Life Beyond the Briefs

Most law firm owners are obsessed with getting more leads. More clicks. More calls. More traffic. More ad spend. But David Vicknair has a reminder that sounds simple, and maybe a little annoying because it is true: Your best leads are probably already in your database. We are bringing this episode back because it hit a nerve the first time around. And it makes sense. In a world where everyone is c...

If Part 1 made you rethink your marketing, Part 2 is where Dan Kennedy gets practical. And maybe a little uncomfortable. We are bringing this conversation back because it was one of the episodes listeners loved most, and the timing feels even more relevant now. This episode picks up live from the Great Legal Marketing Summit, where Dan and Ben Glass go deeper into the marketing moves most lawyers...

Most lawyers do marketing the same way. They look at what every other firm is doing, copy the message, copy the offer, copy the ads, and then wonder why nobody notices them. Dan Kennedy would tell you that is exactly the problem. We are bringing this episode back because it was one of the conversations listeners loved most. And honestly, it is not hard to see why. This is Part 1 of a two-part conv...

Most law firm owners say they want freedom. Then vacation starts. The laptop comes out. Slack gets checked. A “quick email” turns into an hour. And suddenly the business you built to create freedom is sitting right there at the hotel breakfast table with you. That is why we are bringing this episode back. In this conversation, Brian sits down with Conrad Saam of Mockingbird Marketing to talk about...

Most law firm owners know the feeling. You are busy. The cases are coming in. The team is growing. The bank account looks decent. And somehow, you still do not feel fully in control of the money. That is why we are bringing this episode back. This is one of the most downloaded episodes of Life Beyond the Briefs , and it is easy to understand why. Leah Miller, founder of Firmly Profits and fraction...

Most law firm owners are constantly being sold the expensive stuff. SEO.  Paid ads.  Production teams.  Funnels.  Agencies. And sure, some of that can work. But this episode is about the kind of marketing that does not usually get sold from a stage because nobody is making a big commission from it. Grassroots marketing. This is a re-release of one of the most downloaded episodes of Life Beyond the...

Most law firms assume their marketing is someone else’s problem. The agency handles it. The lead vendor handles it. The intake team handles it. Until the lawsuit shows up. In this episode, Brian sits down with John Henson for a conversation that starts with TCPA compliance and quickly turns into something much bigger. Because this is not really about regulations. It’s about how little most firms a...

Most lawyers think the only path to influence is starting their own firm. Own the business. Put your name on the door. Build the brand yourself. But what if that’s not true? In this episode, Brian sits down with Will McCreight for a conversation about reputation, visibility, and building a meaningful career inside someone else’s organization. They talk about the career advantages most professional...

Most lawyers assume their niche is safe. Until one day… it isn’t. A law changes. A rule shifts. And suddenly, the work you’ve spent years mastering starts to disappear. That’s exactly what happened to Alexander. He had a dream job. He was in the top tier of earners at one of the largest personal injury firms in the country, building his career around PIP litigation. Then Florida tort reform hit. A...

Most lawyers would have said no to this case. No clear damages. Messy facts. A client with a complicated history. Three firms already had. Sharif Gray and Gray Broughton said yes anyway. And that decision turned into a $20 million verdict. But this episode isn’t really about the verdict. It’s about the way they think. We get into what it looks like to build a firm that doesn’t chase the easy, high...

So if throwing more money at marketing usually backfires… what actually works? That’s where this part of the conversation goes. Part 1 was about thinking differently. About stepping back and realizing that most lawyers aren’t struggling because they picked the wrong tactic… they’re struggling because they don’t have a clear way to evaluate what’s working in the first place. Now we get into the mes...

Most lawyers think their marketing problem is tactics. Wrong platform. Wrong agency. Wrong strategy. But what if the real problem is how you’re thinking about marketing in the first place? This episode is a little different. We’re taking you inside a live session from the Great Legal Marketing Summit, where Gyi Tsakalakis and Conrad Saam basically did what they do best… challenge everything lawyer...

Most law firm owners approach hiring like they’re trying to put out a fire with a garden hose. You’re busy, the cases are piling up, and suddenly you realize you needed help months ago. So, you do what most of us do when we're desperate: you hire based on a "good vibe" and a resume that looks decent enough. The problem is that most lawyers aren't actually good at hiring because...

