Why Waiting to Build Your Brand Quietly Costs You Market Share ft. Kyle Wright | Trial Lawyer View Ep. 98

Personal injury lawyers building a trial reputation learn from Kyle Wright how self-funding a personal brand generates 40% of caseload through attorney referrals.

Wright, a partner at Wisehart Wright Trial Lawyers and holder of the first two six-figure verdicts in Sandusky County history, built his Make It Right brand from personal income inside a multi-practice firm without partner conflict. The specific failure he corrects is waiting for dominance before investing in visibility, a delay that quietly hands market share to national firms. His fix is concrete: $35,000 annually in personal training, a trial record that forces referrals, and a brand strategy funded before the firm ever ratified it.

Wright secured a $5.7 million pre-suit policy-limit settlement for a paralyzed minor by moving fast: he preserved surveillance video from a neighboring building that confirmed the driver crossed the center line, eliminating liability disputes early, then layered in a life care plan, a day-in-the-life video, and expert reports before filing anything. That preparation signaled the carrier that litigation was ready to launch, and the limits were paid without a complaint ever being filed. On the verdict side, Sandusky County had no six-figure verdict in its history until Wright won a half-million-dollar verdict a couple of years ago, then added a second six-figure verdict roughly a month before this recording.

The pattern connecting those outcomes is a training budget treated as overhead, not a luxury. Wright allocates $15,000 per attorney annually for continuing education and sends associates to programs like Trial by Human in California, because the return compounds when every lawyer on a file can independently drive case value. He also builds staff into every workflow change before rolling out new software, a lesson learned after paying for tools that collapsed without buy-in. For any firm weighing whether to invest in people or process first, Wright's answer is both simultaneously, because efficiency gains only convert to better client results when the humans running the system have already been trained to use them.

Connect with Kyle:
LinkedIn
Wisehart Wright Trial Lawyers
Facebook

Learn more about Synergy’s approach to healthcare lien resolution and firm operations.

Trial Lawyer View features long-form conversations with experienced plaintiff trial lawyers, firm leaders, and industry experts. The show is built for legal professionals who want to lead stronger, more efficient personal injury firms by learning from peers who have built, managed, and evolved successful practices in the real world.

New episodes of Trial Lawyer View are released every 2nd and 4th Monday at 5am EST. 

Learn more here: https://sholink.to/synergycontact

Watch on YouTube

If this episode gave you a useful perspective or sparked an idea for your firm, consider liking the video, leaving a comment, or sharing it with a colleague.

This podcast has been brought to you by APodcastGeek

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Coming up...

Kyle Wright 0:00

Yes, there wasn't a six-figure verdict in Sandusky County until a half million dollar verdict a couple years ago. We just got another six-figure verdict just about a month ago. So there's only two six-figure verdicts in that county's history, and it just happened within the past couple of years.

Jason Lazarus 0:15

That's Kyle Wright, partner at WiseHeart Wright Trial Lawyers, and the attorney behind the first two six-figure verdicts in Sandusky County history. He self-funded his Make It Right brand even before his firm officially backed the idea. He proved that visibility builds a strong trial reputation and a strong reputation drives referrals.

Kyle Wright 0:36

I budget $15,000 for CLEs for each attorney. In my practice, I budget $35,000 annually for myself for training. So we just build that into our budget.

Jason Lazarus 0:50

In this episode, you'll learn why self-funding your personal brand can build a referral pipeline before your firm is ready to invest, how a $35,000 annual training budget can help create the trial record that drives attorney referrals, and why using personal income to fund visibility can reduce partner conflict and keep the strategy moving? I'm Jason Lazarus, and this is Trial Lawyer View.

What building a practice in a small market forces you to figure out

Jason Lazarus 1:15

You built your trial practice in Sandusky, Ohio, not Cleveland or Columbus. What did the smaller market choice force you to figure out about case selection, marketing, and reputation that perhaps firms in a big city might never have to wrestle with?

Kyle Wright 1:36

I'm fortunate, frankly, that I started this in a smaller county. So I'm in Erie County, and you know, we're halfway between Toledo and Cleveland, right on Lake Erie. My main office is in Sandusky. And, you know, the competitors or the competition here for um injury cases is it's much smaller. It's it than you know you would encounter in Cuyoga County or Lucas County. Um so I think you know, to start, it's easier to gain a foothold and grab a market share in a smaller area. Um and then, you know, if you fill your cup here, then you can, you know, you've got the capital to uh double down and try to reproduce in different markets. So that's kind of where we are right

Why Kyle went deep into trucking cases instead of chasing volume

Kyle Wright 2:32

now.

