The short answer
Choose an agency that puts four answers in writing: each enquiry's source, how it's paid, who owns the accounts and what you keep when you leave. Your firm stays responsible for how an agency finds clients, as the SRA's warning notice of 19 December 2024 makes clear.[1] Nobody can promise first place on Google.[2]
Naelar sells lead generation and local SEO to UK solicitors firms, among its other law firm marketing services, so this guide is written by a vendor. Treat it as a buyer's checklist written by a seller. It doesn't rank agencies, judge any named agency or put us on a list.
We're not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice, so check the answers with your compliance officer. Your firm stays responsible for its own compliance. The guide is for partners, COLPs (compliance officers for legal practice) and practice managers choosing an outside agency. It isn't for people looking for a solicitor.
Six groups of questions follow. Each one ends with something you file.
Who answers to the SRA when an agency gets it wrong?
Your firm does. The SRA's warning notice is called Marketing your services to members of the public. It says a firm should be able to show a referred client wasn't acquired "through cold calling or door-knocking, or other targeted or unsolicited approaches".[1] Blaming an unregulated third party won't work either.[4]
The notice was published on 19 December 2024. It's written for all firms, "particularly those carrying out high-volume consumer claims work".[3] It names the kind of partner it means, "such as a lead generator business or a claims management company".[5] An agency that runs your ads and forms sits close to that line, so read the notice as if it were about your agency.
Three short rules sit behind it, each on the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors or the Code of Conduct for Firms:
- Paragraph 8.9 of the Code for Solicitors: no unsolicited approaches to the public, except current or former clients.[6]
- Paragraph 5.1 of the Code for Solicitors: a client from an introducer mustn't have been found in a way that breaks the SRA's rules.[7]
- Paragraph 2.2 of the Code for Firms: keep records that show you're meeting your obligations.[8]
Put simply, what your agency does in your name counts as your firm's marketing. That's why the questions below ask for written answers. Written answers can go in the compliance file. A friendly sales call can't.
What should an agency tell you about where enquiries come from?
For each enquiry, it should show the ad or page that produced it. It should also show what the person agreed to and who else received it. Without that trail, you can't show anyone that the enquiry wasn't a cold approach.
Ask these six in writing:
- For any enquiry I pick, can you show the ad, the page and the form it came through?
- Did the person ask to hear from a solicitor, and where is that request stored?
- Does this enquiry go to us alone, or is it sold or passed to other firms too?
- Do the ads and pages name our firm, or does the person find out who we are later?
- Does anyone phone, text, visit or message people before they've made an enquiry?
- Do you go back to people who enquired somewhere else and try to win them over?
Questions two and six come straight from the warning notice. It says firms should be satisfied with the informed consent a person gave through a third party.[9] It also tells firms to be "cautious about any use of 're-marketing' techniques".[10]
Exclusive or shared?
An exclusive enquiry goes to one firm and stops there. A shared one goes to several firms at once, so the person may get three calls in an hour and pick whoever rang first. Ask which you're buying, and get the answer into the contract. Our own model, stated once: every lead stays exclusive to the firm, and we don't buy, sell or share leads.
You can also check without the agency. The notice suggests "regular spot checks on new clients", asking them how, and by whom, they were contacted.[11] It takes one line in your intake script, and the answer goes on the matter file. We set that up as part of our intake and CRM service.
This section lists what to rule out. It gives no advice on approaching people who haven't asked for help. If your firm handles personal injury or other claims, our claims marketing due diligence guide has a longer list for lead sources.
How should an agency be paid?
Ask what each line on the invoice buys. For personal injury and death claims, there's a further test: whether any part of the fee is really a payment for referrals.
Referral fees on injury claims
The rule is section 56 of LASPO (the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012).[12] It catches a regulated person who refers a claim and "is paid or has been paid for the referral".[12]
The SRA's LASPO guidance sets the scope: referral fees in claims for damages after personal injury or death, from 1 April 2013.[13] Conveyancing, family and immigration work aren't covered by that ban.
Paying per lead
On marketing, the same SRA guidance is plain. Two kinds of payment are a warning sign: one made "for each 'lead'", and one that varies with the number of referrals.
