S04E163 Community Networking to Grow Your Firm with Anderson Franco

He used to defend insurance companies. Now he helps injured people take them on, with a calm approach that gets results. We sit down with California personal injury attorney Anderson Franco, founder of Anderson Franco Law, to unpack what he learned during seven years in insurance defense and how that insider knowledge changes everything on the plaintiff side, from evaluating liability to presenting evidence in a way an insurance adjuster can act on.

We also get real about what clients actually need right after an accident: clear expectations, steady communication, and a roadmap that makes the personal injury process feel less intimidating. Anderson shares how he texts clients, uses templated letters, and prepares people for major milestones like depositions and settlement demands. Because most clients have never been part of a legal claim, we focus on the practical habits that build trust and reduce stress.

A major part of Anderson’s practice is serving Spanish-speaking clients in the San Francisco Bay Area. We explore access-to-justice challenges, Spanish-first legal education on social media, and the systems and grassroots marketing strategies helping his solo firm grow.

If you care about law firm leadership, client experience, and building a referral-driven practice, this conversation will sharpen your playbook. 

Reach Anderson here:
https://www.andersonfranco.com/

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Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins 
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Transcript

Show Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Welcome to the Leadership and Law Podcast with most firms. And inspiring stories delivered straight to your e-books, your ultimate podcast for navigating the ever-changing world of law firm ownership. From enough explosive growth to building a thriving team. We connect to with successful firm leaders and industry experts, who build approved strategies and hard law wisdom. So whether you're a teasing leader or just starting your journey as a law firm owner. The Leadership in Law Podcast is here to equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to build a successful and fulfilling legal practice.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Anderson is a California personal injury attorney and founder of Anderson Franco Law. Born and raised in San Francisco, he attended UC Berkeley for college and law school and spent seven years defending insurance companies before launching his plaintiff side practice in 2020, where he now exclusively represents injured individuals. Fluent in Spanish and committed to serving Spanish-speaking communities, Anderson focuses on making the legal process clear and accessible. He's argued cases before the California Courts of Appeal, recovered millions for his clients, and has been recognized with the lawyers in the Fast Track Award in 2025 and Latinos 40 under 40 in 2025. I'm excited to have you here, Anderson. Welcome.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Thank you. I'm excited to be here with Marilyn.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Absolutely. I'd love to hear about your leadership journey.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Sure. So as you mentioned, I'm a San Francisco personal injury attorney now. Out of law, I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. And out of law school, I

Why He Started In Insurance Defense

SPEAKER_01 2:14

thought that the best way to get experience was to join a defense firm. So I practiced defense, insurance defense for about seven years. I represented insurance companies, insureds. I handled uh a lot of personal injury cases on the defense side, bad faith, insurance claims. And through those seven years, I got I understood how insurance companies worked. I went into it knowing and with an interest of ultimately representing plaintiffs and ultimately using my Spanish skills to be able to help people who've been injured in accidents. So now I'm a full-time personal injury plaintiff's side. I only represent people who've been injured. And I'm using my knowledge of insurance companies and how defense attorneys work to maximize the recovery for my clients now. And the niche that I've built out is using Spanish. So I'm flipping Spanish. I'd say about 80% of my clients are Spanish speakers. And here in the San Francisco Bay Area, there's plenty of need for Spanish-speaking attorneys.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

I agree that Spanish is underrepresented in a lot of areas. I find it interesting you went into a lot that representing the insurance company knowing that you were going to flip to the other side. So you got all of that learning under your belt before you really launched your main career, if it as it were.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Right. So the with in defense, the way it works is you bill your clients on an hourly basis. So out of law school, I thought that was going to be a good opportunity to learn where I can take the time to learn about the law, learn about how insurance companies work, and I can bill at an hourly rate. I was concerned out of law school that if I went into a plaintiff's side firm, that I wouldn't have sort of mentorship or the ability to learn. That's just my personal belief. So I went into it thinking I'm going to learn what I can and then go out on my own. I will say that seven years it was I went into it perhaps thinking I'd I would be under the fence just for about three years or so, but quickly learned that there's a lot to learn. I wanted to make certain that I was sure of my skills and that I can that once I went on my own, that my client, that I could be confident in my opportunity, my ability to best represent my clients. So it felt like it took me seven years or so. I know everyone has a different journey, but for me, I just feel I have to be confident in myself fully to be able so that other clients can trust me when I'm on my own.

