PEAK PRACTICE
Peak Practice is a community that delivers expert industry insights on how to scale, streamline, and accelerate personal injury law practices. By providing knowledge and resources on law firm operations, marketing, and business growth, Peak helps personal injury attorneys gain a competitive edge. As the leader in lien resolution, Synergy partners with firms to eliminate settlement bottlenecks, optimize client outcomes, and drive greater profitability—so you can focus on securing justice. Join the community here and discover how partnering with Synergy helps you achieve Peak Practice.
Below are our Synergy InSights on all things related to Peak Practice.
Trial law isn’t just about fighting for justice—it’s also about building a firm that can sustain and scale while you continue winning for clients. As a trial lawyer, you understand the importance of a winning strategy for trial, but are you applying that same level of strategic thinking to your business?
✨Jennifer Gore✨, owner of Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group Gore LLC, knows this struggle well. She has built one of the fastest-growing personal injury firms in the country. The key she says? Intentional business planning and execution. She recently spoke during the Peak Practice in 2025 webinar about taking control of your firm’s future, rather than letting unpredictable cash flow dictate your next move. Here’s how you can do it according to Jennifer.
Why a Business Plan is Your Firm’s Lifeline
The thought of writing a business plan might feel unnecessary—maybe even overwhelming. After all, you went to law school to practice law, not create business strategies, right? But here’s the reality: growth doesn’t happen by chance. It happens because you execute a well-thought-out plan.
Your revenue in 2025 isn’t determined by what you do next year—it’s shaped by the marketing and client acquisition efforts you made in 2023 and 2024. In personal injury law, cases often take 12 to 18 months to settle, meaning today’s intake is tomorrow’s revenue.
Think of your business plan as the game plan before you walk into trial. You wouldn’t step into a courtroom without thorough preparation, and a strategy that is ready to be executed. So why would you run your firm without a firm strategic plan in place?
To help chart a course, start with a few key questions. These include:
- Assessing Your Case Pipeline – How many cases are in your inventory right now that will actually generate revenue next year?
- Setting Realistic Revenue Goals – If your goal is $2 million in revenue and your current pipeline only accounts for $1 million, you need a plan to bridge that gap.
- Understanding Your Metrics – What’s your average case value? How many cases do you need to sign to hit your goal? And how many leads does it take to land a signed case?
Signing Cases: Lifeblood
Your firm doesn’t run on possibilities—it runs on signed up cases. Signing those cases is plain math. If you need 100 cases to hit your revenue target and it takes speaking to 150 qualified leads to sign 100, you now have a roadmap. You need X leads to get Y cases to produce Z revenue.
But here’s where most firms go wrong: they throw money at marketing without tracking intake performance. Imagine preparing for trial without reviewing the facts—madness, right? Yet, firms dump cash into marketing without measuring whether their intake team is converting leads into actual clients. So, ask yourself:
- Who on my team is best at signing cases
- How many leads are coming in daily?
- How many leads are being lost, and why?
If you aren’t watching these numbers like you track your case-related deadlines, you’re leaving money on the table.
Marketing and Hiring Must Go Hand in Hand
Signing cases is only one part of the equation though. If you don’t have the staff to handle them, your firm will collapse under its own success. This is a common mistake—firms ramp up marketing without ensuring they have the necessary labor firepower to push cases forward.
Hiring should happen in tandem with marketing, not an afterthought. Here’s what to consider:
- Plan Hiring Alongside Marketing – If you start an aggressive campaign, be ready with an impressive team that will get results.
- Allow Time for Onboarding – A newly hired team member isn’t going to be fully productive for at least 60–90 days. If you wait too long to hire, you’ll be drowning in cases without the manpower to close them.
- Monitor Case Resolution Trends – If you expect a flood of settlements in March, do you have enough paralegals, case managers, and attorneys to handle the workload?
A failure to balance marketing with hiring will result in dropped cases, missed revenue, and a cash crunch that could stifle your growth.