Either "is likely to suggest that the payment is for the referrals rather than for the marketing".[14] And where it looks that way, "the onus will be on the regulated person to demonstrate that the payment was not for the referral".[15]
- Is any part of your fee charged per lead, per enquiry or per instruction?
- Does the fee go up when you send us more enquiries?
- What does each invoice line pay for: ad spend, design, tracking or your time?
- Who pays Google and Meta for the ads, our firm or you?
- Do you take a share of ad spend as your fee, and is that share written down?
Whatever model an agency offers, ask your compliance officer or an ethics adviser how it applies to your work. The claims guide covers payment questions for claims firms in more depth.
How does an agency keep your adverts and pages accurate?
Someone at your firm should sign off every ad and page before it goes live. Paragraph 8.8 of the Code of Conduct says publicity about your practice must be "accurate and not misleading".[16] The warning notice adds: "This also includes any marketing material used by third parties that you work with."[17]
The notice lists what that material shouldn't mislead people about:[18]
- the chances of a claim succeeding
- the size of any likely award
- what other clients have said about your firm
- awards or credentials your firm holds
- free ombudsman or compensation schemes people could use themselves
The SRA's announcement of the notice tells firms to "regularly obtain and review any publicity or promotional material used by third parties".[19] So ask for copies, not just a login you'll never open.
- Who at our firm signs off each ad, page and email before it goes out, and where is that recorded?
- Will you send us a dated copy of every live ad and landing page?
- How do you handle words like "no win, no fee", "best" or past results?
- How do you use client reviews and quotes from past clients, and who checks them?
Branding is part of your publicity too. Our guide to what your logo, letterhead and site must show lists the items to check on anything an agency designs.
Price pages are the other trap.
If you advertise residential conveyancing, uncontested probate or certain immigration work, the SRA Transparency Rules may ask for published costs. Costs information covers "the total cost of the service or, where not practicable, the average cost or range of costs".[20] Ask the agency who keeps that page current when your fees change. Our SRA Transparency Rules checklist goes through it line by line.
Nothing we build, publish or send goes out before the firm signs it off. Check each of these points with your compliance officer before you publish.
What happens to enquiry data and follow-up messages?
The agency should tell you where enquiry data is held, what people agree to on the form and which automatic texts or emails go out. PECR is the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. The ICO's guide to PECR is blunt: "You must not send marketing emails or texts to individuals without specific consent."[21]
There's a narrow exception for a business's own customers. The ICO says it "does not apply to prospective customers or new contacts".[22] The same ICO page says it's under review because of changes made by the Data (Use and Access) Act.[23] Check the page on the day you decide.
Whether a given follow-up counts as marketing isn't something this guide can settle. Ask the agency for a list of every message it sends, then let your data protection lead classify each one. For wider data questions, start at ico.org.uk.
- Where is enquiry data stored, and who at your agency can see it?
- What consent wording sits on each form, and can we approve it?
- Which automatic texts or emails go out, and who signs off the wording?
- Do you record calls, and how is the caller told?
A family law enquiry can be sensitive in a way a conveyancing one usually isn't. Ask where a follow-up text lands, and who else might read it. Before any automatic message goes live, check it with your compliance officer or data protection lead.
Who owns the accounts, and what you keep when you leave
Your firm should own every account, with the agency added as a user. Settle this, and the exit terms, before any work starts. Leave it until notice has been given and you'll be asking a favour.
| Account | Who should own it | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ads and Meta ad accounts | Your firm, paid with your firm's card | Is the account in our name, and are you added as a user? |
| Google Business Profile | Someone at your firm as primary owner[24] | Who is the primary owner today? |
| Search Console | Your firm, with read access for a new agency at first[25] | What access do you need, and why? |
| Analytics and call tracking | Your firm | Can we see the same numbers you see? |
| CRM and enquiry forms | Your firm | Will this stay in our system when you go? |
| Website, domain and hosting | Your firm | Whose name is the domain registered in? |
Google's Business Profile help says a profile "can have multiple owners but only one primary owner".[24] Make sure that one works for you. For an agency doing a first audit, Google's advice is to "only grant read access to Search Console".[25]
- Whose name is each account in: the ad accounts, the Business Profile, the CRM and the domain?
- What's the shortest contract you offer, and how much notice do we give?
- What do you hand over when we leave, in what format and by when?
- Is any of the work built on tools only you can log in to?