SPEAKER_02 4:38

That's amazing. I that makes a lot of sense. Being you feel utterly prepared. Then how did working on the insurance side, how did that change or shape your approach to coming to the other side of the tape?

SPEAKER_01 4:50

It's been very valuable. So

Using Insurer Insight To Win

SPEAKER_01 4:52

as a defense attorney, I was able to understand how insurance adjusters evaluate cases. For example, status reports in the insurance industry, insurance adjusters have to manage cases, manage liability. So they do this through status reports. So regular reporting by attorneys. So on the insurance side, I regularly report into insurance adjusters and discuss my cases with adjusters. So I learned that how that operates. And I also learned how other different personal injury attorneys handle cases. I learned the bad and the good. I learned, for example, serving attorneys were just very combative. And I would ask for information and they would fight me along the way when I was a defense attorney. And that made my job difficult because I had to report back to my insurance adjuster. And my insurance adjuster sometimes would was in the dark with information. And that was because it wasn't my fault. It was because the opposing attorney was really not sharing information. So these little tidbits, for example, have really colored my understanding now, or I understand as a plaintiff attorney, that my job is ultimately not to fight with defense attorneys, but to find the best solution for my client. And sometimes finding the best solution for my client requires working with defense attorney to figure out what is it that you need so that you can report back to insurance adjuster. Because at the end of the day, the insurance company or the insurance adjuster has the pocketbook. And ultimately, I want money from that insurance adjuster so that I can, so that my client could use that money for their health insurance, for their wage loss to get them back on their feet after an accident. So I learned a lot of these tidbits in terms of communicating with insurance adjusters and also working with opposing counsel.

SPEAKER_02 6:40

Love that. So Nett, you see both sides very clearly and know how to make each work well. I love that. So from your perspective, what do most people misunderstand about how personal injury cases actually work?

SPEAKER_01 6:52

I think the the greatest misunderstanding is that it's a very combative industry. So while the plaintiff wants to maximize the recovery and the defense

Why Personal Injury Is Not War

SPEAKER_01 7:02

wants to minimize the recovery, ultimately it can be a collaborative effort. It doesn't j it doesn't, you don't have to butt heads with opposing counsel. Kind of like what I was mentioning is at the end of the day, there's a common goal of trying to resolve the case. Most cases resolve for trial, but if trial, if case has to be tried, it has to be tried because of differences of opinion. But that doesn't mean that the two attorneys have to fight along the way. So my way of practicing is understand where the other side's coming from. Is it why don't why do they disagree with my position? And how can I persuade you? What evidence do you need? What witnesses or what documents do you need? And perhaps it's not the opposing attorney I have to persuade, perhaps it's the insurance adjuster. So what I've learned is that there's it can be a collaborative effort and it you don't have to fight along the way.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

And you're gonna work with these people again in the future. You don't want to make a bad get a rat bad reputation either that might reflect on your future clients.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

You're definitely correct. I've learned that insurance companies track attorneys, track law firms in the status reports that I mentioned when I was a defense attorney. Insurance adjusters always wanted to know who's the opposing attorney, what are they like? What kind of cases do they handle? Do they try cases? And in my status reports, insurance companies, I would explain who they were. So you're right, reputation matters a lot.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

That's interesting. That's interesting. After someone's injured in an accident, communication is absolutely critical. We know that. What should clients expect from their attorney in those first few days or weeks?

SPEAKER_01 8:40

In

Setting Client Expectations Early

SPEAKER_01 8:41

the first few days, what the client should first understand is who is going to be handling their case. I'm a solo attorney, so I have direct communication with my clients, but I like to establish early on with my client where people what's the best way to communicate with me. I text my clients to understand the avenues of communication. Next is I have letters that I initial letters that I send to clients explaining the process. Early on, it depends on when I start representing a client. Oftentimes I represent a client within weeks or months of an accident. Uh, and then I explain to them what the next steps look like. Oftentimes, what the next steps look like is continue following your doctor's advice, continuing treating for your injuries. And once you get better, or once we have a clearer picture where your case looks like, we can start discussing what those next steps look like. And what those next steps look like could be entering negotiations or sending a settlement demand letter or potentially filing suit, if the depending on what the other side believes. But you're absolutely right. Communication is key because for I understand how the life cycle of a personal injury case for but for the far majority of my clients, this is the first time ever involved in any sort of lawsuit or any sort of injury case. So because of that, I like to at least guide my clients and provide clarity. And oftentimes that looks that's in the form of a text in Spanish, a letter in Spanish. But it's always important to keep the clients to the clients understand what's happening next.