Jason Lazarus 2:32

Well, and interestingly, you you've had this concentration in trucking, and you know, most personal energy firms out there seem to chase volume across different case types, but you went deep there. Can you kind of walk through with me how you made that decision and what you had to give up to to go that route?

Kyle Wright 2:56

Really, I I made the decision um to spend some time, uh a lot of time, invest a lot of time in learning as much as I could about the you know, the FMCSA um or the Federal Motor Carry Safety Regulations. Um I went to every seminar I could go to on trucking. I joined the trucking groups. Um, I read all the books. Um I initially co-counseled with um some trucking lawyers that I really respected. Um I went to Montana and got behind um, you know, the wheel on uh on semi trucks. And um, boy, that was kind of a shocker. Um, you know, I I got there in Montana and uh, you know, within the first two hours I was there at the uh seminar I was at, um, I got in the front seat of the semi-truck, uh, a brand new uh tractor trailer, and you know, sh the uh the coach um handed me the keys and she said, Are you ready to go? I said, Go where? She's like, We're going out on the track. I said, Well, look, I've never driven stick before. Um, I don't know if if, you know, my first time at to do this is probably right on a in a semi-truck, but but I did. Um, and so it was um, it was it was a lot of fun. Learned a lot, really learned a lot from from that experience. Hi.

Jason Lazarus 4:32

Quick question for you. Does Lean Resolution Administration feel like a quiet bottleneck inside your firm? Medical liens, Medicare compliance follow-ups, and documentation can drag on long after the case is resolved, tying up capital and attention your team can be using elsewhere. This is where Synergy can help. We partner with personal injury law firms to handle complex healthcare lean resolution and compliance work, helping firms move cases to resolution more efficiently without adding internal burden or more overhead. If that sounds like something your firm is dealing with, you can learn more by clicking the link in the show notes or scanning the QR code on the screen. Now back to the conversation.

What driving a semi truck in Montana taught him about trucking litigation

Jason Lazarus 5:13

I'm a little bit of an amateur race car driver, and I instruct others on track when they're coming out for the first time. And so I've been in the right seat and uh been out there with people that are just learning. And really, I mean, the best way to learn it honestly is to go out and do it. It's it's hard really to understand so you actually do it and feel the forces that are produced when you're driving at um a high performance level. And I'm so I'm curious, you know, with what you did in Montana, what specifically did you learn about trucking cases that perhaps those that don't specialize in that area miss when they take on a case?

Kyle Wright 5:56

Yeah, so we you know, we learned a lot. I mean, it was over three or four days. Um, we learned about um how to properly secure load. Um, we learned about, you know, all the pre-chat that you are required to do, you know, and just learn the mechanics of of a tractor trailer, um, how it operates, um, how different it is than uh just a motor vehicle, a regular car on the road. And, you know, it it gave me a you know some really good insight into how important it is to really follow the safety rules um to make sure that we're, you know, truck drivers are are are safe and um hauling loads um safely across America. So it it's um you know, it's a big responsibility uh for the truck driver, and it's um even bigger responsibility for the trucking company to give their drivers uh the tools that they need to be successful and to be safe, um, and for the trucking company to put training in place uh to help these drivers. You know, it's it's it's important to just do ongoing training, just like it is for us as lawyers, you know. Um, just the ongoing CLEs that we do, how important it is. Um they've got an important job, and it's critical to do things the right way.

Jason Lazarus 7:25

Yeah, I gotta imagine, you know, for those that are driving these rigs, and I only talk from my own experience of trailering my my own car because when I go to the track, I trailer it. And what I see oftentimes is on the roads that drivers don't quite understand how much harder it is to stop a vehicle that's longer and more weight and don't give enough room and you know, all those things. But then also, you know, they're there as an operator of a vehicle like that, you start to get a feel for, oh, this is something, you know, different than when you're just driving around in a in a passenger vehicle. I'm curious in terms of the training that you're talking about, how much of it actually occurs that helps to avoid the types of catastrophic outcomes that can happen when somebody's behind the wheel that doesn't have that proper training and expertise on operating a vehicle like that.