For data, ask for every enquiry and call record in a file you can open, such as a spreadsheet. Then ask the agency to confirm in writing that it has deleted its own copies. With Naelar, ad accounts, the CRM and pages are set up in the firm's name, and the firm owns them.
If the agency is also rebuilding your site, our law firm website design page shows who supplies what, and the SRA Transparency Rules checklist lists the pages to check.
How should an agency report results?
By enquiries, calls answered and instructions signed. Rankings and clicks are steps on the way, so ask for a baseline in month one and reports that tie spend to new instructions.
- What will you measure before you start, so we can see what changed?
- Will you report which enquiries became instructions, not only clicks?
- What will you tell us when something isn't working?
- Who sees the numbers first, and how often do we get them?
Reporting to instruction needs your help. Someone at the firm has to mark which enquiries signed, in the CRM or on a monthly list. There's little reliable public UK data on cost per instruction, so this guide gives no benchmark.
Here's why that marking matters. In one conveyancing firm we work with, the CRM marks 62 of the leads received from 1 to 26 October 2026 as instructed. The firm's own count for October is 101 clients. So a cost per instruction worked out from the CRM alone is an upper bound. That's one firm, and results vary by firm, area and market.
Use your own numbers instead. Our PPC management for solicitors page explains how we report on cost per instruction.
What do channel costs look like for one firm?
Ask for cost per lead and cost per instruction by channel. Here is what that looked like for one UK conveyancing firm, from its own accounts, read by Naelar on 27 October 2026.
| Channel | Spend | Leads | Per lead | Instructions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads, 1 September to 26 October 2026 | £3,417.65 | 114 in the CRM | about £30 | 9, at £379.74 each |
| Meta ads, 1 September to 26 October 2026 | £9,478.88 | 675, as Meta counts them | £14.04 | 30, at £315.96 each |
| Microsoft (Bing) Ads, 8 to 27 October 2026, then paused | £696.18 | 14 in the CRM | £49.73 | 1 |
Meta cost less than half as much per lead as Google Ads (£14.04 against about £30), but only about a sixth less per recorded instruction (£315.96 against £379.74). Bing ran for a shorter period, 8 to 27 October, so compare it with care.
Google says nobody can promise a top ranking.[2] It also warns site owners to be careful "if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do".[26] Ask what the agency can show you instead: a sample report, and work you can check yourself.
What changes by practice area
The six groups apply to every firm. A few practice areas add one question each, and some have their own rules that our other guides cover.
| Practice area | Add this question |
|---|---|
| Personal injury and claims | Can you show, for one enquiry, that nobody approached the person first? Read next: Claims due diligence |
| Residential conveyancing | Who updates the price page and the quote wording when our fees change? Read next: Conveyancing firms |
| Immigration | Which of our services sit inside the price rules, and how do the pages show it? Read next: Immigration firms |
| Wills and probate | Is the probate price on the page the one the intake team quotes? Read next: Wills and probate firms |
| Family law | Where do follow-up texts and emails land, and who else could read them? Read next: Family law marketing for solicitors |
The full list of areas we work in is on who we serve.
Does the agency need legal sector experience, and what proof should you ask for?
It helps, but it is not proof. An agency that knows legal marketing should still answer the written questions below in writing. Ask for a sample report and the name of the person who will run your account. Ask for work you can check yourself, such as a live page they built.
Ask who at the agency you will speak to week to week.
Should a solicitors firm hire in-house or use an agency?
Either way your firm answers to the SRA for its marketing, so the real choice is who does the work and who holds the accounts.[1] The table sets the two side by side.
| Question | In-house | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers to the SRA? | Your firm | Your firm, including for material third parties publish on its behalf[1] |
| Who does the work? | A person or team you employ | The agency's staff, with your solicitors signing off every ad and page |
| Who should own the accounts? | Your firm | Your firm, with the agency added as a user |
| What should you ask for? | A written list of what is live and who can log in | The written answers in the question list below |
If you are weighing the two, start with the question list. It works for an in-house hire as well as an agency.
Red flags that should stop you signing
Stop if an agency promises rankings or case numbers, or won't answer in writing. The same goes if it hides who gets your enquiries or wants your accounts in its own name. Stop too if part of the fee rises with each lead on claims work (questions seven and eight).[14] Stop if "exclusive" turns out to mean shared with a panel of firms (question three).
