Their son was arrested at 1am. Your phone went to voicemail.
Your solicitors are good at the police station and in court. But criminal matters start at night, at weekends and in a hurry, often with a frightened relative on the phone. This playbook shows who they call, why, and how a firm that looks closed after six loses the case before it starts.
The short versionCriminal defence firms usually lose clients because the map listing shows “Closed” with no emergency number, because families can't find out whether funding is available or what private representation costs, and because out-of-hours calls go to voicemail. A staffed out-of-hours line, a visible emergency number and plain fee answers fix more than ranking.
Your firm · 0.7 km★★★★★ 164 reviews · Criminal justice attorneyHours not set for today
AI answer“For an arrest tonight, 24-hour defence firm answers its emergency line around the clock and explains fees…”
Leak 1Shows “Closed”Profile has office hours only, no emergency number.
Leak 2No fee answerFunding and private fees never explained.
Leak 3Voicemail at night1am call to the office line, picked up at 9.
Start here
Tick anything that sounds like your week.
Eight things criminal defence firms commonly describe. Select the ones that apply and we'll show what usually causes them, in the order we'd tackle it. Nothing is submitted.
Tick what applies3 of 8 selected
Why a good firm still loses the case
Nobody shops around at 2am. They call whoever answers.
Criminal matters don't wait for office hours. Someone has been arrested, or a letter has arrived inviting them to interview, and a relative is searching on a phone with shaking hands. They tap the first listing that looks open, call, and if nobody answers they try the next. Reputation and results barely enter into it at that moment. The firm that picks up, explains what happens next and roughly what it might cost usually gets the case, whatever the firm down the road has won before.
01
The listing that says “Closed”
criminal solicitor near me
124-hour defence firm★★★★☆ · 77 reviews
2City-centre firm★★★★☆ · 140 reviews
3Your firm★★★★★ · 52 reviewsShows “Closed”
Why don't people find our criminal defence firm at night?
Criminal defence searches often happen when offices are shut. A profile with office hours only, no emergency number and no list of matters defended looks closed to someone searching at midnight. If you take out-of-hours calls, the profile, description and site header must say so — with a number that's answered.
02
The fee question a relative can't ask
criminal lawyer private fees
Your page“Call to discuss.”Tab closed
Answered pageFunding · private fee stages · what happens at the stationQuoted by AI
Should a criminal defence firm explain its fees online?
Families want two answers fast: is there public funding, and if not, what will private representation cost. Most defence sites say nothing. A plain page on funding, private fee stages and what happens at the police station answers that in a minute — and it's what assistants quote.
03
The call that went to voicemail
My son was arrested tonight. Can someone go to the station?Missed call + SMS · 1:14 am
Thanks for contacting us. Our office opens at 9am.Auto-reply · 1:14 am
Another solicitor is already on the way.1:40 am
Why do criminal defence enquiries go to other firms?
An arrest at night means a call at night. Voicemail, or a message service that can't reach a solicitor, sends the family to the next number on the list. A rota or trained service that takes details and reaches the duty solicitor quickly, plus text-back for missed calls, keeps the case.
What we'd do about it
Five moves, in the order that pays.
Fix the leaks first, then grow. Scaling a funnel that loses enquiries just spends more to lose more.
Move
W1W2W3W4W5W6W7W8W9W10W11W12M3+
01Answer every hourAn out-of-hours rota or trained answering service that reaches a solicitor, call forwarding and missed-call text-back, with every call logged by time.Marketing Automation
Weeks 1–3
02Show you are openProfile hours, emergency number, matters defended and answered questions fixed; click-to-call in the site header. Map position measured for urgent searches.Local SEO
Weeks 1–3
03Explain fees and fundingPlain pages on public funding, private fee stages and the police station process, within the professional conduct rules where you practise.Content Marketing
Weeks 3–6
04Pages for planned mattersPages for voluntary interviews, driving offences and other matters people research in advance, each with a simple way to book a call.Content Marketing
Weeks 5–10
05Then widen the patchArea pages for the nearby courts and police stations you cover, and offence-type content — once the basics work, because scaling a leaky funnel wastes money.SEO Services
Month 3 onward
Social presence · where clients and families check you
At 1am they don't scroll. They check whether you answer.
In criminal work, social isn't for browsing — it proves you're reachable tonight and explains what happens next. Six things decide whether a frightened relative calls you.
9:41●●● 5G
yourdefence.law
YDYour Defence FirmCriminal defence lawyers
Criminal defence · 24/7 police stationClear fees for each stageCall now, day or night ↓
CallMessageCall
24/7RightsFeesTeam
Arrested? First stepsYour rights in custodyInterview tips · by DevHow our fees workWhat bail meansOn call tonight: PriyaCourt day: what to bringLegal aid explainedMeet the duty team
WEDShort explainerWhat happens at interview or bail.
