01
The three ways firms buy MVA cases
Personal injury firms that buy motor vehicle accident (MVA) cases from a marketing partner are usually choosing between three products: exclusive leads, live transfers and signed retainers. They differ in who makes the first contact, how much screening happens before your team gets involved, and what you pay for.
- Exclusive lead — a real-time inquiry (name, phone, accident details, consent) that your team calls first.
- Live transfer — a claimant our agent has already screened, connected live to your intake line.
- Signed retainer — a claimant who has been screened and has e-signed your firm's own engagement agreement.
02
Exclusive leads: cheapest per unit, hardest to convert
Leads are the lowest-cost unit because the vendor does the least work. The claimant has filled out a form and consented to be contacted, but nobody has spoken to them. Your intake team has to reach them — and contact rates fall quickly with every minute that passes after submission.
Leads work well for firms with a dedicated, fast-response intake desk that calls within minutes and follows up persistently. They are a poor fit for firms where calls are returned the next morning.
03
Live transfers: pay for a conversation, not a form
With a live transfer, the claimant is already on the phone. A trained agent has asked your qualification questions — fault, treatment, police report, insurance, accident date, representation and location — before introducing them to your intake specialist.
Because contact is guaranteed, live transfers usually convert to signed cases at a much higher rate than raw leads. The trade-off is a higher unit price and the need for your intake line to be staffed whenever transfers are running. Set hourly and daily caps that match your team's capacity so transfers never ring out.
04
Signed retainers: the most done-for-you option
A signed retainer arrives with your engagement agreement already e-signed. The intake partner screens the claimant, walks them through your documents and delivers a file your attorney reviews. This is attractive to firms that are short on intake staff or expanding into new states.
Because the pricing is tied to a signed case, this model needs the closest ethics review. Many state bars restrict paying for referrals or recommendations, so the engagement should be structured as a marketing and intake service, with your attorneys making every acceptance decision. Have your ethics counsel review the agreement before launch.
05
How to choose
Start from your intake capacity. If you have a staffed desk and want control of the first conversation, live transfers are usually the best balance of cost and quality. If you have a fast outbound team, exclusive leads give you the lowest cost per signed case. If intake is your bottleneck, signed retainers or outsourced intake remove it.
Whatever you buy, measure cost per signed case over a full month, not cost per unit. A cheaper lead that rarely converts is more expensive than a transfer that signs.