Stop if it won't explain the plan, or who will do the work.[26] Each flag in the table points back to a question.
Red flags and green flags side by side
Each red flag has a green one to look for instead. The SRA's warning notice on marketing to the public is why they matter: the firm answers for what a third party does for it.[1]
| Topic | Red flag | Green flag |
|---|---|---|
| Promises | Promises a ranking or a number of new cases[2] | Says plainly that nobody can promise a top ranking[2] |
| Enquiry source | Can't show the path of an enquiry you pick (question one)[1] | Shows the ad, page and form behind any enquiry |
| Accounts | Ad accounts or Business Profile in the agency's name (question twenty)[24] | Every account in your firm's name, agency added as a user |
| Ads and pages | Won't send copies of live ads and pages (question thirteen)[19] | Sends dated copies, each signed off by your firm |
| Reporting | Can't say what it will measure before starting (question twenty-four) | Agrees a baseline, then reports enquiries to instructions |
Every agency you meet may seem to sell the same stuff. If so, ask each one what it would do in the first month for a firm like yours. A legal background helps with regulated wording. It doesn't replace the written answers.
A question list to print
Here are all twenty-seven questions in one place, grouped as above. Send the list to any agency you're talking to and ask for answers in writing.
| Group | Ask |
|---|---|
| Enquiry source | Show me the ad, page and form behind any enquiry I pick. |
| Enquiry source | Did the person ask to hear from a solicitor, and where is that stored? |
| Enquiry source | Does each enquiry come to us alone? |
| Enquiry source | Do the ads and pages name our firm? |
| Enquiry source | Does anyone contact people before they enquire? |
| Enquiry source | Do you re-contact people who enquired elsewhere? |
| Payment | Is any fee charged per lead, enquiry or instruction? |
| Payment | Does the fee rise with volume? |
| Payment | What does each invoice line pay for? |
| Payment | Who pays Google and Meta? |
| Payment | Do you take a share of ad spend, and is it written down? |
| Adverts and pages | Who signs off each ad and page, and where is it recorded? |
| Adverts and pages | Will you send dated copies of every live ad and page? |
| Adverts and pages | How do you handle "no win, no fee", "best" and results wording? |
| Adverts and pages | How do you use client reviews, and who checks them? |
| Data and messages | Where is enquiry data stored, and who can see it? |
| Data and messages | What consent wording is on each form? |
| Data and messages | Which automatic texts and emails go out, and who approves them? |
| Data and messages | Do you record calls, and how is the caller told? |
| Accounts and exit | Whose name is each account in? |
| Accounts and exit | What's the shortest contract, and the notice period? |
| Accounts and exit | What do you hand over when we leave, how and by when? |
| Accounts and exit | Is anything built on tools only you can log in to? |
| Reporting | What will you measure before you start? |
| Reporting | Will you report enquiries that became instructions? |
| Reporting | What will you tell us when something isn't working? |
| Reporting | Who sees the numbers first, and how often? |
Our own answers
It's fair to ask us the same questions. Our answers are short because we only list what we can put in writing today.
| Group | Our answer |
|---|---|
| Enquiry source | Every lead stays exclusive to your firm. We don't buy, sell or share leads. |
| Adverts and pages | Nothing is built, published or sent before your firm signs it off. |
| Accounts and exit | Ad accounts, the CRM and pages are set up in your firm's name, and your firm owns them. |
| Reporting | We report down to cost per instruction. The PPC management for solicitors page shows how, and our conveyancing case study shows one firm's figures. |
| First steps | The first conversation is free, and we reply within one working day. |
Our law firm marketing services page sets out what each of the six covers, including local SEO and AI search. If you'd rather know who's answering, read about Rishabh.
Search for "choosing a legal marketing agency" in the UK and the top results are mostly agencies writing about agencies. The ones we could open on 9 October 2026 talk about fit, strategy and trust. Only one mentioned the SRA at all, and only for price pages. None tied its questions to the December 2024 warning notice, LASPO or PECR, so that's what this page does.
Frequently asked questions
How do you choose the right marketing agency for a solicitors firm?
Send every agency on your shortlist the same written questions and compare the answers. Look for plain answers on where enquiries come from, how the agency is paid, who owns the accounts and what you keep when you leave.