FRIWeekend cover postWho's on call — and the number.
SATMeet the teamThe faces a family will speak to.
DAILYRepliesEvery message answered fast, any hour.
What we'd watch
Your dashboard, minus the vanity metrics.
Six numbers that show whether the work is turning into instructed cases — each pulled from a system you already own. The audit fills in your baseline; every sprint after shows the trend.
Cases · weeklyYour dashboard after the free audit
Calls answered by hourCall tracking
Baseline—
Time to a solicitorCall log and case system
Baseline—
Out-of-hours instructionsCase management system
Baseline—
Profile actions after hoursGoogle Business Profile
Baseline—
Planned interviews bookedBooking system or CRM
Baseline—
New clients by sourceIntake form or CRM
Baseline—
Your numbers, not ours
What is the slow reply actually costing you?
Three inputs only you know. We don't know your business yet — so nothing here is a benchmark, just your own arithmetic.
Runs in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent.
What you may be losing
$25,980a month in clients who book somewhere else — worked out from your three numbers above.
6 × 4.33 weeks× 1 in 2× $2,000
The fix is answering, not ranking. A rota or trained service, call forwarding and missed-call text-back — weeks 1 to 3 of the plan.
Your map listing sends people to a website. Make it one that answers their question and takes the booking — not a page that sends them back to the map.
5 pages, your choiceHome, About, Services, Criminal defence, Contact
Free with any monthly plan from $499. Domain, hosting and paid tools are bought by you and stay in your name; shops and booking systems are quoted separately. The 48-hour clock starts once your plan is active and the launch checklist is done.
yourfirm.comLIVE
HomeAboutServicesCriminal defenceContact
Your logo
Book a call
Schemallms.txtGA4Fast on mobile
FREEwith any plan
48h
Questions defence firms ask
Straight answers, no sales script.
Straight answers. If yours isn't here, a 30-minute call is the fastest route — no pitch, no deck.
Look at the call log first. If calls arrive after hours and go unanswered, those are matters going to whoever picked up. We'll show you the volume by hour so the decision rests on your own numbers.
Should a criminal defence firm publish fees?
Explain how fees work, whether you take publicly funded work and what is fixed or staged. Families making a fast decision need to know roughly what they are committing to.
Can we advertise for specific offences?
Yes, with care. Pages and ads describe what happens and how you help, without outcome promises or suggesting a result. Everything stays within the professional conduct and advertising rules where you practise.
How do we get reviews when clients want privacy?
Ask discreetly once the matter ends, accept initials or anonymous reviews where the platform allows, and never confirm in a reply that someone was a client.
Does content still matter if most work is urgent?
Less for arrests, more for matters people research in advance, such as voluntary interviews, driving offences and upcoming court dates. Those clients compare, and clear pages with judgement win them.
How long before we see a difference?
Answering and profile fixes can show within weeks, because they stop calls being lost. Ranking for offence types and new areas usually takes a few months. We don't guarantee rankings or cases.
Should a criminal defence firm bother with social media?
Yes, but for reassurance rather than reach. Relatives search at night, so your map listing, WhatsApp and Facebook page need to show that you answer now and explain the first steps. Plain rights guides get shared. Never post about clients or cases, and keep everything within the professional conduct rules for your profession.
Do we get a free website for our firm?
Yes. Every monthly plan includes a free 5-page website for your firm — fast, AI-readable and yours to keep. It goes live within 48 hours once your plan is active and the launch checklist is done. Your domain, hosting and any paid tools sit outside the offer and stay in your name; online shops and booking systems are quoted separately. What's included
Free · one business day
Tell us about your firm. Get a plan back.
A strategist reads your brief and replies within one business day with what we'd fix first for your firm, a timeline and the real cost.
Reply in 1 business dayFrom a strategist, not a bot
Call your own firm at midnight. Hear what a family hears.
We'll check your profile hours and emergency number, call your line out of hours, and review your fee and offence pages — then send you what we found. You keep the findings either way.
Social presence · where clients and families check you
At 1am they don't scroll. They check whether you answer.
In criminal work, social isn't for browsing — it proves you're reachable tonight and explains what happens next. Six things decide whether a frightened relative calls you.
yourdefence.law
Is your profile ready to sell?
Tap what's already true.
Where your clients look
A week that books, not just posts
Social Media Marketing Included in Zero to Hero (2 platforms) and Own The Answer (4 platforms).