Kyle Wright 8:31

I mean, I think it just starts with culture of of safety um with the trucking company. Um, you know, every business has its own personality, you know, it starts from the top. And, you know, if there's a culture of of safety and training, um, you know, that's gonna make its way down to the drivers. They're gonna understand what their priority is, and their priority is to um safely transport uh their load wherever it's going. Um and it starts, starts with the company. And, you know, the good trucking companies really care about safety. They care about the safety of their driver, they care about the safety of others on the road, and they care about the load that they're hauling. So um I think it starts with the TA, and I think it's a culture thing. And so, you know, I think the really good companies take a lot of pride in that and they do a lot of training and you know, just enforce that culture on on their drivers.

Jason Lazarus 9:30

Aaron Powell For

What motivates Kyle to hold negligent trucking companies accountable

Jason Lazarus 9:31

you, what is it about those types of cases that calls you to hold those companies accountable when they don't do the things that you just talked about and and hurt someone that you end up representing?

Kyle Wright 9:46

So here's the way I look at it is you know, if there's a collision with a tractor trailer um and a in a regular car on the road, um, you know, just the basic physics of that size of a of a vehicle versus a smaller vehicle, the tractor trailer is gonna win, right? And so it doesn't take the same amount of speed, right, to cause the kind of injuries that you know may happen with a higher speed or a lower speed collision with a just a regular car. So I've seen and been involved in in many cases where there's just catastrophic uh outcomes to people that are hurt um, you know, in a in a track-to-trailer collision, you know, and the goal is is that to prevent those crashes, right? So um every crash is preventable in some way. Um, so you know, it's we ultimately like the you know, it's the job of a trucking company and the truck driver to prevent crashes. And I've just seen so I've been involved in so many different catastrophic cases that are just clearly preventable if there was a culture and a directive from above to follow the safety rules that are in place to prevent these kind of crashes because the outcomes are are catastrophic generally in comparison to a normal car V car crash. So I am moved to um help those people that are negligently hurt. I live with the families, you know, I see the pain that they're they're going through, and I spend a lot of time with them and I see what's going on. And when you see that over and over and over, um it's just you you know that uh there's kind of a calling there to help people, and that's that's what I do. I I really enjoy it.

Jason Lazarus 11:41

And I've seen some of the most catastrophic outcomes in those cases, and it's it's really heartbreaking when you know that there there was something that could have been done to avoid it and simply wasn't done, usually because profits were put ahead of the safety of those around those types of vehicles, which that that's where you guys come in and hold them accountable.

Kyle Wright 12:07

You know, what I what you see, what we end up seeing a lot is um, you know, some of the a lot of the companies, you know, they have different telematics and and um safety alerts that um they're made aware of when their truck driver is speeding um or uh you know their electronic logs, whatever it is, you know, the the the companies put on notice. And the question is, what did they do with that information? Right. So you can have all these uh you can have all the bells and whistles in place, but what are you doing with that information to correct a driving, um, to order additional training, um, to coach and work with the driver so that you can prevent a a crash. So that's what that's what I see a lot is like there's there's all this this safety in place, but they're just not training and using that information to to make their drivers better. That's that's what I see a lot.

Jason Lazarus 13:11

Yeah, it's an unfortunate reality.

How Kyle secured the first two six figure verdicts in Sandusky County history

Jason Lazarus 13:14

So you have uh two of the top verdicts in Sandusky. Uh and I'm curious, what does that statistic say about how you prepare for trial and how you decide which cases belong in front of a jury?

Kyle Wright 13:31

So it's in Sandusky County. It's a smaller county um here in northern Ohio. Um and you know, it's been a historically a very difficult county to try cases. It's not been favorable to uh plaintiffs. There wasn't a six-figure verdict um in Sandusky County until we had um a half million dollar verdict a couple years ago, but we just got another six-figure verdict just uh about a month ago. Um so there's only two six-figure verdicts in that county's history, and and it just happened within the past couple of years. One of the benefits, I would say, of trying cases in some of these smaller rural counties is that the judges are surprised when um the plaintiff's attorney is willing to go to trial. And they're kind of like excited uh to see it actually happen, you know, because people are afraid to take a swing there. And, you know, it allows me to kind of cut my teeth and get get trials in. Um, I think sometimes it's harder to get trials in the bigger counties. You know, you get kicked over and over. Um, there's a huge docket. Um, but in the smaller counties, you you get uh I think more of an opportunity to try cases, which which I'm grateful

How a $5.7 million pre-suit settlement was forced without filing

Kyle Wright 14:49

for.

