In this short on Legal Marketing by Spearleaf, Joshua Albanese, founder of Spearleaf, answers a small-firm defense lawyer who says half the calls come from somebody's mother late at night: four ways to win that call, from a first-week page for your county and a clear fee to a callback you keep. Narrated with an AI voice clone of Joshua Albanese. Other characters are AI-generated. Every answer is written and checked by the Spearleaf team.
Read the full guide: Criminal Defense Marketing: Win the Family's First Call →
Video Transcript
Business owner: What criminal defense marketing works for a small firm like mine? Half my calls come from somebody's mother at eleven at night, not the person charged.
Joshua: Then market to that mother. A parent or spouse often makes the first call, so here are four ways to win that call. One, explain the next few days in your county. How bond works at your jail, when arraignment happens, what she should do before then. Put that on a plain page, and say the same thing on the phone. A scared mother wants a map of the week, not a sales pitch. She may also ask ChatGPT or Google's AI how bond works at the county jail tonight. Google's AI answers include links to the websites they draw from. A clear page about your county's process can be one of them.
Business owner: My site has one page for everything. Felonies, misdemeanors, DUI, all on a single page.
Joshua: Then leave that page for now. Add one page first: the first week after an arrest in your county. Two, a fee she can explain to the family. If you charge flat fees, say what's included up to trial, and what changes at trial. She's comparing price and fear at the same time. A clear structure answers the fear part.
Business owner: But the mother is the one paying. She expects updates on her son's case every week.
Joshua: Then say on the first call who the client is. Her son is the client, even when she pays, so he decides what she hears. How a parent pays, and what you can share with her, are bar-rule questions. Check your state bar's rules before that first call. Three, a callback time you keep. Your voicemail names the hour you'll call back, and you call before that hour. And ask first how it's safe to reach her and her son. A text about a criminal case can land on a shared family phone. Four, your standing at the courthouse. Other lawyers see how you handle the same judges and prosecutors each week, and that can earn referrals.
Business owner: That's honestly where most of my clients come from. The clerk's office knows me better than Google does.
Joshua: When a mother phones the one lawyer she knows, your name should be the one given. Say on your site which courts you're in, without promising outcomes. It's a mix: the county page, a clear fee, a callback you keep, and your name at the courthouse. Track one number: clients retained before arraignment, by source. That tells you which of the four is working. Want the Position Zero Guide to Getting More Customers on ChatGPT, Google and Google Maps? Comment "DRIVE" and I'll send it. And follow for more straight answers for defense lawyers.