Budget Like Your Business Depends on It
A law firm without a budget is like a trial lawyer walking into court without a case strategy—it’s dangerous. If you want to build a firm that thrives, you need a budget that aligns with your revenue and case pipeline goals.
Your Master Budget should include:
- Marketing Expenses – How much do you need to invest to generate the leads required to meet your revenue goals?
- Operational Costs – Staff salaries, office expenses, travel, and any recurring costs required.
- Discretionary Funds – Unexpected opportunities will arise—whether it’s a game-changing software or an unexpected advertising opportunity. Build flexibility into your budget.
Track Your Financials Like You Track Your Cases Each month, review a budget variance report to see where you’re over or under budget. If your tech expenses jumped from $2,000 to $3,000 per month, why? If your postage costs unexpectedly skyrocketed, is it an operational oversight, or something more problematic?
Trial Lawyers Win Cases with Preparation—So Why Run Your Business Without the Same Meticulous Preparation?
Running a law firm isn’t easy, but neither is being a trial lawyer. You don’t step into a courtroom hoping for the best—you meticulously prepare, build arguments, and execute with precision. Your business requires the same level of planning.
✨Jennifer Gore✨ learned these lessons the hard way, and now she helps other firms scale without as many of the growing pains. If you want to make 2025 your firm’s best year yet, you need to plan for it now. Growth isn’t accidental—it’s intentional.
If you want to learn more about becoming better operationally and supercharging your team by partnering with Synergy for lien resolution, visit: https://partnerwithsynergy.com/liens/why-partner/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/building-sustainable-growth-model-your-law-firm-2025-jason-d–5bk8e
The courtroom is a battlefield, and as a trial lawyer, you know that the best-prepared warrior wins. But preparation isn’t just about knowing the law—it’s about leveraging every tool at your disposal to outmaneuver the opposition. In today’s digital world, technology is one of the most powerful weapons there is.
Robert Simon, a trial lawyer who built a powerhouse personal injury firm, The Simon Law Group, knows this firsthand. He’s not just a lawyer—he’s an innovator. As the founder of Justice HQ and Attorney Share, Simon stands at the intersection of law and technology, using cutting-edge tools to give his firm—and others—a significant advantage in the courtroom. He recently spoke during the Peak Practice in 2025 webinar about leveraging technology fully to accelerate personal injury practices.
The Tech-Driven Advantage for Trial Lawyers
Imagine this: You’re knee-deep in trial prep, juggling motions, depositions, and client meetings. The clock is ticking. What if you could free up hours of your time—without sacrificing quality?
That’s exactly what Simon has done by implementing automation and AI in his firm. He has built an infrastructure that doesn’t just assist with case management—it keeps lawyers on his team focused on what matters most: helping the client by winning.
Simon is constantly refining the tools that make trial preparation smarter, faster, and more precise. But he warns: not all AI is created equal.
The AI Trap: Why OpenAI May Be Dangerous for Lawyers
AI is everywhere, but trial lawyers must be cautious. OpenAI’s public models pull data from sources like Reddit and Google—unverified, biased, and potentially disastrous if relied on for legal work. Simon’s golden rule? Never drop confidential client information into an open AI platform.
Instead, invest in closed-data AI models, built on secure, verifiable legal data. This isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about protecting your clients and your reputation.
AI-Driven Tools That Give Trial Lawyers the Edge
Simon has tested and vetted dozens of AI-powered tools that supercharge trial preparation. Here are the ones that stand out:
1. Foundation AI – Say goodbye to endless scanning and document sorting. Foundation AI automatically renames, categorizes, and files documents, saving hours of manual work.
2. AI-Powered Chatbots – Simon built his own chatbot using Personal.ai, trained on his personal trial transcripts, depositions, and case strategies. It serves as an instant resource for his firm and Justice HQ members, offering on-demand legal knowledge.
3. AI-Assisted Discovery (EsquireTek) – Creates instant discovery documents, pulling case details into a ready-to-use format. No more paralegals spending hours on this—just review, refine, and file.