SPEAKER_02 10:15

Absolutely. The expectations, because you're right, you do this every day, but most of your clients, this is the first time something's happened to them.

unknown 10:21

Definitely.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Very interesting. And how do you now obviously you work English and Spanish? How do you make the legal process really clear and accessible, especially for clients who may feel overwhelmed or unsure about what's happening

Making Legal Steps Clear In Spanish

SPEAKER_02 10:33

next?

SPEAKER_01 10:33

So a couple of ways. First, I do have I produce videos on YouTube and TikTok and Instagram with legal tidbits. Sometimes I and all my videos are in Spanish because the majority of my clients are Spanish speakers. So sometimes I send the videos to my clients so explaining so that they understand. A lot of the videos I do are common questions that a lot of my clients have. So that's one way. But also I do have a lot of templated letters explaining what the process looks like. For example, if we get a deposition notice, the day I get a notice, I understand that my client's gonna be deposed. I have a letter explaining to my client what a deposition is, what are the next steps, and scheduling a call with me so start preparing with clients. So it there's because personality cases have a pattern, I'm able to develop a bank or of templated letters that then I just tweak here and there specific to my client. And that way my clients maintain communication, they're prepared, they understand what's coming, and and demystify the process for them. And like I mentioned, I because I speak Spanish, it's easy for me to just text or give my clients a call. I don't need an interpreter, I can just directly communicate with them.

SPEAKER_02 11:50

That's fantastic. I love that you do uh educational videos as well, because that's something that has such a far and wide reach, and not just in the marketing perspective, but in educating your future clients and the current clients.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Definitely. I've in producing the videos, I've learned that there's just because there's certain topics and ideas that to me seem obvious, but it's obvious to me because I've now practiced a turgo for more than 12 years. But I have to remember that the far majority of people don't know a lawyer or very unfamiliar with the legal process, and just basic legal principles end up being very helpful to people. I end up doing a lot of videos, for example, on workers' compensation, even though I don't practice workers' compensation. It's very applicable to a lot of people. A lot of people don't realize that if you're just injured on the job while you're working in California, you have a workers' compensation case. You don't have to prove liability. That, for example, that's a little tidbit. It has I've had many people thank me that this simple information has been served to be very helpful to them. So that's a reason why the videos is because I want to help the community. See hopefully, if I can help someone uh understand their rights, then I'm happy to help.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

I love that. I love that. And I love that you serve the a large Spanish-speaking uh community. What are some of the unique challenges that those face and how do you address them?

SPEAKER_01 14:16

So some of the challenges that they face, one is just a lot of them don't know a lawyer, don't know where to go. So they find me on TikTok and

Access Barriers And Community Referrals

SPEAKER_01 14:25

I get a lot of messages of people who don't have a person I case, but they have a fraud case or an employment issue. Uh the challenge that they have is they don't know where to go. They don't know how to contact a lawyer. They're concerned about the cost, they don't have money to pay for a lawyer. Many people don't understand that lawyers provide free consultations. So there's a lot of there's a act, there's a barrier to accessing the le any sort of legal help. So for the people who reach out to me, even though I don't practice employment law or even workers' compensation law, because I'm involved in my community, I'm very familiar with a lot of attorneys, renowned my friends. Uh a lot of them speak Spanish. So while I can't not represent a lot of the people who contact me, I can at least point them to the right direction. I could at least introduce them to a friend who might be able to assist. Or, for example, like tenant claims, I'm familiar with a lot of different legal aid societies or different areas where I could at least point them in the right direction. So to answer your question, just the far majority of people don't know, don't even know where to start in terms of who to call or who to contact. And they stumble upon someone like me, who they see on TikTok, and and at least I can, while I can assist, I cannot assist, I can at least point them to the right direction.

SPEAKER_02 15:44

I love that. It's all the more reason to have a great network of people that you can reference.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Definitely, definitely. That's why it's important. I do believe in the good karma in terms of even though I the person who contacts me, I will not represent. If I can give them some helpful information, hopefully they'll remember me. And if they're if they get injured in the future or if the family member gets injured, they'll think of me. And I've had clients reach out to me that way where they've they reached out to me initially, I couldn't help, but then eventually they they remembered me when they needed me. And going back to the good karma, I also believe if I connect good people to good attorneys, that also the good attorneys are also going to remember me. And if you do good work, then clients will remember you. At least that's one of my philosophies.

