SMS marketing for law firms works when every text is expected: the person gave consent, knows who is texting, and can opt out easily. For personal injury firms, that usually means fast follow-up texts to web leads, appointment reminders, retainer e-sign links, document requests, and review requests.
This guide covers those uses and the federal, carrier, and state rules behind them.
Legal Conversion Center (LCC) handles intake for PI firms. Our follow-up programs can include text messages where your firm has consent, alongside calls and emails, as part of our personal injury intake services with multi-channel follow-up.
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How Do PI Firms Use Text Messages?
Text message marketing for law firms covers more than promotions. For PI firms, the most useful texts support intake and client service:
- Speed-to-lead texts to web leads. When a form comes in and the lead does not answer your callback, a short text names your firm and says you will call again. Example: “Hi [first name], this is [firm name] about the accident form you sent. An intake specialist will call you shortly. Reply STOP to opt out.”
- Appointment reminders. A reminder before a consultation or signing appointment helps prevent no-shows and makes rescheduling easy.
- Retainer e-sign links. Sending the retainer by text during or right after the intake call lets the client sign on a phone while the decision is fresh. It pairs well with retainer signing during the first call.
- Document requests. Ask for photos of the vehicle, the police report number, or the insurance card. Keep medical details out of texts and use a secure upload link for sensitive documents.
- Review requests. After a case resolves, a short text with a review link is easy to act on. Check your state bar’s rules on testimonials first.
Texts can also re-engage old leads, if you still have consent. Our dead lead follow-up for stalled cases mixes calls, texts, and emails for exactly that.
What Rules Apply to SMS Marketing for Law Firms?
TCPA-compliant texting for lawyers comes down to six areas. This section is a summary, not legal advice.
1. Consent
The FCC’s TCPA rules apply to text messages sent to cell phones. Texts sent with an autodialer need the person’s prior express consent, and marketing or advertising texts sent that way need prior express written consent: a signed agreement, which can be electronic, that names the phone number and says consent is not a condition of purchase.
Carrier guidelines follow a similar ladder. CTIA’s messaging principles call for consent to receive messages generally and express written consent specifically for marketing messages.
Practical step: put consent language that names your firm next to the phone field on every web form, and keep a record of when and where each person agreed. Penalties can be significant and can add up per text. Our guide to TCPA texting rules for intake has more detail.
2. Opt-outs
People can revoke consent by any reasonable method, including replying “stop,” and you must honor opt-out requests promptly. A single text confirming the opt-out is generally allowed. CTIA also expects senders to honor everyday wording such as “end,” “cancel,” or “please opt me out.”
Opt-out rules have changed more than once, so build a process that stops texts quickly on any reasonable request. Rules change, so review your policies with counsel.
3. Quiet hours and Do Not Call
Federal rules restrict the hours when telephone solicitations, including texts, can be sent, based on the recipient’s local time. A number of states have their own telemarketing laws that can be stricter than federal rules, including narrower calling hours, so a cautious policy applies the narrowest window that could reach a recipient to every text.
The national Do Not Call rules also apply to texts sent to cell phones, along with your own internal do-not-contact list.
4. A2P 10DLC registration
Business texts sent from a standard 10-digit number travel on what carriers call A2P 10DLC. The Campaign Registry says any business texting this way must register, which means registering your brand and each texting campaign, usually through your texting provider. Unregistered traffic can be blocked, so register before launch.
5. Content
Identify your firm in the text, keep claims accurate, and disclose how often you will text when someone opts in. Carrier guidelines bar unlawful, misleading, and harmful content.
Bar rules matter too. The ABA’s model rules treat texts as written communications rather than live person-to-person contact, but state bar advertising and solicitation rules still apply and differ by state. Have your ethics counsel review your templates.
6. Recordkeeping
Keep consent records (date, time, source page, and exact wording), opt-out logs, and message history. Do-not-call requests have to be honored long after they are made, so keep those records for as long as your counsel recommends.
Need Follow-Up That Respects Consent?
We follow your consent rules and opt-out lists on every callback and follow-up. Ask for a sample intake script to see how we’d handle your leads.
A Compliant Texting Workflow for PI Intake
Use this as a starting checklist for SMS for legal intake follow-up:
- Add clear consent language that names your firm next to the phone field on every web form.
- Store each consent record with a time stamp, page, and the exact wording.
- Register your brand and campaign for 10DLC through your texting provider.
- Send the first text within minutes of an unanswered callback, name your firm, and include opt-out instructions.
- Pair texts with calls. The text is the nudge; the screening conversation still happens by phone.
- Process opt-outs automatically and sync them to your call lists.
- Keep texts inside your quiet-hour policy, using the strictest state window that applies.
- Have ethics counsel review every template.
- Audit message logs and opt-outs every month.
For the full list of rules an intake partner should follow on calls, texts, recording, and HIPAA, read our guide to contact center compliance for legal intake. For follow-up cadence and source tracking, see our law firm lead management best practices.
How LCC Fits Into Your Text Follow-Up
LCC calls new web inquiries back within minutes, and our follow-up plans can include texts where your firm has consent, along with calls and emails sent from your firm’s own domain. We are TCPA and Do Not Call compliant and keep our own internal DNC list in addition to the national registry.
After a client signs, our post-retainer client services include client updates, appointment reminders, document collection, and review solicitation.
It all runs on the same legal intake solutions trusted by PI firms we provide around the clock, and you can see every channel we cover in our legal intake services overview for firms. We support SSD and mass tort intake too.
Turn More Web Leads Into Signed Cases
Talk with us about fast callbacks, consent-based follow-up, and retainer signing for your firm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SMS marketing legal for law firms?
Yes, when it follows the rules. That means consent before texting (written consent for marketing texts sent with automated tools), easy opt-outs honored promptly, quiet hours, A2P 10DLC registration, and compliance with your state bar’s advertising and solicitation rules.
Do law firms need written consent to text leads?
For marketing or advertising texts sent with an autodialer, federal rules require prior express written consent. Other automated texts need at least prior express consent. Because the line between follow-up and marketing can blur, a cautious approach is to collect written consent on every web form. Ask your counsel which standard applies to your messages.
What is A2P 10DLC, and does my firm need it?
A2P 10DLC is the carrier system for business texts sent from standard 10-digit phone numbers. If your firm texts clients or leads from a regular business number through a texting platform, you need to register your brand and campaign, usually through that provider.
What hours can a law firm send texts?
Federal rules bar telephone solicitations, including texts, early in the morning and late at night in the recipient’s time zone, and some states set a narrower window. A cautious policy uses one conservative evening cutoff in every state, confirmed with counsel.
Does LCC send texts for law firms?
Our follow-up programs can include text messages where your firm has consent, alongside calls and emails from your firm’s domain. We’ll confirm the right setup during a free consultation.