Everyone is talking about AI like it’s either the greatest thing ever… or the thing that’s going to replace lawyers entirely. And honestly, both sides are missing the point. In this episode from the GLM Summit, Dr. Cain Elliott breaks down what’s actually happening right now. Not the hype. Not the fear. What’s real, what’s changing, and what it means for how you run your firm. There’s a moment ear...

If you’ve been hearing that SEO is dead, this episode is going to mess with your assumptions. Because here’s the truth. The firms winning right now are not abandoning SEO. They’re doubling down on it. They’re just playing a very different game. In this talk from the GLM Summit, Jason Hennessey pulls back the curtain on what’s actually working today. Not theory. Not guesses. Real strategies that ar...

Most lawyers try to grow their firm the same way. More ads. Better SEO. More hustle. Elise Buie went a completely different direction. Years ago, after her life was turned upside down and she had to rebuild from scratch in a new city, Elise didn’t have a big network, a fancy marketing plan, or a pipeline of clients waiting for her. What she did have was a decision. She was going to meet 100 people...

When lawyers think about going solo, the first reaction is usually fear. What if I can’t find clients? What if I mess up the business side? What if leaving the firm is the worst decision I ever make? But what if the bigger risk is staying? In this episode, Brian sits down with family law attorney and solo practice coach Wendy Meadows to talk about the moment many lawyers quietly reach. The moment...

Most law firm marketing feels like a treadmill. Post more. Track more. Spend more. Hope the numbers behave. David Vicknair is playing a different game. He’s in one of the most competitive PI markets in the country, he’s three years into TV, and he still keeps coming back to the same “boring” foundation that most firms skip. Build your list. Stay in touch. Be memorable. Not with more noise, but wit...

If Part 1 made you want to rethink your marketing, Part 2 is where Dan Kennedy gets dangerously practical . This episode picks up live from the Great Legal Marketing Summit (October 2025) with Dan going deeper on the stuff most lawyers ignore because it feels “old school” or “too much work.” Direct mail. Personal follow-up. Real client engagement that does not look like every other firm’s same fiv...

Most lawyers market by looking around, copying what everyone else is doing, and hoping they can outspend the next firm. Dan Kennedy thinks that is the fastest way to become invisible. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation from the Great Legal Marketing Summit (October 2025) , where Ben Glass and Dan Kennedy dig into the core idea that built Ben’s firm in the first place: don’t do what everyone...

Most lawyers think “brand” means a logo, a slogan, or some clever line about fighting for justice. Kia Arian has a different take. In this GLM Summit talk, she starts with a story about being jealous of a squirrel and ends by showing you why your best marketing is not a gimmick. It is the part of you that has been there the whole time. Your story.  Kia breaks down why legal marketing keeps soundin...

Most lawyers say they want to “scale.” Ryan McKeen has actually done it. The real kind. The kind where you build a firm that can take the punch of an eight year case, fund experts and animations, and still keep the lights on. The kind where a $100 million verdict is not a lottery ticket. It is the result of building the machine behind the scenes.  In this conversation, Ryan tells the story of chas...

Hiring is one of those things most law firm owners do just often enough to get burned. You are growing, the phones are ringing, the cases are coming in, and suddenly you are thinking, “We need help. Like yesterday.” And that is usually the exact moment you start making decisions based on vibes, a decent resume, and one solid interview. Brian says it best. Most of us are not great at hiring because...

If you have ever tried to take a long weekend and caught yourself “just checking Slack” from the hotel lobby… this one will feel personal. In this episode, Brian sits down with Conrad Saam (Mockingbird Marketing) for a simple gut-check: The 4-Day Test. Can your business run without you? And if the honest answer is “not really,” Conrad doesn’t shame you. He just lays out what changed inside his own...

Recorded live at the GLM Summit, this episode of Life Beyond the Briefs brings together Michael Delon and Jonathan Hawkins to answer a simple question with big upside: how do you turn the expertise you already have into a book that actually brings in clients? Michael walks through how busy professionals can create a book without locking themselves in a room to write for months, and how that book b...