Texas

Texas is the only state in CaseHunter's footprint where your mailer has to be filed with the State Bar after you send it. Rule 7.04 gives you ten days. Most vendors will not mention that before they take your money. We would rather you know going in, because a Texas campaign that ignores the filing rule is a compliance problem wearing a marketing budget.

Texas Leads, Matched to Your Courts and Your Counties

Texas is a big market with a lot of firms chasing the same clients. CaseHunter reaches people who are actively in need of an attorney right now, in the counties you choose — not a broad purchased list.

Our leads are built from court records, arrest records and other legal records, worked every day in every state we cover. Nothing here is a rented list or a recycled file. Each lead is a specific person with a new, live matter, validated before delivery — which in a state the size of Texas is the difference between a campaign and a mass mailing.

Texas runs a multi-tiered trial system, and which tier your clients come from depends entirely on what you practice. District Courts handle felonies, divorce and larger civil claims. County Courts at Law handle Class A and B misdemeanors and mid-sized civil matters. Justice of the Peace and Municipal Courts handle Class C misdemeanors, evictions and small claims — which is where the overwhelming majority of traffic volume sits. We track these separately rather than blending them, across Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, El Paso and the counties around them.

Case Types We Cover in Texas

• Criminal defense leads — felony charges in District Court and Class A/B misdemeanors in County Court, including DWI.
• Traffic leads — Class C misdemeanor moving violations through Municipal and JP courts, from speeding through reckless driving.
• Civil litigation leads — newly filed personal injury and property matters.
• Debt and bankruptcy leads — new judgments and wage garnishments, for firms focused on debt defense and bankruptcy.
• Family law leads — divorce, custody and child support matters moving through District Court.

Not seeing your practice area? Flag it — we can often still track down those Texas leads.

What Texas Rule 7.03 Actually Permits

Texas has a reputation for strict advertising regulation, and it earns it. But the rule is more favorable to targeted mail and email than most firms assume, and the distinction is worth understanding precisely.

Rule 7.03(b) of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits soliciting employment "through in-person contact, or through regulated telephone, social media, or other electronic contact." Rule 7.03(a)(1) defines that regulated category as communication "in a live or electronically interactive manner" — a live call, a real-time DM exchange.

Comment 6 then draws the line explicitly: "Regular mail or e-mail targeted to a person that offers to provide legal services that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know the person needs in a particular matter is a solicitation communication within the meaning of Rule 7.01(b)(2), but is not prohibited by subsection (b) of this Rule." The reasoning in Comment 4 is that mail and email "can easily be ignored, set aside, or reconsidered."

So in Texas: targeted mail is permitted, targeted email is permitted, and a live interactive social media approach to someone known to need legal services is not. Comment 2 separately confirms that general-audience advertising — a billboard, a banner ad, a website — is not a solicitation at all.

The labeling rule is specific, and it covers email

Rule 7.03(d)(2) requires that a solicitation communication be "plainly marked or clearly designated an 'ADVERTISEMENT'." Comment 10 supplies a rebuttable safe harbor with real formatting detail:

• Letters: both the outside of the envelope and the first page state "ADVERTISEMENT" in bold face all-capital letters 3/8" high on an uncluttered background.
• Email: the first word in the subject line is "ADVERTISEMENT" in all capital letters.
• Text or social media message: the first word of the message is "ADVERTISEMENT" in all capital letters.

Rule 7.03(d)(1) separately bars any communication "misleadingly designed to resemble a legal pleading or other legal document" — a trap some mailer templates fall into.

The filing requirement most firms forget

Rule 7.04(a) requires a lawyer to file with the Advertising Review Committee of the State Bar of Texas, no later than ten days after dissemination, a copy of the solicitation communication, a completed application, and the authorized fee. Comment 2 to that rule is the part that makes it manageable: if the same form letter goes to many people, "only a representative sample of each form letter, along with a representative sample of the envelopes used to mail the letters, need be filed." You are not filing every letter. You are filing the template.

Rule 7.04(c) also allows optional pre-approval if submitted at least 30 days before first dissemination, and a finding of compliance is binding in the lawyer's favor as to the materials submitted.

This is general information, not legal advice. Texas advertising and solicitation rules change, and confirming current requirements with the State Bar of Texas Advertising Review Department is your firm's responsibility, not CaseHunter's.

Three Channels, One Qualified Audience

Direct mail anchors most Texas campaigns, built to your firm's labeling and disclosure requirements. Targeted email reaches the same qualified individuals — the same people, second channel, with the Comment 10 subject-line convention applied. Social media campaigns run as general-audience advertising for reinforcement rather than as direct approaches, which is the posture Rule 7.03 points toward.

Common Questions From Texas Firms

Can I target specific counties rather than all of Texas?

Yes, and in a state this size almost everyone does. Harris, Dallas, Bexar, Travis, Tarrant and Collin are common starting points, but county-level targeting works anywhere we cover.

Can I filter by charge type and court level?

Yes. A DWI practice can take County Court misdemeanors without paying for Municipal Court speeding volume. A traffic-ticket practice can do the reverse.

Will you apply the ADVERTISEMENT labeling for me?

We build campaigns to your firm's specifications, including the Comment 10 formatting conventions for envelopes, letters and email subject lines. Final responsibility for compliance and for the Rule 7.04 filing stays with your firm.

Do you handle the State Bar filing?

No — that filing is made by the lawyer, and the fee is paid by the lawyer. We can supply the representative sample of the letter and envelope you need in order to make it.

Where do the leads come from?

Court records, arrest records and other legal records, processed every day. We do not work from purchased or rented lists, and we do not hand you a file that has already been mailed by several other firms.

Do you print and mail, or deliver data?

Either. CaseHunter Mail delivers the leads and your office handles design, printing and mailing. CaseHunter Mail 360 runs the whole process, design through drop. Both include call tracking on every mail piece.

How is a Texas campaign priced?

Pricing depends on your counties, case types and monthly volume, so we quote it rather than publish a rate card. CaseHunter Mail is priced on the leads; CaseHunter Mail 360 is priced per mail piece, inclusive of design, printing, postage and materials. You can cap monthly spend. Call for a no-obligation quote.

Is there a minimum commitment?

No. Plans run month-to-month, so you can scale up, scale down or pause as your caseload changes.

Talk to Us About Texas

Tell us your counties, your practice area and how your firm handles advertising compliance, and we will map out what a Texas program looks like across mail, email and social. Reach us at 703-755-0455 or info@casehunter.com.

Serving firms across all of our coverage states, and actively expanding.