4. Automated Intake and Case Management – Tools like Clio Grow, Lead Docket, and Filevine streamline client intake, ensuring that every lead is tracked, assessed, and processed efficiently.
Revolutionizing Legal Research: Finding the Smoking Gun Faster
Legal research used to be an exhausting grind. Now, AI tools like Lexis+ AI, Westlaw Practical Co-Counsel, and CaseText can sift through thousands of cases in seconds, pinpointing the exact precedent needed to crush an opponent’s argument.
Simon urges trial lawyers to verify AI-generated work but notes that these tools now hyperlink directly to their sources, eliminating the risk of hallucinated citations.
The Art of the Demand Letter
If you handle personal injury cases, EvenUp might be your new best friend. It doesn’t just generate demand letters—it calculates case values, factoring in adjuster trends, injury severity, and jurisdiction. That means stronger demands, bigger settlements, and less time wasted.
Turning Your Marketing into a Case-Generating Machine
For trial lawyers, visibility means victory. AI isn’t just changing how cases are handled—it’s transforming marketing.
Simon uses GetMunch AI to extract the best clips from his long-form content, generating engaging LinkedIn and Twitter posts. The result? More engagement, more referrals, and more high-value cases coming directly into his case management system.
And what happens when those leads convert? AI tools like CaptureNow handle AI-powered intake screening, ensuring that only qualified cases reach his legal team.
The Future: AI-Powered Advocacy
Picture this: An AI-powered intake system that speaks with your voice, screening potential clients in real time. This isn’t science fiction—it’s happening now. Trial lawyers who ignore this shift will get left behind.
Simon’s message is clear: Don’t just practice law—build a system that lets you practice better. Automate the grunt work. Let AI handle the drudgery. Focus on winning cases and dominating your niche.
The firms that embrace technology will thrive. The ones that resist it? They’ll struggle to compete.
Are you ready to transform your firm?
For insights, product recommendations, or a deeper dive into the AI tools shaping the future of trial law, connect with Robert Simon on Instagram (@PlanetFunBob) or here on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/roberttsimon/
But be patient—his AI assistant might screen you first.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/robert-simon-leveraging-technology-transform-legal-jason-d–h2wle
Most personal injury lawyers start their practice the same way—grinding. They hustle to sign cases, advocate fiercely for clients, and juggle the pressures of litigation. But at some point, a question looms:
How do you scale a firm without losing the edge that made you successful in the first place?
I recently sat down with Rob Levine, the powerhouse behind Rob Levine Law, on the Trial Lawyer View by Synergy podcast. Rob has built a firm that not only thrives in a high-volume, high-stakes world but also continues to deliver results for clients while scaling efficiently.
What struck me most about our conversation was that his journey isn’t just about business strategy—it’s about transformation. A personal injury attorney becomes a CEO. A law firm becomes a data-driven, technology-powered machine. A leader learns to trust his team and let the system run.
Here’s how he did it—and how you can apply these insights to your own firm.
1. The CEO’s Evolution: From Litigator to Visionary
Most trial lawyers pride themselves on being in the trenches—prepping cases, negotiating settlements, trying cases. But as your firm grows, your role needs to change (or hire others to do what needs to be done).
🔹 Small Firm (5–10 people): You wear multiple hats—CEO, trial attorney, marketer, and intake manager. You’re deeply involved in every case.
🔹 Mid-Size Firm (50–200 people): Your job isn’t fighting in the courtroom—it’s fighting for your firm’s future. That means stepping into the visionary role, focusing on strategy, growth, and leadership.
🔹 The Key Leadership Trio: To scale, you need a team that frees you to think big: ✔ COO – The executor who ensures daily operations run smoothly. ✔ CFO – The numbers expert who monitors financial health of the firm. ✔ CMO – The strategist who drives client acquisition.
The reality? If you don’t step into the CEO role, no one else will—and your firm’s growth will stall.
2. The Power of Data: Running Your Firm Like a Business
Trial lawyers are taught to trust instinct and experience. But Rob’s approach? Trust the numbers.
