Bankruptcy filings rose 11% across the board in the first nine months of 2026. There are certainly a lot more people and businesses filing, but whether that rise reaches your firm depends on your bankruptcy attorney marketing.
Both individuals and businesses can file for bankruptcy, and they’ll search for legal assistance in different ways. An individual having their wages garnished might search Google during a sleepless night, while a business owner might hear about Subchapter V from an accountant or a business litigator.
Neither wants to hear a history of bankruptcy law. They want to know what happens to their assets: their paychecks, their business, their home. And your marketing needs to reflect that.
What is Subchapter V?
Subchapter V is a faster, cheaper version of Chapter 11 for small businesses, created in 2020. Companies and business owners qualify if their debts fall below a set limit. The owner keeps running the business, while a trustee helps move the case along.
There’s usually no creditors’ committee, and only the owner can propose a repayment plan, generally within 90 days. Owners can also keep their stake in the company without paying unsecured creditors in full, if the plan commits several years of disposable income. For bankruptcy attorney marketing, the core message is that the owner keeps the business.
Subchapter V Elections Rose 46% Through September 2026
Epiq AACER and the American Bankruptcy Institute reported 469,719 filings for January through September, up from 423,168 in 2025. Chapter 7 filings by individuals rose 13%, and Chapter 13 filings rose 8%. Small business numbers moved much faster. Subchapter V elections jumped 46%, from 1,672 to 2,442, while overall business filings rose 7% and commercial Chapter 11 filings jumped 11%.
That jump isn’t a reason for a consumer-only practice to aim its bankruptcy attorney marketing at Chapter 11 work. For firms that do handle it, business cases start long before a petition. A contractor falls behind on supplier bills, gets sued, and later faces a judgment creditor. Personal guarantees raise the stakes, since a business loan or store lease can put the owner’s own assets at risk.
The Best Consumer Pages Start With the Problem, Not the Bankruptcy Chapter
That garnishment line on the pay stub is terrifying to the uninitiated caller. These people are likely searching terms like “how to stop wage garnishment” instead of “Chapter 7 bankruptcy.” The same concept applies to other common individual problems like creditor lawsuits, foreclosures, and car repossessions. So, your bankruptcy attorney marketing needs to own these searches.
Garnishment pages should explain that filing stops most collection efforts right away, and that an earlier bankruptcy can change the answer. Foreclosure pages should stress the sale date without promising that filing saves the house.
Intake has to keep pace with those pages. Someone about to lose a car may call three firms in the same afternoon. That person’s not going to wait for your firm if you don’t call back in a reasonable amount of time.
Small Business Cases Need More Than Search Traffic
A sole proprietor whose shop closed may have credit card debt, a store lease, and a vehicle loan. That owner may file under Chapter 7 or 13. An open small business is a different case. Subchapter V lets eligible owners keep running the company while restructuring debt, usually without a creditors’ committee.
Business owners might hear about Subchapter V from someone in their network before ever searching for it. For example, someone facing judgment enforcement may first learn about it from their defense team.
That lawyer, or a client’s accountant, can pass along a one-page Subchapter V explainer. A dense brochure about the firm’s wins won’t help an accountant whose client wants to keep the doors open.
Track Referral Sources Beyond Google Ads
Your firm could be inundated with organic traffic, form submissions, and phone calls, but none of that’s very useful unless you know where it’s all coming from. Firms that use call tracking can see which ads and pages produce calls. Accountant referrals rarely pass through those paths.
An accountant may hand a client the firm’s number, or the client may search for the lawyer and call the main line. In analytics, those calls show up as direct or branded traffic. Intake staff need to ask where the referral came from.
With each source tied to signed cases, a firm might find that paid search brings plenty of calls. A few accounting contacts might produce fewer calls but higher quality on those calls. In a sense, you’re gambling on whether you’re cutting the right parts of your bankruptcy attorney marketing.
Debt Settlement Advertising Competes for the Same Prospects
Search “help with credit card debt” and the results may include debt settlement companies next to bankruptcy lawyers. Their ads stress lower balances without filing, which can appeal to someone worried about what filing means. For a bankruptcy attorney, marketing doesn’t have to outbid them on every term.
A comparison page might be a better option. That page can explain that enrolling in a settlement program doesn’t stop creditors from suing, and that forgiven debt may count as taxable income. Debt discharged in bankruptcy generally isn’t taxed, though some forgiven debt outside bankruptcy can also qualify for an exclusion.
Bankruptcy Attorney Marketing Has Its Own Federal Disclosure Rule
Under 11 U.S.C. § 528, debt relief agencies that advertise bankruptcy help must say their services involve bankruptcy relief. They must also include this statement, or something substantially similar:
“We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.”
The rule covers ads aimed at the public, including email, and ads about problems like foreclosure or debt collection pressure. Attorneys who help consumers file count as debt relief agencies, so law firms aren’t exempt. Each piece of bankruptcy attorney marketing needs its own check, because one website footnote won’t cover every ad.
New Jersey adds one more rule. Firms that bid on a competing lawyer’s name as a search keyword must post a disclaimer on the destination page saying the visitor arrived through a paid ad.
Google Restricts Bankruptcy Remarketing Audiences
Google Ads treats bankruptcy services as a sensitive category tied to negative financial status. Advertisers promoting them can’t use their own remarketing lists or Customer Match audiences. Google’s predefined audiences and keyword search ads are still allowed.
Privacy is a concern beyond policy, too. Someone looking into bankruptcy may not have told a spouse or employer about the debt. An ad that follows that person around the web can give the secret away.
Without remarketing, the first visit has to do the work. Put the phone number up front, say how fast the office responds, and offer an after-hours booking form. Before increasing PPC spending, look at what happens after someone reaches the page. If people can’t find fees, don’t know what to bring, or quit a long form, more clicks just cost more.
Questions Firms Ask About Bankruptcy Attorney Marketing
Should a bankruptcy firm publish its fees?
Yes, and a fees page is one of the cheapest pieces of bankruptcy attorney marketing a firm can build. The page should say whether court filing fees are included and when Chapter 7 fees are due. Chapter 13 clients will want to know whether fees can run through the repayment plan. Avoid quoting a flat rate if the work often changes with how hard the case is.
How can a bankruptcy firm request reviews without exposing clients?
Some former clients will leave a review but don’t want their money problems tied to their profiles. A short request helps: “A sentence or two about your experience is plenty. There’s no need to describe your case.” Replies should thank the reviewer without confirming that they filed or listing their debts.
Will bankruptcy filings keep rising in 2027?
Possibly. Epiq AACER vice president Michael Hunter said in the October 8 release that he expected filings to keep climbing into 2027. He pointed to borrowing costs, household expenses, and a softer job market. Pages and referral ties built now should still work if filings level off.
Start Bankruptcy Attorney Marketing With the Cases Your Firm Already Hears About
Before choosing a new keyword, review the last few months of first meetings. Note the problems callers described in their own words. If wage garnishment keeps coming up, improve the garnishment page first. If your practice mainly does foreclosures, you might emphasize sale dates.
Then compare which calls became retained cases, with paid search, organic search, and referrals tracked separately. Firms that use outside legal marketing support should share those signed-case results with the marketing team. Otherwise the campaigns chase call volume alone. For small-business work, find local business litigators and accountants, ask what they’re seeing, and offer them the Subchapter V explainer.
Sources
Legal Information Institute, 11 U.S. Code § 528: Requirements for Debt Relief Agencies