According to a new analysis from the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), billboard lawyers spent $4.1 billion on roughly 30 million ads in 2025, an almost 50% jump from 2024.
These messages are reaching consumers on an enormous scale. Most of that spending went to screens, not billboards. TV accounted for $1.7 billion and digital for $1.2 billion, together 71% of tracked spending. Outdoor ads like billboards followed at $660 million, with radio at $450 million.
The surge in advertising is concerning for consumers because those ads are built to win clients, not protect them. An injured person sees a firm touting big wins, calls the number, and often has no idea what comes next. Client reviews show what can follow. In Texas, a former client of a heavily advertised firm wrote that it was "never about the client, it's all about the money. ... If only they put as much effort into their clients as they do in their advertising."
The report notes that the ad money also tracks with litigation hotspots:
- Los Angeles ($221 million), New York City ($148 million) and Philadelphia ($71 million) saw some of the highest legal ad spending in 2025, and all three sit in jurisdictions on the 2025-2026 Judicial Hellholes® list.
Somebody pays for all of it, and it isn't just the lawyers. Higher prices and higher insurance premiums caused by frivolous litigation can cost the average American family over $4,200 a year.