SPEAKER_02 16:29

Yeah, I absolutely agree with that too. So you said you're a a solo attorney. And so what type of systems have you built within your firm that improve client outcomes? What are a few impactful systems that you've implemented that maybe another solo could take an idea from?

SPEAKER_01 16:46

So I use Case Peer as a management system, and uh there's a lot of automation tools in

Systems That Improve Client Experience

SPEAKER_01 16:51

there, a lot of like templated letters that help me and and could also text through the system. I I checked out a bunch of different platforms, but I'm a big proponent of of a system that works for you. And for me, that's been CasePeer in terms of updating my clients, keeping them involved, having templated letters, having the video, a bank of videos. That sort of system allows me to provide a good customer service because at the end of the day, not only am I fighting for my clients, but I also have to provide my clients a good customer experience. Because a happy client is it can a happy client and happy outcomes, good outcomes, can ultimately produce more clients for me. So it's like the circle of life of if you do good, you'll get more clients.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

That's a great philosophy. And you're right, having a system that you can text within it, email within it just saves so much and keeps all the conversation together. You're right. So we don't lose. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

You're definitely right. You'd be surprised at how many times I just reach out to my client just to say, hey, letting you know there are no new updates, but just checking in. And oftentimes my clients are just thankful, even though I don't have any substantive update since the last time we talked, they're thankful. They say thank you very much for letting me know, even though because they appreciate it. Exactly. They appreciate knowing that look, I'm on top of your case, but I'm just letting you know there's no nothing new. And and clients really appreciate that. And ultimately, they understand that they their attorneys on their side and fighting the good fight, and that they could trust me. And that's helpful because when it comes down to trying to resolve the case and and I'm able to let them know, look, I've been fighting for you. We've been I've been touching, been in contact with you. Like when I tell you should trust me, then you can trust me because you know that I've been there along the whole along the way. That's the way I operate. I I don't I'm not the sort of attorney who just signs up a client, says nothing for a long time, and then comes to you to try to settle after 12 months and not talking. That's not my style. My style is to check in, say happy birthday, check in on how your babies. I I do believe in also learning who my clients are helps me better represent them. Because in the personal injury case, it's all about stories. And each person who gets injured has a very different story. So I do try to get to learn who my clients are, go to their homes, understand where they're coming from, understand how an accident has impacted them, so that I could communicate this story to the other side. Because if they don't share these stories with me, how am I able to share? How will I be able to explain how an accident affected them? And that's why I go back to I I my representation of the majority of Spanish speakers, and it's a feeling that I can use my Spanish to understand a story, then translate it in English and legal ease to the other side so that I can best get the best results for my client.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

Yeah, and the best customer service. That's absolutely amazing. And you obviously with this network, you're you work with referrals. Do you instill with your clients? So if you're happy, leave us a review, refer your friends or any of that. So you're building upon the cases that you've already finished?

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Definitely, definitely. I do try my best to get reviews from clients. I will say it is difficult. I even though sometimes

Reviews Grassroots Marketing And Growth

SPEAKER_01 20:12

I get some amazing results and happy clients. And they tell me that they're really happy. But I asked them a couple of times for reviews, and and it takes a couple of times, a couple of asks to be able to get a review. But yes, reviews are helpful because it helps show other people, other potential clients that had happy customers. And Marilyn actually, I was listening to one of their more recent podcasts about video reviews. And I think video reviews are a great idea. I don't think a lot of people are doing it. And that's something I'm trying to do more of is real clients taking videos or recording videos of their happy results.

SPEAKER_02 20:51

Absolutely. And those are great on your website. People like to hear real people that you've worked with. Absolutely. So when it comes to marketing, I know you said you do a lot of videos. What has worked best for you in building trust and attracting the right clients? Are you s I love that you're doing the FAQ videos? Is there anything else that you feel is the thing that's working for you?