Every day, he reviews key performance indicators that tell him exactly where his firm stands:
📌 Case Intake: Are we hitting the right volume per practice area? 📌 Conversion Rates: How many leads turn into signed cases? Where are we losing them? 📌 Cash Flow Projections: What does the next month look like financially?
His secret weapon? Domo, an integrated dashboard pulling data from his case management system, marketing platforms, and financial software.
The result? No guesswork—just data driving action.
3. Revolutionizing Intake: Never Let a Client Slip Away
Most firms lose cases and don’t even know it—because of bad intake processes.
Rob shared a game-changing fix: his firm recovered 643 cases in 10 months just by adjusting how they handle dropped calls.
🛑 The problem: Many clients call but hang up before speaking with an intake specialist. ✅ The solution: Implementing an automatic callback system through RingCentral that instantly re-engages leads who disconnect after 15 seconds.
Lesson for lawyers: Your firm isn’t losing cases in the courtroom. You’re losing them before they even sign a contingency fee agreement with your firm.
4. The Outsourcing Advantage: Freeing Lawyers to Focus on Case Value
Most trial lawyers fall into the same trap: they do everything themselves—from reviewing medical records to lien resolution to handling admin work.
Rob’s philosophy? If a task doesn’t directly increase case value, it should be outsourced.
💡 Medical record retrieval: Instead of paying paralegals to chase hospitals, he outsources the task for $39.95 per record—then passes the cost to the client. 💡 Lien Resolution: Instead of sitting on hold with Medicare trying to resolve conditional payments, he outsources lien resolution to the experts at Synergy making his firm more efficient and profitable.
Administrative tasks: His attorneys focus only on strategy, negotiations, and litigation.
The result? Improved profitability, better efficiency, and zero wasted time.
5. Remote Work & Global Teams: Scaling Beyond Borders
Before COVID, Rob was skeptical of remote teams. But today, his firm has 300+ employees across Colombia, Peru, and the Philippines—and productivity has never been higher.
Why it works: ✔ Cost savings – Lower overhead without sacrificing quality. ✔ Round-the-clock operations – His intake team works across multiple time zones. ✔ Better talent acquisition – No longer limited to a local hiring pool.
His biggest insight? Remote work isn’t a compromise—it’s an advantage.
6. AI & Automation: The Future of Law Firm Growth
In a world where speed and precision win cases, technology isn’t optional—it’s essential.
📞 Phone + Case Management System Integration: Calls instantly match existing client records for seamless communication. 📊 AI-Driven Insights: Predictive analytics identify trends, bottlenecks, and revenue opportunities.
The bottom line? Lawyers who leverage AI will dominate. Those who resist will be left behind.
7. The Power of Mastermind Groups: Learn from Those Who’ve Done It
When Rob first started scaling, he joined a mastermind group—even though it cost thousands of dollars.
Was it worth it? Absolutely.
Through PILMMA (Personal Injury Lawyers Management and Marketing Association), he learned how to expand into new practice areas, optimize operations, and build a sustainable firm.
Lesson for trial lawyers: If you’re not learning from others who have done it, you’re reinventing the wheel. Find a group. Get in the room. Level up.
Final Thought: Are You Thinking Big Enough?
Rob Levine’s story isn’t just about scaling a law firm. It’s about breaking free from the mindset that keeps so many trial lawyers stuck in the trenches.
The difference between a fantastic trial lawyer and a visionary CEO? One works in the business. The other builds the business.
So, ask yourself: 🔹 Are you holding on to tasks someone else could do? 🔹 Are you tracking the data that tells you where your firm is heading? 🔹 Are you thinking about growth the way a CEO does?
Because the firms that embrace these lessons today… are the firms that will dominate tomorrow.