Jason Lazarus 14:49

You have achieved a uh $5.7 million pre-suit uh policy limit settlement, which is unusual. I'm curious when I saw that about what made the carrier come to the table that early without you needing to file.

Kyle Wright 15:07

It was a catastrophic case. I mean, it was a head-on collision where um a minor was paralyzed. And so if there ever was a case for that carrier to pay their limits, that was the one. Right. So um I I give the carrier credit in that case for doing the right thing and and um getting it resolved early uh for this child because he needed the care that um that settlement's been able to provide him.

Jason Lazarus 15:38

Yeah, but it's still unusual to see that because uh, you know, over my career, I can't tell you how many times I've seen those types of cases where they've been drawn out much longer than they should have.

Kyle Wright 15:50

Yeah. It was a matter of, frankly, getting all the expert reports, getting everything lined up so that, you know, they knew that if the money wasn't paid, that we were ready to go in litigation. I mean, we had a a life care plan, um, we had a day in the life video done. We were ready to go. So that message was, I think, received loud and clear. Um, and that got the attention of the carrier. Um, and ultimately, you know, when they paneled it, they they made the right choice to get that thing done.

Jason Lazarus 16:24

So you did all of that in uh basically as as you onboarded that case, meaning it because it was pre-suit, so you were doing all of that very early on.

Kyle Wright 16:35

Very early on. I mean, we we found out that there was video on one of the uh neighboring buildings on the roadway. Um, so we got the video and it was clear that the driver went left of center. So, you know, we eliminated any liability um arguments just by way of having the video preserved and sharing that with um the adjuster early on. And then we ran, and once we had that, we got all the expert reports that we needed. We had an excellent life care planner uh that spent a lot of time with my client um at their home, getting an understanding of the injuries, clearly laying out a life care plan that uh he'll need, and then we had the day in the life. So it was ready to go early on.

Jason Lazarus 17:21

Great result. And obviously, you know, that's that that's a situation where that money, because it's tendered early, can make a difference in terms of the how that person gets to live and what type of recovery they have and what resources they have. And having worked with disabled clients my entire career, that is such a huge thing for um that client not to have had to wait years and years for that money to finally be paid.

Kyle Wright 17:52

Absolutely. No, it was it was huge. I'm very happy for the clients, you know, under the circumstances, awful situation for that family. Um, but you know, we uh with the settlement, we were able to really deliver uh the best kind of quality of life and provide him with the resources and tools uh that he needs to maximize uh the quality of life that he was left with. That's that's huge

How Kyle's case selection filter has evolved over the years

Kyle Wright 18:21

to me.

Jason Lazarus 18:21

Aaron Powell So specialization is as much a business decision as a crap decision. I'm curious about your filter on which cases to take and which to pass on has changed over the years and what mistakes you made early on in your practice.

Kyle Wright 18:37

Aaron Powell I would say earlier in my career, I was more willing to take risk on lower value cases. That starts to change uh as your practice grows. I went through that just natural growth curve. Um, you know, I worked cases hard no matter the size of the case early on. And it's ultimately it's it's worked out. And um, some of the cases, you know, I've developed a practice now where I just basically I'm working on the catastrophic cases. So I have a a much smaller um caseload um that I split with a um just a phenomenal uh um associate that works the cases hard in litigation, that truly wants to be a litigator, that you know, handles high-end discovery, that you know, does research and writing and uh takes depositions. And you know, we work cases up uh differently now. Um, you know, especially the catastrophic cases, we're able to just throw a bunch of resources uh at it that you know I wasn't able to necessarily do earlier in my career. And we can move them along quicker, too. So yeah, it's kind of a blessing in that regard.

