Life Beyond the Briefs
At Life Beyond the Briefs we help lawyers like you become less busy, make more money, and spend more time doing what they want instead of what they have to. Brian brings you guests from all walks of life are living a life of their own design and are ready to share actionable tips for how you can begin to live your own dream life.
Episodes
263 episodes
100 People Every Quarter: The Relentless Networking Strategy That Built Elise Buie’s Law Firm
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 cit...
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37:02
Burned Out and Underpaid? The Red Flags That Tell Lawyers It’s Time to Go Solo | Wendy Meadows
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 ris...
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35:28
The Simple Marketing Tool Most Law Firms Ignore | David Vicknair
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 ...
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45:35
Second Rule of Marketing: Build a Moat Before Consolidation Hits | Dan Kennedy pt. 2
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 mo...
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36:52
First Rule of Marketing: Do The Opposite of Your Competition | Dan Kennedy pt. 1
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...
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43:19
Words Tell. Stories Sell: How Lawyers Build a Magnetic Brand | Kia Arian
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 ...
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30:25
How to Build a Firm That Can Handle a $100M Case | Ryan McKeen
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 whe...
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45:13
How to Hire Great People and Keep Them | Jay Henderson
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 th...
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45:21
The 4-Day Test: Can Your Business Run Without You? | Conrad Saam
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-c...
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40:51
How to Turn Your Expertise Into New Clients with a Book (Live at GLM) | Michael Delon & Jonathan Hawkins
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 b...
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47:45
Leaving the DA’s Office and Betting on Herself | Nana Knight
Most lawyers talk about leaving. Nana Knight actually did it.In this episode, Nana walks through what it really looked like to leave the DA’s office, hang a shingle, and build a criminal defense firm from scratch. No big safety net. No w...
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31:11
Mastering Law Firm Money: How to Create Predictable Profit in 2026 | Leah Miller
This episode of Life Beyond the Briefs is a breakout session from the GLM Summit with Leah Miller, founder of Firmly Profits and fractional CFO for law firm owners. Leah started as a paralegal, worked her way up to firm administra...
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46:06
How To Plan 2026 So You Actually Love It
The rush to “do more” is loud, but the quiet work of designing a year you actually want to live is louder. We break the high achiever cycle—always chasing 2x—by starting with gratitude, then building a plan that respects seasons of life, family...
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22:03
Simple, Profitable Marketing for Law Firm Owners | Michelle Pippin & Johnine Clark
This episode of Life Beyond the Briefs is a breakout session from the GLM Summit featuring Michelle Pippin (founder of Women Who Wow / WoWX) and Johnine Clark, a Maryland family law and estate planning attorney who has built a bus...
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49:55
Growth and the Good Life (Live Q&A with Ben and Brian)
What if the biggest threat to your law firm is not your competition, but the noise you let into your life and calendar?In this live Q&A from the GLM Summit 2025, Brian and Ben reflect on what it really means to pursue growth and “the...
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1:03:48
The 4 Numbers You Must Know Before Your 2026 Law Firm Planning
If you’re planning for 2026 without knowing your numbers, you’re not planning, you’re guessing.In this solo episode, Brian breaks down the 4 numbers every law firm owner must know before heading into annual planning:
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15:09
7 Tax Moves Every Law Firm Owner Must Make Before December 31st (Live at GLM) | Adam and Jackie Williams
Dreading your next tax bill… but too busy running your firm to do anything about it?In this special Breakout session live from the Great Legal Marketing (GLM) Summit, Adam and Jackie Williams of Pennywise Tax Strategies wal...
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54:16
Growing a Profitable PI Firm with Pods and KPIs | Hunter Garnett
When your intake gets sharper, everything else gets easier. In this episode, Brian sits down with Alabama injury lawyer Hunter Garnett to unpack how he builds teams that own outcomes, trains intake to convert without sounding scripted, and uses...
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34:50
The Young Lawyer's $500 Marketing Plan
Most lawyers think growth starts with paid leads, slick branding, or a pricey SEO retainer. We take a different path. This episode walks through a lean $500 marketing stack designed for brand new attorneys and fresh law firms that want to becom...
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19:50
Purpose-Driven Social Media for Modern Law Firms | LexSummit 2025 Breakout Session with Mike Rafi
Step into a packed breakout room at LexSummit 2025. The coffee is still warm, the questions come fast, and trial lawyer Mike Rafi is as candid as they come. This session is about social that serves a purpose. Not chasing viral hits, but speakin...
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50:03
Law Firm Life Cycle Unpacked: Ethical Exits & the Equity Trap | Jonathan Hawkins
Ever drafted the “I’m out” email and saved it as “send after bonus”? In this episode, Jonathan Hawkins returns to talk about the messy middle of law firm life: when to leave, how to leave without stepping on landmines, and how to know if “partn...
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36:43
11 Client Communication Hacks | Gyi Tsakalakis & Jared Jaskot
Picture a new client on day 17. They signed last week. Their neck still hurts. Their inbox is quiet. The silence makes the story in their head louder. Did the firm forget me?That moment is where this episode lives. From the first call th...
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56:24
Using AI to Make a Solo Practice Scalable | Carolyn Elefant
What happens when one of the original voices in solo law practice meets the cutting edge of AI?At 8AM’s Kaleidoscope event, Brian sat down with Carolyn Elefant - legendary founder of MyShingle, author of Solo by Choice<...
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21:11
Scaling Without a CFO Is Just ‘Creative Drowning' | Kelley Brubaker
You’ve hired the bookkeeper. You’ve got the tax pro. You’re making money. So… why does it still feel like you're flying blind and low-key drowning?In this episode, Brian sits down with Kelley Brubaker, a Fractional CFO who’s been ...
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45:13
Social Media Marketing for Lawyers: Should You Even Bother? | GLM Tribe
What’s the real return on all that time lawyers are spending posting on LinkedIn, Instagram, or YouTube?In this special episode pulled from a recent GLM Tribe call, Ben Glass and Brian Glass have an honest conversation about what’s worki...
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20:51