If you want to discover how Synergy can supercharge your firm’s performance, get better outcomes and maximize profitability by streamlining lien resolution—just like Rob Levine—visit www.partnerwithsynergy.com
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/visionary-trial-lawyer-lessons-from-rob-levine-law-jason-d–ugive
In personal injury practices, time is everything. Time is money! Yet many firms struggle under the weight of administrative and operational tasks that consume valuable hours, leaving little room for strategic growth or client-focused work. Dan Martell‘s principles from Buy Back Your Time offer a roadmap for reclaiming your team’s time: by outsourcing repetitive tasks to specialized professionals, leveraging AI for routine processes, and even engaging offshore talent for operational support, your firm can achieve peak efficiency and success.
The Problem: Time-Draining Tasks in Law Firm Operations
Running a personal injury firm means juggling countless routine administrative tasks. From retrieving medical records and resolving liens to drafting demand letters and managing client communications, the administrative workload can overwhelm your team. While these tasks are essential, they don’t require the expertise of your team, and handling them in-house may be slowing your firm down.
The Buyback Principle
Dan Martell’s Buy Back Your Time emphasizes a simple but powerful concept: your time—and your team’s time—is your most valuable resource. By delegating low-value, repetitive tasks, you can refocus your energy on the high-value work that grows your firm and drives client success.
“The overarching purpose of hiring someone,” Martell explains, “is not to perform specific tasks for you. It’s to free you up to do what you do best, the big, entrepreneurial, high-value creative things that actually grow your business.”
Strategies to Buy Back Your Firm’s Time
- Audit Your Firm’s Workload Begin by analyzing your team’s daily and weekly activities. Identify the low-value, time-consuming tasks that don’t require high-level expertise, and flag them for delegation or automation.
- Outsource Administrative Tasks to Specialists Engage companies that specialize in handling essential yet time-consuming processes such as: Medical Record Retrieval and Summarization: These tasks can be done faster and more cost-effectively by third-party professionals. Lien Resolution: Outsource to experts who are adept at navigating this complex process to secure better results for your clients.
- Leverage AI for Routine Legal Work Automating routine tasks with AI can drastically improve efficiency. AI tools can: Draft Demand Letters: Generate professional, client-specific letters quickly. Create Case Summaries: Automate repetitive document creation, freeing up staff for higher-level tasks. Enhance Client Communication: Use AI-driven chatbots and email systems to handle routine inquiries and updates.
- Outsource Low-Level Tasks to Offshore Talent For operational support, consider leveraging offshore talent for tasks such as: Data Entry and Case Management Updates: Offshore teams can handle repetitive data tasks with precision. Scheduling: Let offshore talent manage calendaring, client follow-ups, or initial case background research to save your team’s time.
Outsourcing offers a cost-effective way to delegate low-level tasks, allowing your firm to scale operations while reducing overhead costs. Outsourced and offshore professionals are highly generally skilled, adaptable, and ready to contribute immediately.
Outsourcing Focuses Your Team on High Level Tasks
How does all of this help you? It focuses your team on what they do best and allows you to achieve accelerated growth by becoming more efficient and scalable. And most importantly more profitable!
Refocus Your Team’s Energy on High-Value Work By outsourcing and automating, your attorneys and staff can prioritize what they do best, including:
- Building stronger client relationships
- Completing tasks on cases to maximize value
- Expanding the firm’s client base through marketing and networking
Break Through Growth Barriers Many firms hit a growth ceiling because they can’t scale their operations effectively. Outsourcing to specialists, incorporating AI, and engaging offshore talent allows your firm to grow without overwhelming your team or compromising quality.
Real-Life Inspiration: Outsourcing Like a Visionary
Martell uses the example of Tom Clancy, who famously outsourced the writing of his novels to ghostwriters so he could focus on growing his franchise. Personal injury firms can take the same approach: delegate routine, repetitive tasks to specialists and offshore talent to free up your team for creative, high-value work.
The Competitive Advantage of Modern Outsourcing
Outsourcing administrative tasks, leveraging AI, and engaging offshore talent aren’t just cost-saving measures—they’re strategies to supercharge your firm’s efficiency. These approaches reduce burnout, improve accuracy, and allow your team to focus on the most critical aspects of your practice.