Jason Lazarus 19:54

Well,

Why refusing to avoid the courtroom changes what carriers offer

Jason Lazarus 19:55

it's a good segue into what I was gonna ask you about next, which is most personal injury firms or many avoid the courtroom, and your firm doesn't do that. And I'm curious from your perspective, how do the carriers knowing that you guys will try a case and getting it prepped early on, like you did in the case that we were just discussing where you got a uh you know, policy limit pre suit demand. How does that change what they offer you on files? And was building that reputation a deliberate choice on your part?

Kyle Wright 20:29

Yeah, it was a deliberate choice. I mean, it was just a total uh philosophy change. I mean, I started with uh focusing on how to resolve a case uh pre-suit and by way of settlement to maximize a case and really understanding that. And, you know, ultimately, look, if you're a personal injury lawyer and you're not trying cases, you're not getting the full value. And I just that didn't sit with me right. Um, so I refocused um my practice on trial. And, you know, I honestly just put myself in as many uncomfortable positions as I as I could, um, practicing in front of groups, um, attending seminars where I'm on my feet, you know, I'm I'm doing this work, I'm prepping it, and I'm doing focus groups, I'm you know, practicing an opening, I'm I'm practicing cross-examinations, uh, doing it live, getting feedback, you know, reading all the books, studying uh the best of the best, frankly, on CVN. I mean, that's an incredible resource for any trial lawyer. You can, at any time, if you pay, you know, a thousand bucks a year to CVN, you can go and log into CVN and watch the best of the best. Um, how do they craft their opening? How do they cross examine uh expert witnesses? How do they do the Direct of the client, the damages witnesses. How are they framing damages in closing? You know? So I I just spent a I spent a ton of time just researching that. Um, everything I possibly could do. Um, you know, and I love it. Um, it's it's not work to me. It it really isn't, because I I enjoy it. Um, I, you know, every time, every day I get up, I'm happy to get to the office. I don't feel like I'm working. Um, you know, when I'm home or working out or walking on the treadmill, I can throw CVN on. I can watch an opening statement, catch whatever I want to catch. And, you know, I'm always trying to study what the best of the best out there is doing and and pulling what works for me and applying

The business case for investing $35,000 annually in trial training

Kyle Wright 22:48

it to my own cases.

Jason Lazarus 22:49

Well, another good segue, because from doing my research, my understanding is that you invest in trial training for the lawyers at the firm, and that's something that's a little less usual uh because you know, the reality is a lot of cases settle and don't go to trial. I I'm curious what's your business case for that investment and what does it actually look like for you in terms of the lawyers in your practice?

Kyle Wright 23:18

So I have, you know, I budget $15,000 uh for CLEs for each attorney. Um in my practice, I budget $35,000 annually for myself for training. Um so you know, we just build that into our budget. I tell all of them that they're required to pick two of the best of the best training seminars wherever it is in the nation. It doesn't matter to me. Um, two of our associates just went to um California to do the trial by human seminar. Not cheap to fly to uh Hollywood and stay at a hotel and you know, pay for flights and do the advanced training. But, you know, you the return on investment is huge, right? Because um I want to work with people um or lawyers that are interested in what I'm interested in. And what good does it do if I'm the one that has all the knowledge and the resources because I'm you know investing in myself? You know, what what does it do if I have all that knowledge? I'm not working all the cases, right? They need to get up to speed and get that same knowledge so they can apply it on their cases and get the best values that they can. You know, historically, I think firms would take the position that, look, we're gonna retain all the information um and the resources at the top so we can um, you know, maintain control, right? Um, you know, so that I think there's a fear that well, people might leave if they learn, you know, the the the tricks of the trade. Um, but that hasn't played out in in my practice. Um they're grateful for these opportunities. Um so, you know, I I just I looked at it differently, and so far it's working.

Jason Lazarus 25:10

Well, and I would imagine you upskilling and everyone around you upskilling is a very positive thing for the firm as a as a practice, because that just means client experience or client results are are improved, and that's really in the end, what's going to continue to drive more and more uh work for you guys is is that.

Kyle Wright 25:36

For sure. No, it's it's a huge part of my practice. I would say so. Right now, almost close to 50% of the cases that I generate are attorney referrals. So it's just over 40%. You know, if if um you are able to get high value on significant cases, then attorneys are going to refer their cases to you. Um and you know, that's that's really where we've gone. Um that wasn't necessarily my intent as far as like how I wanted to grow my practice, but that's what's

How the "Make It Right" personal brand was built and self-funded

Kyle Wright 26:16

happened.