Should a solicitors firm use an agency that only works with law firms?
It can help, because that agency should already know the SRA's rules on publicity and third parties. It doesn't replace the written answers in this guide. Ask the same questions whichever kind of agency you talk to.
Who is responsible for an agency's adverts?
Your firm. The SRA Code of Conduct says publicity about your practice must be accurate and not misleading.[16] The December 2024 warning notice says this includes material used by third parties you work with.[17]
Can a marketing agency charge a solicitors firm per lead?
Ask your compliance officer before you agree to it. For personal injury and death claims, LASPO section 56 bans referral fees.[12] The SRA says a payment for each lead is likely to suggest a payment for referrals.[14]
What is the average cost of a marketing agency?
This guide doesn't give a figure. Agency fees depend on the work, the practice area and the ad spend, and public UK figures are thin. Ask each agency what every line on the invoice buys, and judge it by cost per instruction.
What should I ask for when I leave an agency?
Ask for the ad accounts, the Google Business Profile, tracking, landing pages and creative files. You also want every enquiry with its history, in a format you can open. Ask in writing for the agency to delete its copies of your enquiry data.
What you can do this week
Email your current agency, or the one you're about to sign with. Ask for written answers to questions one to six. Ask too for a dated copy of every live ad and landing page, and a list of every account with its owner.
File the replies with the contract. Check them with your compliance officer before you act on them.
Sources
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, "Marketing your services to members of the public: warning notice", 19 December 2024, on referred clients. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/marketing-public. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Google Search Central, "Do you need an SEO?", on promised rankings. Updated 5 June 2026. developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, same warning notice, 19 December 2024, on who it is for. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/marketing-public. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, same warning notice, 19 December 2024, on unregulated third parties. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/marketing-public. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, same warning notice, 19 December 2024, on lead generators and claims management companies. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/marketing-public. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, "SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs", paragraph 8.9. Page undated. sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/code-conduct-solicitors. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, "SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs", paragraph 5.1. Page undated. sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/code-conduct-solicitors. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, "SRA Code of Conduct for Firms", paragraph 2.2. Page undated. sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/code-conduct-firms. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, warning notice, 19 December 2024, on informed consent given through a third party. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/marketing-public. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, warning notice, 19 December 2024, on re-marketing. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/marketing-public. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, warning notice, 19 December 2024, on spot checks with new clients. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/marketing-public. Checked 9 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, section 56, "Rules against referral fees". legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/10/section/56. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, "The prohibition of referral fees in LASPO (sections 56 to 60)", last updated 25 November 2019, on scope and start date. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/ethics-guidance/prohibition-of-referral-fees-in-laspo-56-60. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, same LASPO guidance, last updated 25 November 2019, on payments for each lead. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/ethics-guidance/prohibition-of-referral-fees-in-laspo-56-60. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, same LASPO guidance, last updated 25 November 2019, on who has to prove what. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/ethics-guidance/prohibition-of-referral-fees-in-laspo-56-60. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, "SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs", paragraph 8.8. Page undated. sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/code-conduct-solicitors. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, warning notice, 19 December 2024, on third-party marketing material. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/marketing-public. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, warning notice, 19 December 2024, on what material should not mislead about. sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/marketing-public. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, "SRA issues warning notice on unsolicited approaches and cold calling", press release, 19 December 2024. sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/2024-press-releases/warning-notice-unsolicited-approaches. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, "SRA Transparency Rules", Rule 1.5, version in effect from 11 April 2025. sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/transparency-rules. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Information Commissioner's Office, "Guide to PECR: electronic mail marketing", on consent. Page undated. ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/electronic-mail-marketing. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Information Commissioner's Office, same page, on the exception for existing customers. Page undated. ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/electronic-mail-marketing. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Information Commissioner's Office, same page, note that the guidance is under review. Page undated. ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/electronic-mail-marketing. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, "Manage Business Profile owners and managers". No date shown. support.google.com/business/answer/3403100. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Google Search Central, "Do you need an SEO?", on Search Console access. Updated 5 June 2026. developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo. Checked 9 October 2026.
- Google Search Central, "Do you need an SEO?", on companies that won't explain their plans. Updated 5 June 2026. developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo. Checked 9 October 2026.
This guide is not legal advice. Rules last checked 9 October 2026.