Ready to Buy Back Your Firm’s Time?
It’s time to rethink how your firm operates. By outsourcing administrative and operational tasks to experts, incorporating AI, and utilizing offshore talent, you can reclaim your team’s time and energy, drive efficiency, and scale your practice.
Start buying back your firm’s time today. Embrace the strategies that will propel your practice to peak performance and create a more balanced, profitable future. If you want to buy back your firm’s time and free your staff from lien resolution, partner with synergy. today!
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/buy-back-your-firms-time-achieve-peak-practice-jason-d–zoz5e
In my discussion with Chris Dreyer CEO of Rankings.io on the Trial Lawyer View by Synergy podcast, several insightful strategies emerged for personal injury lawyers looking to enhance their marketing efforts. Below, I distill his key points, offering actionable advice for attorneys navigating a competitive landscape.
Understand Capital Allocation
Dreyer emphasizes the importance of capital allocation in achieving marketing success. Personal injury lawyers need to understand their average attorney fees to make informed decisions about their marketing spend.
Fee Benchmarks:
Under $10,000: Suboptimal unless cases are acquired exceptionally cheaply.
$10,000–$15,000: Good.
Over $15,000: Very good.
Over $20,000: Excellent.
Attorneys who can allocate the most resources to acquire cases have a competitive advantage. Proper investment in campaigns like Google Ads can yield significant returns, provided enough capital is committed to optimize outcomes.
Master the Art of Reviews
Reviews are crucial for building trust and improving rankings on platforms like Google Local Services Ads (LSAs). Dreyer advises firms to go beyond basic practices and create a sophisticated review-gathering strategy:
Request reviews at every client milestone.
Frame even rejected cases in a way that could result in positive feedback.
Incentivize the entire team to identify opportunities for securing reviews.
Strong reviews not only improve your firm’s online reputation but also impact LSA rankings, which depend heavily on region, response, and reviews.
Prioritize Client Experience
Marketing isn’t just about acquiring new leads; it’s about nurturing the entire client journey. Positive client experiences drive reviews, referrals, and brand loyalty. To avoid misunderstandings and complaints:
Set Clear Expectations: Inform clients upfront about what to expect during their case.
Train Your Team: Equip staff with emotional intelligence (EQ) and communication skills to manage client relationships effectively.
Lean Into Niching for Competitive Advantage
Specialization can help your firm stand out in a saturated market. Niching not only builds credibility but also allows for focused marketing efforts that maximize returns. Consider areas like nursing home abuse, birth injuries, or slip-and-fall cases, which are less competitive compared to auto accidents.
Dreyer likens specialization to medical practice: a specialist, like a brain surgeon, often commands more trust than a generalist, even though every specialist has a “first case.”
Simplify SEO and Focus on Quality
SEO can feel overwhelming, but Dreyer simplifies the formula:
Quality Content: Ensure your website answers consumer intent effectively.
Backlinks: Build high-quality backlinks, as they remain a cornerstone of Google’s algorithm.
Avoid Shortcuts: Stay away from tactics like fake reviews or click-through rate manipulation, which can backfire during algorithm updates.
Consistency in maintaining these best practices will yield long-term benefits.
Diversify Marketing Channels
Marketing channels should align with your firm’s stage of growth:
Direct Response Marketing: For immediate case acquisition, invest in Google Ads and paid campaigns.
Brand Awareness: Over time, shift resources to build a memorable brand through TV, social media, and other channels.
A balanced approach ensures both short-term results and long-term visibility.
Be Memorable and Creative
To differentiate your firm in saturated markets, focus on unique and creative branding:
Use distinctive taglines, visuals, and phone numbers.
Avoid generic advertising like “Injured? Call now!” that fails to leave a lasting impression.
Invest in creative strategies to stand out on platforms like TV and billboards.
Decide on Your Marketing Focus
Litigators have two main paths for marketing:
B2B Referral Marketing: Build a reputation as the go-to expert in your field, leveraging seminars, books, and peer referrals.