Jason Lazarus 26:16

I wanted to ask you a little bit about your personal brand because you've you've got Make It Right, which is very clean, it's recognizable. Um I'm curious about what led you to build that personal branding and how it's worked with your overall branding for the firm.

Kyle Wright 27:24

That was an intentional decision on my part. Um I wanted to, if I was gonna grow a personal injury practice in a brand, I had to invest in marketing in myself. And, you know, I think a lot of firms are uncomfortable with one partner in particular branding their, you know, their own name and and their own um slogan. Um, my partners were supportive of it. And I I made that decision. Um, I spent my own income on on that. I didn't ask for money from my partners to support it, but I said, this is where I'm going with my practice. Um and they were on horror because they didn't have to pay for it. I I you know I spent it out of my own uh income that I was generating. So it was intentional. And um, I'm frankly, I'm happy I did it. I mean, I think it's really important to brand yourself long term.

Jason Lazarus 28:28

I 100% agree. Uh, I've done it myself, you know, uh as the founder of this company and an owner, I I still invest in my personal brand because it gives opportunities for obviously business development, hosting a podcast, writing books, though those sorts of things are all things that you know ultimately can benefit the greater organization. I I'm curious, you know, with your practice, like how how are you doing that without competing against your own colleagues? I mean, it's it or is it you are still somewhat?

Kyle Wright 29:09

I'm not, because we're on a multi-area practice. And, you know, so nobody's uh I'm not stepping on my partner's toes. Um, you know, by doing what I'm doing with my marketing efforts. It's what I do with my marketing um helps the branding of the firm, right? So, you know, it drives more views, it drives more uh direct searches, um, it takes a lot of time, but you know, we are basically firms within a firm, right? So I'm kind of my own siloed budget. Uh so are my, you know, I've got uh we have the workers' comp uh division, uh, we've got criminal defense, we have uh probated state planning, and I get internal referrals, and likewise they get referrals uh from me. So, you know, for us it works. Um doesn't work for everybody, but it's it's working for us.

Jason Lazarus 30:08

Yeah, that's I think the the key is when you've got practice areas like that that are um you know adjacent and you know complementary to some extent or or don't overlap as much, then that sort of a setup can can actually work for quite well. And I would think too, in your kind of market area, given the the size and location of it, that that probably helps uh as well.

Kyle Wright 30:38

Oh, for sure. It it definitely does. Um you know my partner, Troy Weishart, um you know, he probably uh I know that he has the most branded, uh most searched name um in Erie County uh for an attorney. He does criminal defense. He does it um at at a very high volume and has been incredibly successful in in criminal defense. So um his volume is huge. The amount of intakes that they get, frankly, is more than I get. Um and you know, we it it helps one another. Um, it's it's a good synergy.

Jason Lazarus 31:22

Yeah, I'm sure. I I'm curious, you know, as someone who's who's built a very successful practice, where do you

Where personal injury law is heading over the next 3 to 5 years

Jason Lazarus 31:31

see the business of personal injury law heading over the next three to five years? Because there's so much changing right now with technology and you know, also now seeing some private equity entering into the equation with MSOs and the ABS models out of Arizona and some other jurisdictions where they're allowed. What what do you think is the future and how are you starting to prepare for what changes maybe on the horizon?

Kyle Wright 32:02

Yeah, there's a lot more national competition for the same cases that were, you know, always there. Um I'm aware of that. That's why the branding to me is very important. Um, you know, we've opened several remote offices. I guess I wouldn't even call them remote. We've open opened other locations where um we are adding local lawyers from that community. And, you know, they are we're investing in in them. Uh, we're investing uh in each of those markets with people that are actually part of the community, but under our brand. Um, so I think branding is important. Um, and we're just doing it location by location right now. And you know, delivering incredible customer service to the clients is huge, right? Um, and how can you do better at that? Well, you need to be more efficient with your workflows. So um I have spent a lot of time and energy on our systems, our processes. Um, I'm working with um software engineers uh that are building custom workflows for us that are saving just saving us tons and tons of time. Um and we're able to handle our cases more efficiently, um, and we're able to spend more time with our clients. Um, so that I is has been my response to what you know I think the future looks like in three to five years. Um and and customer service, um working with AI and software engineers to build processes that are gonna make you more efficient, that are gonna uh help you, help your clients, um, and your personal branding. I mean, that those to me are the the keys.

