Marketing for criminal lawyers, built for urgent enquiries
Criminal law enquiries come fast. Someone has been arrested, charged or given a court date, and they, or a worried family member, want a lawyer today. Black Shark Digital helps criminal defence firms be the one they find, trust and call, for the charges and courts you want to be known for.
Your marketing is run by Andrej Mchantaf, a lawyer turned marketer with 20 years’ experience, from our base in Manly NSW. We keep our client list small on purpose, with a maximum of five law firms at any one time, and right now we have 4 client spots left.
Book a free marketing review or call 0421 192 045
How people look for a criminal lawyer
They search for the charge and the place: “drink driving lawyer”, “AVO lawyer”, “drug charge lawyer”, “assault charge lawyer”, “criminal lawyer near me” or a lawyer near the court on the paperwork. Many search late at night or on the morning of a court date, and many are a parent, partner or friend searching for someone else.
They want three things fast: can you help with this charge, what happens next, and how do I reach you now. Pages and ads that answer those three questions win the call.
Why criminal law marketing is different
Urgency is the norm
When someone is in custody or due in court, a firm that answers its phone has a huge advantage. Your campaigns should run when you can answer, show a phone number that works, and tell people clearly what happens if they call after hours.
Very different matters, very different values
A first drink driving offence and a serious indictable matter are both “criminal law”, but they are very different work. Traffic and summary matters bring volume and are often quoted as fixed fees; serious charges are fewer but much larger. We split campaigns by charge type, so your budget follows the matters you want.
Courts, not just suburbs
People often search by the court they’ve been told to attend. Location targeting and pages built around the courts you appear in can matter as much as the suburb your office is in.
Discretion and confidentiality
Clients don’t want their matter to be public, and many won’t leave a review. Your marketing has to build trust without client stories, so it leans on clear explanations of the process, honest information about fees, and an obvious way to get help.
Criminal law marketing and the rules
The Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules apply to every ad and page: advertising must not be false, misleading, deceptive or offensive, and no one can be called an “accredited specialist” unless they are accredited. In practice:
- No promised outcomes. “Charges dropped” or “no conviction” headlines can suggest a result no one can promise. We don’t use them.
- Confidentiality. Your duty to keep clients’ matters confidential rules out most client stories. We don’t build your marketing around them.
- Ad platform rules. Meta doesn’t allow ads that assert or imply someone has a criminal record, so ads describe the service, not the person. Google restricts audience targeting for some sensitive topics, and we check how its current policies apply before setting up campaigns.
- Commenting on current cases. Blog posts and social posts about live matters can create real problems. We keep content to how the law and the process work.
This is a summary, not legal advice. Check how the rules apply to your firm.
How we market criminal defence firms
Search campaigns by charge type and court
Drink driving, drug, assault, AVO and other matters get their own campaigns, ads and landing pages, targeted to the areas and courts you serve. Negative keywords keep out searches for criminal records checks, jobs and free help, unless you want those enquiries. Read more about Google Ads for lawyers.
Pages that explain what happens next
Each charge type gets a page that explains the process, the possible penalties in plain English, what to bring to a first meeting and how your fees work. A lawyer at your firm checks anything that explains the law before it goes live. Over time, those pages rank on their own. Read more about SEO for lawyers.
Google Business Profile and local search
Many people search “criminal lawyer near me” or near their court. A complete Google Business Profile with accurate hours, services and service areas gives you the best chance of appearing in the map results.
Call handling and after-hours
We track every call and form, and we’ll tell you if missed calls are costing you matters. Where you offer after-hours help, campaigns and call tracking are set up around it.
Tracking to engaged matters
Where you can share it, we feed back which enquiries became clients, by charge type, so the campaigns learn to find more of them. Read more about lead generation for lawyers.
Criminal law marketing in Sydney
We’re based in Manly and work with criminal law firms across Sydney. With many Local Courts across the city, Sydney firms usually do best with pages and campaigns built around the courts they appear in, not just their office suburb. See how we help with law firm marketing in Sydney.