B2C Advertising: Focus on direct consumer marketing to originate your own cases.
Each strategy requires consistent messaging, continuous improvement, and a commitment to building trust.
Commit to Continuous Improvement
Success in legal marketing isn’t about one-off efforts—it’s about consistency. Dreyer advises firms to:
Monitor performance across channels.
Refine ads, content, and positioning.
Expand to new channels once diminishing returns appear.
Conclusion
Chris Dreyer’s insights underscore the importance of a holistic, disciplined approach to marketing for personal injury lawyers. By mastering capital allocation, optimizing reviews, leaning into specialization, and prioritizing creativity, firms can rise above the competition. Whether you’re building brand awareness or focusing on direct response campaigns, consistency and continuous improvement remain the keys to success.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/key-insights-from-chris-dreyer-how-personal-injury-jason-d–nq0we
Trial lawyers pour their heart and soul into fighting for clients. They strategize, negotiate, and advocate fiercely to get them the justice they deserve. But what happens after the case is resolved? Do we just move on to the next case, or do we nurture the relationships we’ve built to get great Google reviews as well as future referrals?
In the fiercely competitive world of personal injury law, client retention is critical—not just for the growth of your practice, but for building a reputation that keeps clients coming back and referring others to the firm. Joey Coleman, author of Never Lose a Customer Again, joined me on the Trial Lawyer View by Synergy podcast to discuss how his eight-phase customer journey framework applies directly to personal injury law firms. These phases offer a roadmap to not just meet, but exceed, client expectations at every step of their journey with you.
Here’s a deep dive into Joey’s insights and how personal injury attorneys can apply them to create loyal, lifelong advocates. His framework revolves around the “8 A’s” of client experience. Think of it as a roadmap to create raving fans who not only stick with you but become your biggest champion.
1. Assess Phase: Make a Memorable First Impression
This is where it all begins! Potential clients are sizing you up. The journey starts before the client ever steps foot in your office. In this phase, they’re checking your website, talking to friends, and evaluating your reputation. Joey stressed the importance of showing empathy and authenticity at this stage. And showcase what makes you different from all of the other lawyers in town.
What you can do:
Ensure your website conveys compassion and professionalism. Avoid overly legalistic language; instead, tell stories that show how you’ve helped others in similar situations.
Highlight client testimonials prominently, focusing on the relief and trust you’ve provided during their toughest moments.
Remember, clients are often stressed and uncertain when they’re choosing a lawyer. Show them you’re the right choice by demonstrating that you truly understand their pain and are ready to fight for them.
2. Admit Phase: Build Trust Early
They’ve signed on the dotted line. Great! But don’t get complacent. Many lawyers drop the ball in this phase. When a client decides to hire you, they’ve taken a leap of faith. Signing a contingency fee agreement might seem routine to you, but to them, it can feel overwhelming or even alarming. Joey emphasized the need to approach this moment with empathy.
What you can do:
Walk clients through the agreement in plain language, explaining how contingency fees work and why this arrangement benefits them.
Reinforce their decision with verbal and non-verbal cues like eye contact and phrases like, “I’m honored to represent you during this challenging time.”
Show clients that hiring you wasn’t just a legal necessity—it was the best decision they could have made.
3. Affirm Phase: Crush Buyer’s Remorse
That’s right, the moment they walk out of your office, doubt can creep in. Buyer’s remorse is real, and it starts as soon as the client leaves. Clients begin doubting whether they made the right choice because they don’t hear from you until something major happens. It is important to combat this with immediate reassurance. A personalized gesture is key – small touches can go a long way to affirm.
What you can do:
Send a handwritten thank-you note or a quick personalized video message reiterating your commitment.
Introduce your team before they leave the office, letting them know who will be working on their case.
Something as simple as saying, “I want you to know that we’re already hard at work on your behalf,” can reaffirm their decision.
4. Activate Phase: Make the First Key Interaction Remarkable
The first major interaction after onboarding—whether it’s a strategy meeting about their case, deposition prep, or gathering key documents for discovery—sets the tone for the rest of the relationship. Be present, attentive, and address their anxieties.