Jason Lazarus 34:10

I'm curious about how you've gone about roadmapping what can be taken on by

How Kyle is using AI and custom workflows to build a more efficient firm

Jason Lazarus 34:17

technology that then allows the greater concentration on the customer experience and freeing up staff time. Because that that's something that we're very passionate about as an outsourcing partner for law firms, because you know, for law firms, the time they spend on what is an administrative task, lien resolution, takes away from their ability to, you know, deal with another client, enhance the value of another case, get back in touch with a um uh a client, you know, all those things that take time away from actually interacting with your client or increasing the value of that case. And the firms I've talked to about this that seem to have done it successfully have really created a roadmap for themselves of what processes are right for using technology to ultimately accelerate the practice and improve customer experience. How do you go about doing that?

Kyle Wright 35:24

I think the reality is um now that anything that you can do on a computer or that you do on a computer, whatever process it is, which to which um personal injury is process driven in in a lot of ways, especially early on, those processes can be automated. Um so you you think about an intake call, start with a uh a transcript of the intake, um, having that intake summarized and automatically uploaded into your case file and into your case management system, generating automatically populating a fee agreement, um, automatically populating a um a notice letter in preservation letters. And then those things are then reviewed by staff, right? So you use it as an assistant um to help expedite whatever you're doing on the case. Um, but the key is that um whatever system you develop, it must require human review and human touch. And so the processes we're putting in place and we're building with software developers, um, at each step, they require verification and human review. Um, where my staff is clicking, double checking, they're required to in order, you know, before they even can take the next step. So that is what we've done, and we're starting to really put in place now. Um, and that's where we're gonna go. I mean, that's where we're headed. So, you know, the key is that you know, getting the menial stuff done uh and ready and ready for human review and making everyone's life easier.

Jason Lazarus 37:22

That's a great point about human in the loop because the technology is incredible, but it has its limits. And at least right now, I guess we'll have to see where it all goes. But you know, the the technology we built, uh we purposely wanted to have a human in the loop because ultimately doing that uh that validation, especially with people that have specialized expertise, like subrogation is is a is an expertise and specialty. Technology can only do so much when it comes to to that. But leveraging both to me is where the future lies for you know law firms, because there is something very um unique and personal that ultimately people within the practice bring to that process that needs to needs to be there still.

Kyle Wright 38:23

Yeah, for sure. So, you know, big thing I I would say about what we're uh putting in place uh a key is having staff buy-in, right? Because some of these things are scary to the stack, right? Like they're worried that um maybe they're gonna be replaced. Um so I intentionally bring them into the process and help them um understand what their role will look like, how it will change, how it will make their job better, more rewarding. They're gonna be more efficient. Um and they actually get to have some feedback on what's going to work because, you know, we need to know what the staff are doing. And no one knows better than the staff themselves. So you have to bring them into the process. You can't just shop and listen to all these different vendors and say we've got this amazing product that's gonna change your practice. Um, and then say, you know, tell your staff, hey, here's what we're doing, right? That doesn't work. It does not. It falls flat. If you don't have buy-in and you don't have them involved in the process, it's not gonna work. So I think that's really important to do for firms, you know, because I've I've said, you know, hey, we're gonna use this product. We put it in place and we realize, well, it's not really working right for us. Um, and had I had the staff involved earlier on in the process, I would have known that it wasn't gonna work, right? So I've I've wasted money um on different products that just didn't end up working for us. So that's kind of the lesson that I've learned.

Jason Lazarus 40:14

Well, since we're talking about technology, I'm curious if you've seen the deployment of technology and the weaponization

Is the defense already weaponizing technology against plaintiffs?

Jason Lazarus 40:21

of it by the other side yet in, for example, trucking litigation cases, because you know, you're dealing with bigger corporate entities who maybe have a little deeper and vast resources. Are you seeing changes in the way the defense is approaching cases based on the use of technology?

Kyle Wright 40:41

I haven't seen it. I think some of my attorneys have noticed it um through written email correspondence with adjusters. You know, their their responses to some of our offers um or their, you know, their arguments are I think AI generated. They think is AI generated. Um, so that's really right now the only place I've seen it. You know, I I think we're gonna be seeing more and more of it for sure.