What it costs
We don’t publish a price list or sell packages. Your fee is quoted for your firm, based on scope (which services, and how many practice areas, matter types and regions), your budget and the complexity of the work. After your free review you get a clear written quote, so you know exactly what you’re paying for before you decide.
Your ad spend never passes through us. You pay Google, Meta and any other platform directly on your own credit card, so there is no markup and you can see every charge in the platform’s own billing. Your firm owns its ad accounts outright, and if you ever leave, you keep them with all their history and data.
What our clients say
Carl Mickels, Partner at Firths, on working with Black Shark Digital
“He’s been quite the success for us”
“I have no hesitation of recommending him”
— Carl Mickels, Partner, Firths
Results depend on your practice area, location, budget and how quickly enquiries are followed up. We will tell you what is realistic for your firm before you spend a dollar.
Why criminal law firms choose Black Shark Digital
- A lawyer turned marketer runs your marketing. Andrej understands how criminal firms take on work, what a person facing charges needs to hear and where the professional rules sit.
- 20 years in digital advertising, mostly for big-name law firms. He founded Black Shark Digital in 2020.
- Thousands of new clients acquired across the campaigns we’ve run.
- Certified experts for Google Search Ads, running campaigns in accounts your firm owns.
- A deliberately small client list. No more than five law firms at a time.
- Direct access. You deal with Andrej, and your firm’s information stays confidential.
Marketing for criminal lawyers: FAQs
What do people search for when they need a criminal lawyer?
The charge and the place: “drink driving lawyer”, “AVO lawyer”, “drug charge lawyer”, “criminal lawyer near me” or a lawyer near a particular court. Many searches are made by a family member, and many are made on a phone in a hurry. We build campaigns and pages around those searches.
Can criminal law firms run Facebook and Instagram ads?
Yes, with care. Meta doesn’t allow ads that assert or imply someone has a criminal record, so ads describe the service (“we act for people charged with driving offences”) rather than the person (“Been charged?”). Most criminal law enquiries start on Google, so search usually comes first.
Can we advertise results like ‘charges dropped’ or ‘no conviction’?
Be careful. Advertising must not be false, misleading or deceptive, and a past result can suggest an outcome no one can promise. Your duty of confidentiality also applies to clients’ matters. We don’t build criminal law marketing around client results.
How do we handle after-hours enquiries?
Decide what your firm will offer, then make it easy. Arrests and bail don’t wait for business hours. If you take after-hours calls, ads and pages can say so and run when you can answer. If you don’t, forms and call-backs should set clear expectations for the next morning.
Should we market traffic matters or serious charges?
It depends on what your firm wants. Traffic and summary matters bring volume and are often quoted as fixed fees; serious charges are fewer but much larger pieces of work. They need different campaigns, budgets and pages, and we report on each separately.
Can we call our lawyers criminal law specialists?
Only if they are accredited specialists through their law society. Lawyers who aren’t accredited can say they practise in criminal law, or that they practise only in criminal law, if that’s true.
Why don’t criminal law clients leave reviews?
Many don’t want to be publicly linked to a charge. Expect fewer reviews than other practice areas, ask carefully, and never offer anything in exchange for one. A complete Google Business Profile and clear, helpful pages carry more weight as a result.
How much does criminal law marketing cost?
There is no price list or package. Your fee is quoted for your firm, based on scope, budget and complexity. You pay Google, Meta and other platforms directly, with no markup. You get a clear written quote after your free review.
Book a free marketing review
Tell us which charges and courts you want more work in, and how you handle urgent and after-hours enquiries now. Andrej will look at your website, your Google presence and any campaigns you’re running, and give you a plain-English summary of what is working, what is wasting money and what he would change first.
Book a free marketing review or call 0421 192 045
Email: info@blackshark.digital · Based in Manly NSW.