SPEAKER_01 21:12

I first, as a solo, I don't think I do not have the budget to be able to compete with attorneys who have billboards or attorneys who advertise on TV or the radio. So because of that, I do more of a grassroots advertising. And the way it works is really telling the world that I'm a personal injured attorney. I I try first I start within my friends in my community. Like I mentioned, I'm born and raised in San Francisco. I went to Berkeley for college and law school. I've only lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. My wife also, very similar, went to Berkeley in the involved it in the San Francisco Bay Area. Within our community, we have a good social circle where my friends and family know that I'm an attorney, a personal injury attorney. And surprisingly, because of the way it works in personal injury, anybody can become a client at any point. I wouldn't want any of my friends or family to be a client of mine because personal injury cases are are terrible. But if someone is involved in an accident, I want to be on top of their mind and have them think of me. You'd be surprised, or perhaps you wouldn't be surprised, to learn of how many different clients I've had, either been a family member or family member's co-worker or a friend's cousin. And if so, word of mouth and is a strong way of how I get clients. And then the second is happy, I pride myself in doing good work for my clients and having a good experience for my clients, such that they recommend me to their family and friends. And I've had many, a lot of my clients come from happy clients. And oftentimes I remember who someone calls me and they say so-and-so referring. And I remember that client. And it's because that client was happy with the outcome. So a lot of word of mouth, a lot of telling people who what the kind of work that you do, or sometimes just telling people that you're an attorney, because sometimes people just call me and it's not personal injury related, but I'm still able to pass them on to other good attorneys. And then the third. Funnel, I'd say, would be other lawyers, other Spanish-speaking lawyers, and stay on top of their mind when they think of someone who is injured and needs an attorney's particular Spanish-speaking lawyer. That's how I am able to compete, because I can't compete against the billboards, but I can at least compete within my community and be someone who's trustworthy and someone who's confident in, I'm confident in my skills, and I'm confident that I can obtain great outcomes for my clients. Fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

And your idea of clients are very much in a referral type of business, stay-oriented, that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

Yes, exactly. A lot of the Latino community has family. Family's kind of a pillar, church is often a pillar. So they're involved in communities that help me spread spread the word or yeah, spread spread my services.

SPEAKER_02 24:02

So Anderson, for an attorney listening who wants to grow a successful person or injury practice, what's the first thing they should focus on to get real traction?

SPEAKER_01 24:11

Two things. First, I am a firm believer that if you hone in on your craft and you believe in

Advice Where To Connect And Closing CTA

SPEAKER_01 24:18

your ability to represent clients and you trust yourself and you get great results for your clients, then it's going to lead to more cases. It's because and to more clients, because you're gonna have happy clients who are happy with your services. You're even gonna have you're gonna have good results. Even opposing counsel sometimes refer cases to me, and because they see that I get good results. So first hone in on your legal craft, and then second, tell everybody what you do, because anybody can be a client or have a friend who could be a client. So by word of mouth, by being a credible source and a trustworthy person, I think that's the number one way that someone can really start garnering clients because kind of like what I said, it's difficult to compete with the big firms, but if you do a grassroots approach, just working with your community, then you can end up taking plenty of clients. So just ultimately do good work and clients will come to you.

SPEAKER_02 25:23

Fantastic. That is absolutely great advice. Get involved in your community as well. Yeah. So I know that my listeners may want to reach out to you, connect with you. Where's the best place for them to reach you?

SPEAKER_01 25:33

Definitely. Your listeners can either go to my website, which is andersonfranco.com, or on social media if they speak Spanish and want to see my videos. I'm abogado Anderson Franco on TikTok and Instagram.

SPEAKER_02 25:45

Fantastic, fantastic. Anderson, this has been really good. I've really enjoyed the conversation, a lot of great information. And thank you so much for your time. Thanks for being here. That's a wrap on today's episode of the Leadership in Law Podcast. Before you go, I want to make sure that you know about something that could be a real game changer for your firm. If you've been doing the work, showing up, serving clients, but your marketing still isn't producing the caseload you know you deserve. That's exactly the problem Law Marketing Zone was built to solve. My team and I work exclusively with law firms, and we don't do cookie cutter. We build a strategy around your practice, your market, and your goals. More high-quality leads, better cases, less stress, and more profit. Head over to LawmarketingZone.com/slash book a call and book your free case growth session today. The link is in the show notes. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next episode.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Leadership in Law Podcast. Remember, you're not alone on this journey. There's a whole community of law firm owners out there facing similar challenges and striving for the same success. Head over to our website at LawMarketingZone.com. From there, connect with other listeners, access valuable resources, and stay up to date on the latest episodes. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us to review on your favorite podcast platform. Until next time, keep leading with vision and keep growing your firm.