Jason Lazarus 41:10

Yeah, I had a um uh a chiropractor on the podcast recently, and he was talking about some of these models that are being fed information, medical information by insurers, and you know, how that's being used to try and lower diminish value of cases based on you know analysis of of records. Um so you know, I'm sure that more and more of that is going to occur. And at the end of the day, it's you guys are are just gonna have to continue to fight that that use of technology with with the facts, you know, because oftentimes that's that's what combats that is hey, the record is not accurate or doesn't have this or does didn't take into account that and all those things that only humans can decipher and argue.

Kyle Wright 42:07

Yeah. I mean we've we meet you know, from from my perspective, we've just embraced technology and that's what we're gonna continue to do.

Jason Lazarus 42:15

Aaron Powell Yeah, I don't think there's really any choice in the matter with where things are going. I don't I don't see it getting less technologically advanced. Everything is moving at such a fast pace now that it's just gonna get probably more and more complicated, but hopefully more and more tools to help you know trial lawyers continue to fight for people that you know need that help. And so um you you've been very generous with your time. So one one more question, and it's a very open-ended question. I always ask it to wrap up the podcast, and you can answer it however you want. As a trial lawyer and someone who has built and scaled a very specialized practice, what is your view?

Kyle Wright 43:01

My view right now is that um we need to be invested in trial and litigation. Um, and we need to be invested in our brand and marketing, and we need to be invested in technology. Ultimately, trial warriors are not going to be replaced by AI, right? So it's right now, I think, is critical as ever uh to distinguish yourself by trying cases, by working them hard in litigation, um, by doing as much training that you can, um, trying cases as a team. You know, trying a case solo is a heavy lift. But, you know, I found trying cases with a team, you know, a couple lawyers, a lawyer or two, um, you know, reduces the load a little bit and it's fun. I mean, it's it's fun. So I we actually just are excited about it, about going to trial. We're excited about the workup. You know, we're working cases more efficiently so we can work the cases up uh and spend more time uh, you know, in litigation and getting it ready for trial. Um I am personally as excited as I've ever been about the future. Um, I think we're, you know, being being invested in in litigation and in trial work is the future. Um and that's where we're headed.

Jason Lazarus 44:41

Can you just briefly talk a little bit about your firm and your practice areas and areas that you cover in case anyone listening has a case that they need to refer to you guys?

Kyle Wright 44:53

Sure, absolutely. So we all handle injury cases, you know, personal injury cases, the general slew of cases, auto cases, premises cases. Um I do a lot of um third-party like construction site injuries because we have a workers' compensation practice. So a lot of times I'll have a dual track case, it'll be a worker's comp case, and then a third-party um lid case that I handle. Um so we handle workers' comp and the lit in-house. And, you know, we do trucking, um, dog bites, you know, just all the normal stuff. What I don't do and we don't personally do in-house is medical malpractice. Um, that's really about the only thing that we don't do uh from a litigation perspective. Um, that may change. But right now it's really not our focus. You know, and then we've got a general practice. We have uh criminal defense, uh, we we handle criminal defense cases across northern Ohio and workers comp uh statewide. Our injury practice is statewide. So, you know, we're here to help with anything in Ohio.

Jason Lazarus 46:04

And what's the best way to get in touch with you, Kyle?

Kyle Wright 46:06

I would say my uh email Kyle W at oh attorneys.com, my personal cell phone, 419-366-7392, or um you can visit our website at www.ohattorneys.com.

Jason Lazarus 46:25

Great. Thanks, Kyle. And appreciate you joining me on the podcast. And we'll see everyone on the next episode of Trialore Review. Appreciate it. Thanks for having me, Jason. Take care. If today's episode gave you a new perspective on how your firm operates or sparked a useful idea, consider sharing it with a colleague and be sure to follow the show so you don't miss future conversations with leaders across the Personal Engine space. Trial Review is brought to you by Synergy, a strategic operations partner helping personal injury law firms resolve healthcare liens more efficiently. If you're looking to accelerate case flow and allow your team to focus on high-level legal work that moves cases faster, consider partnering with Synergy. I'm Jason Lazarus, and I'll see you in the next episode.