One Letter Doesn't Fit Every Charge

A DUI defendant, a drug-possession defendant, and someone facing a felony read your letter in three different mental states, so one letter for all three leaves response rate on the table. Most firms write one anyway, because it's the fastest way to get a campaign out the door.

Why does the charge change what the letter needs to say?

DUI. The recipient is usually scared about something concrete and specific — license suspension, an ignition interlock, what happens at the arraignment next week. A letter that speaks directly to those practical consequences and lays out a clear next step reads as competent and reassuring. A vague "we can help" doesn't answer the question they're actually asking.

Drug possession. This is where your track record does more work than sympathy does. Naming your experience with the relevant courts and DAs, and what outcomes have looked like for similar charges (reduced charges, diversion, alternative sentencing where it applies), signals you know this specific terrain — not just criminal defense in general.

Felony charges. The stakes read as higher because they are — the letter needs to carry more weight than a form letter can. Trial experience, a description of what a vigorous defense actually looks like, and (where your bar's rules permit it) real case outcomes belong here more than anywhere else. This is the one case type where a generic letter reads as least credible, because the recipient knows exactly how much is on the line.

The part that doesn't change: compliance

Whatever the charge, the same baseline rules apply. Utah's Rules of Professional Conduct (see what governs direct mail to defendants now) and the Utah State Bar's own guidance govern how you can solicit someone facing criminal charges — check current requirements before a campaign goes out, not after. Utah removed its ban on in-person solicitation and withdrew the separate solicitation rule in 2020, but Rule 7.1 still prohibits false or misleading communications and any interaction with a prospective client involving "coercion, duress, or harassment," as the Utah State Bar's Ethics Opinion 22-02 explains. A letter that promises or guarantees a specific outcome risks being misleading. Utah's former Rule 7.3(c) required the words "Advertising Material" on the outside of an envelope (and at the beginning of recorded or electronic communications, not at the end as in the ABA Model Rule); the 2020 redline of the advertising rules struck Rule 7.3, so confirm whether any current rule or Bar guidance still calls for a label before you send. Neither that former text nor Rule 7.1 sets a waiting period, but other sources may apply, so check. None of this is legal advice — confirm current requirements with the bar or your own counsel, since rules do change.

How do you do this without writing three campaigns?

Segmenting by charge type only helps if you can actually tell which referral is which without opening every case file by hand. Every Revenue Spark referral already comes tagged with a category — DUI, Drug/Alcohol/Paraphernalia, Weapons/Assault/Animal, and the rest — so filtering your dashboard down to just this week's DUI referrals (or just the felonies) takes one click, not an afternoon of sorting. Three letter templates, matched to the categories you already have, gets you most of the benefit without the overhead of writing a new one for every case that comes in.

For the copy itself, see how to write a mailer that gets calls and what a criminal defense mailer should say. Whether to send a letter or a postcard also depends on the charge, and the full direct mail strategy ties these decisions together.

See what a referral looks like or check current pricing and availability to see it in your own categories and counties.