Criminal defense lawyer marketing: what your ads can say and what leads cost
A defense firm can run Facebook and Instagram ads, with two limits that shape every ad: Meta counts a criminal record among the things an ad may never imply, so “Arrested?” gets rejected, and a criminal case cannot be taken on contingency. For cost, the last reliable Meta figure for legal services is $104.58 a lead (2024).
Three free sample video ads with your firm’s name; no sign-up needed.
The rules a defense firm’s ads answer to
Each card quotes the official text it summarizes, read on the date shown. Your own state’s rules govern your firm; check them, or ask your bar’s ethics line, before an ad runs.
What Meta rejects
Meta
Meta lists a criminal record among the attributes no ad may imply; its own rejected example is “Are you a convicted felon?”, so “Arrested?” and “Charged with a DUI?” are out. Name the service and the county instead.
“membership in a trade union, criminal record, or name”
Meta Advertising Standards: personal attributes, read 2026-11-03
Meta
A defense firm cannot promote bail bonds in its ads; Meta lists them as a prohibited loan product.
“Promote Bail Bonds, which are loans that allow criminal defendants to get conditional release from custody”
Meta Advertising Standards: financial and insurance products, read 2026-11-03
Fees
ABA model rule
A criminal case cannot be taken on contingency, so “no fee unless we win” has no place in a defense ad. Texas and Florida have the same rule.
“a contingent fee for representing a defendant in a criminal case”
ABA Model Rule 1.5(d)(2), read 2026-11-03
Texas
An advertised flat fee has to be honored while the ad is reasonably expected to be seen, up to a year.
“for the period during which the advertisement is reasonably expected to be in circulation”
Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct 7.02(d), read 2026-11-03
Contacting people after an arrest
Texas
A message sent to a specific person, such as someone on a county arrest list, must be labeled an advertisement; on social media that is the first word. A public feed ad is not this kind of message.
“not plainly marked or clearly designated an ‘ADVERTISEMENT’”
Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct 7.03(d)(2), read 2026-11-03
Florida
Florida has no waiting period for writing to people charged with a crime, unlike injury cases, but the letter or email must be marked as an advertisement.
“clearly and conspicuously marked ‘advertisement’”
Rules Regulating The Florida Bar 4-7.18(b)(2)(B), read 2026-11-03
California
California requires the word “Advertisement” on any targeted message to someone known to need a lawyer for a particular matter.
“known to be in need of legal services in a particular matter shall include the word ‘Advertisement’”
California Rule of Professional Conduct 7.3(c), read 2026-11-03
Specialist claims
ABA model rule
“Certified” or “specialist” needs a real certification, and the ad names who granted it. ABA-accredited programs include criminal trial advocacy and DUI defense law.
“the name of the certifying organization is clearly identified”
ABA Model Rule 7.2(c), read 2026-11-03
Texas
Texas prescribes the exact wording for board certification. The Texas Board of Legal Specialization listed 764 lawyers certified in criminal law on 2026-11-03.
“Board Certified, area of specialization -- Texas Board of Legal Specialization”
Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct 7.02(b)(1), read 2026-11-03
Florida
A Florida ad may say “specialist” or “expert” only with a certification or a claim the lawyer can objectively verify.
“the area of certification and the name of the certifying organization”
Rules Regulating The Florida Bar 4-7.14(a)(4)-(5), read 2026-11-03
Case results
Florida
Results must be checkable facts. The comment’s own acceptable example counts acquittals; it warns that “successful” can mean a plea to a lesser charge.
“obtained acquittals in all charges in 4 criminal defense cases”
Rules Regulating The Florida Bar 4-7.13(b)(2), comment, read 2026-11-03
Florida
Naming a client’s dismissed charge needs that client’s informed consent, even though the case is public record.
“in the public record does not obviate the need”
Rules Regulating The Florida Bar 4-7.13, comment on client consent, read 2026-11-03
ABA model rule
What a firm learned in a former client’s case stays confidential in its marketing, unless the rules allow otherwise.
“reveal information relating to the representation except as these Rules would permit”
ABA Model Rule 1.9(c)(2), read 2026-11-03
Texas
A truthful result can still mislead if the ad suggests others will get the same outcome without explaining the facts.
“without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances”
Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct 7.01, comment 5, read 2026-11-03
California
California bans any promise of success in a lawyer’s ad, video included.
“A guarantee or warranty of success”
California Business and Professions Code 6157.2(a), read 2026-11-03
What a new defense client costs in Facebook ads
Nobody publishes a Meta benchmark for criminal or DUI cases with a method behind it; the figures on agency sites come without one. The nearest checked number is the legal-services median of $104.58 a lead and $8.50 a click. Here is what one signed client costs in ads at that rate:
- If 1 lead in 4 hires you
- $418
- If 1 lead in 8 hires you
- $837
- If 1 lead in 12 hires you
- $1,255
Attorneys and legal services, median of US lead campaigns, WordStream by LocaliQ, 2024. The hire rates are examples to compare with your intake records, not published rates; the later editions print no usable legal figure.
If your firm charges flat fees, the test is simple: when a typical fee is several times the figure in the column nearest your hire rate, Facebook can pay for itself. Put your own fee and rate into the cost calculator to see the monthly numbers.
Six defense ad ideas that keep to those rules
The attorney films each one in the same 20 to 30-minute phone session. None of the hooks is flagged by Oak Reel’s ad checker.
- 1
“What to say, and not say, if police ask to talk”
The attorney explains, in general terms, the right to stay silent and to ask for a lawyer, and why polite silence is not an admission.
Addressed to anyone who might one day be asked, so it implies nothing about the viewer’s record.
- 2
“What happens at a first court appearance”
The attorney walks through the first hearing in the firm’s county: who is in the room, what the judge decides about release, and what to bring.
Describes a process, the kind of line Meta’s policy allows, instead of a charge the viewer might face.
- 3
“How a DUI case moves through the courts, and the deadline people miss”
The attorney separates the driver’s license hearing from the criminal case and names the state’s deadline to request that hearing.
A fact stated for the firm’s own state, with no promise about how a case ends.
- 4
“What our flat fee covers, and what it does not”
The attorney states the fee for a typical case, whether a trial costs more, and which costs such as experts are separate.
Criminal cases cannot be taken on contingency, so the fee is stated plainly instead of “no fee unless we win”.
- 5
“Who can have an old record sealed in our state”
The attorney lists which past cases the state lets people seal, the waiting period, and what sealing does and does not hide.
Meta’s own allowed example is an ad for services that clean up previous offenses; this is that, explained.
- 6
“What a family can do in the first hours after an arrest”
The attorney explains how to find where someone is held, how release and bond usually work locally, and what not to discuss on jail phones.
Speaks to relatives, who often make the first call, and says nothing about who in the audience was arrested.
Each idea answers a question someone has before they know whether they need you, which is the only kind of question a defense ad can safely ask. A feed ad reaches people before any search, so the firm is a familiar face if they or someone in their family ever needs one.
Getting the ads made
Oak Reel edits the attorney’s footage into a month of ads, checks each one against Meta’s rules, and runs them from your firm’s ad account once you approve them. It costs $2,500 a month, the same for every firm and never tied to cases signed. Injury firms have their own rules page, and the law firm page covers other practice areas.
Make sample ads for my firm