What you can do:
Call clients the night before their first big interaction, offering to answer any last-minute questions or calm their nerves.
Acknowledge their emotional state. Let them know it’s normal to feel anxious and reassure them that you’ll guide them every step of the way.
Clients want to know you’ve got their back, especially when the stakes feel high.
5. Acclimate Phase: Educate and Guide
Clients often underestimate how long personal injury cases can take. The process is a marathon, not a sprint. This is where communication and education are key. Explain the cadence, the potential hurdles, and the decision points.
What you can do:
Provide a clear roadmap of the process, highlighting milestones like demand letters, settlement negotiations, and trial preparation.
Regularly update clients on what’s happening, even if it’s just to say, “We’re still waiting on a response from the other side.”
By keeping them informed, you eliminate uncertainty and build trust.
6. Accomplish Phase: Celebrate Milestones
Every step forward in a case is a mini victory, and clients need to feel those wins. So, celebrate every milestone, big or small. A demand letter sent, an offer received – acknowledge these wins and keep the momentum going.
What you can do:
Celebrate small accomplishments like receiving the first settlement offer, even if it’s low. Acknowledge that progress is being made.
Let clients know what’s next and how each step gets them closer to their goal.
This phase isn’t just about the final outcome—it’s about making clients feel supported throughout the journey.
7. Adopt Phase: Deepen Loyalty
When clients feel confident in your representation, they become more invested in the process. This loyalty isn’t automatic; it’s earned. Show your appreciation! Don’t take their commitment for granted. A thank you note can work wonders.
What you can do:
Check in with clients periodically to thank them for their trust and remind them of the progress you’ve made together.
Send anniversary notes during long cases, letting them know you’re still as committed as you were on day one.
Clients who feel valued are more likely to stick with you—and recommend you to others.
8. Advocate Phase: Cultivate Referrals
The ultimate goal is to turn clients into zealous advocates for your firm. Referrals are the lifeblood of most practices, yet too many lawyers fail to recognize or reward this loyalty. If they are referring you to everyone they know, nurture this by expressing your sincere gratitude and acknowledging their trust in you.
What you can do:
Write heartfelt thank-you notes when clients refer someone to you.
Recognize your referral sources publicly or send them small tokens of appreciation (where allowed).
Advocates don’t just talk about your firm—they actively bring new clients to your door. Cultivating these relationships can transform your practice.
My Take
Joey Coleman’s eight-phase framework isn’t just a roadmap—it’s a wake-up call. As lawyers, it’s easy to focus on the legal work and forget that what clients want most is to feel cared for, valued, and understood. Coleman’s 8 A’s are a game-changer for any trial lawyer’s firm. Getting too caught up in the fight that you forget the human element is a missed opportunity. Clients will remember how you made them feel even more than the outcome of the case.
Think about it:
Empathy is Key: Personal injury clients are often going through the worst time of their lives. Show them you genuinely care. I know this all too well from my experiences in my own personal injury case after being struck by a car while cycling. See my personal injury story here: https://youtu.be/CIMAr-uos34
Communication is King: Keep them in the loop, explain the process, and manage expectations.
Appreciation Goes a Long Way: A simple thank you can turn a satisfied client into a lifelong advocate.
Let’s face it, the personal injury field is competitive. By focusing on client experience, you not only build a loyal following but also elevate the reputation of the profession. Avoid the impersonal interactions and instead embrace the 8 A’s to create a client experience that is truly remarkable.
Never Lose a Client Again – Conclusion
By putting these principles into practice, you can create a client experience so remarkable that it creates nothing but satisfied clients who leave incredible Google reviews—and they’ll make sure their friends and family come to you when in need too.
What will you implement today?
If you want an even better client experience, consider outsourcing lien resolution to synergy. to enhance the net recovery and get more positive Google reviews!!
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/never-lose-client-again-lessons-from-best-selling-jason-d–y3awe
BLOGS
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