How much should I pay a marketing agency for each new client? Between 10 and 25 percent of your average case fee for most practices — and pay the agency for the work, not per client, because per-client pricing raises fee-sharing questions in many states.
The number is a ratio, not a dollar figure. $3,500 per case is excellent in personal injury and ruinous in estate planning.
- Published pricing — $2,500, $3,500 and $4,500 a month, on the site.
- Month to month. No contract is holding you anywhere.
- A former attorney of 17 years who filed 5,000+ cases works your account.
- You see your rankings move for 14 days before you are billed a dollar.
- Law firms only — no other industries, ever.
| Attorney Pro Marketing | Scorpion | FindLaw | Typical legal agency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing published on the website | Yes — $2,500 / $3,500 / $4,500 per month | Not published | Not published | Rarely published |
| Contract term | Month to month, 30 days’ notice | Not published | Not published | Commonly 12 months |
| Who works on your account | A former attorney of 17 years, in every account | Assigned account team | Assigned account team | Account manager, often across industries |
| Your website is built on | Standard, portable code | Proprietary platform | FirmSite platform | Varies — ask before signing |
| See results before you are billed | Yes — 14 days, then you decide | No | No | No |
| Ad spend billed by Google directly to you | Yes, no markup | Ask | Ask | Often passes through the agency |
“Not published” means the figure does not appear on that company’s own website as of October 2026 — check for yourself before you sign anything, with them or with us.
It Is a Ratio, Not a Figure
The right acquisition cost is a percentage of what the case is worth to you, which means the same dollar figure can be a bargain or a disaster depending on the practice.
Target range: 10 to 25 percent of average fee per signed case.
Below 10 percent, you are generally under-investing relative to competitors bidding for the same attention, and growth stalls. Above 25 percent, the margin gets thin once rent, staff, malpractice coverage and your own time are accounted for — though newer firms deliberately run high for a period to establish a client base, which is a reasonable choice made consciously.
Target Bands by Case Value
- Simple estate plan, $2,500 average fee → $250 to $625. Tight, which is why these practices live on organic search and the Google Business Profile rather than paid clicks.
- Immigration matter, $4,000 → $400 to $1,000.
- Family law case, $6,500 → $650 to $1,625.
- Criminal defence, $7,500 → $750 to $1,875.
- Business litigation, $20,000 → $2,000 to $5,000.
- Personal injury, $28,000 → $2,800 to $7,000. Which is why PI firms can pay $60 a click and still be rational.
Use your own average over the last twelve months rather than these illustrations, and use fee actually collected rather than fee billed. The gap between the two has ended more marketing programmes than poor targeting has.
Where Overhead Changes the Answer
The percentage is a starting point. Three adjustments matter.
Contingency practices should use expected value, not headline value. A personal injury matter with a $28,000 average recovery across all outcomes is a different number from a $28,000 settlement, because some cases resolve for nothing. Run the average across every signed case including the losses.
High-overhead practices need a lower percentage. If rent, staff and expert costs consume 70 percent of revenue, 25 percent acquisition cost leaves nothing. Calculate against contribution margin instead of gross fee.
Repeat and referral value raises the ceiling. An estate planning client who returns for a trust amendment and refers two family members is worth more than the first matter. If you can measure that reliably — and most firms cannot — the acceptable acquisition cost rises accordingly.
Why You Should Not Actually Pay Per Client
Everything above is a target for measuring your programme. It is not a recommendation to pay an agency on a per-client basis, and the distinction matters for two reasons.
Professional responsibility. Most states permit lawyers to pay reasonable advertising costs. Arrangements where payment is tied to the matter rather than the advertising — per-signed-case fees, percentages of recovery — have drawn scrutiny under rules governing fee division with non-lawyers and payment for referrals, and several jurisdictions have issued opinions specifically on lead-generation and per-case models. Check your own state's rules and consider asking your bar's practice-management advisor. Our page on pay-per-lead ethics sets out the framework.
Incentives and durability. Per-client pricing pays the vendor for volume and leaves you nothing when you stop. A flat fee buys labour that builds a website, a profile and a conversion history you keep.
So pay a flat fee, and use cost per signed case as the number you judge it by. Attorney Pro Marketing is flat-fee only — $2,500, $3,500 or $4,500 a month, published, with no per-lead or per-case component anywhere in the arrangement. Advertising is billed to your firm directly by Google, which means the cost per case calculation above is actually possible rather than an estimate built on a bundled invoice. Month to month, 30 days' notice, and everything built stays in your firm's name.
See it before you pay for it.
We snapshot your rankings on day 0, build and launch your site within three days, and show you the movement on day 14. If it has not moved enough to be worth continuing, you owe nothing for that period and you keep the Google Business Profile work.
Related Questions
Between 10 and 25 percent of your average fee for most practices. Below 10 percent usually means under-investing against competitors bidding for the same attention; above 25 percent leaves thin margin once overhead is counted, though newer firms sometimes run high deliberately to establish a client base.
It depends entirely on case value. At a $2,500 average fee the range is roughly $250 to $625; at $6,500 it is $650 to $1,625; at $28,000 it is $2,800 to $7,000. Use fee actually collected rather than billed, and for contingency practices use the average across every signed case including the ones that resolve for nothing.
Generally no. Payment tied to the matter rather than to the advertising has drawn scrutiny in several states under rules on fee division with non-lawyers and payment for referrals. Per-client pricing also pays for volume rather than quality and leaves you with nothing durable when you stop. Pay a flat fee and measure it by cost per signed case.
Substantially. If rent, staff and expert costs consume 70 percent of revenue, a 25 percent acquisition cost leaves nothing — so calculate against contribution margin rather than gross fee. Conversely, measurable repeat and referral value from a client raises the acceptable acquisition cost above the first matter's fee.