling
- replacement rules
- evidence supporting marketing claims
Call Center Magic provides buyer research, not ethics advice. Firms should apply the professional-conduct rules of their jurisdictions.