For Profit Podcast
Bringing accessible business education to Louisiana youth.
For Profit Podcast
The Lawyer Who Went Viral by Being Himself | Ross LeBlanc
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In this episode of The For Profit Podcast, host Matthew Pierce sits down with Ross LeBlanc, injury attorney at Dudley DeBosier, to talk about law, leadership, discipline, family, authenticity, and what it really means to pursue excellence.
Ross shares his journey from growing up in South Louisiana and relocating after Katrina, to becoming a trial attorney, building an unexpected presence on TikTok, and learning how to show up as his full self.
This conversation goes far beyond law. Ross opens up about the pursuit of mastery, the role of empathy in trial work, sobriety, fatherhood, fitness, accountability, and why chasing money alone is never enough.
If you’re a young professional, attorney, entrepreneur, parent, or someone trying to become more disciplined and authentic, this episode is packed with lessons you can apply immediately.
In this episode, we cover:
Authenticity on social media
The difference between lawyer marketing and real connection
Why money cannot be the only goal
How trial lawyers think about people, judges, and juries
Sobriety and self-accountability
Fatherhood and raising young men
Fitness, journaling, and daily habits
Ross’s advice to his younger self
The book he’s working on for younger lawyers
Like, subscribe, and share if this conversation brought you value. And if you know someone in Louisiana doing big things in business, leadership, or their field, drop their name in the comments.
00:00 Intro
01:00 Meet Ross LeBlanc
02:00 Going Viral Through Authenticity
05:30 Growing Up & Finding His Voice
09:00 Why Ross Chose Law
11:30 Why Money Can’t Be the Goal
15:00 Pursuing Mastery as a Trial Attorney
18:00 Trial Lawyers College & Human Connection
24:00 Sobriety, Discipline & Accountability
30:00 Daily Habits, Fitness & Journaling
33:00 Fatherhood & Raising Young Men
39:00 Writing a Book, Legacy & Final Reflections
Hey guys, before we get started, I've got a quick favor to ask. I need you to like, subscribe, and share this podcast if you feel you're getting value from it. That's how we're going to get these conversations in front of more people. And just as important, if not more important, is your feedback. The good, the bad, the ugly. I want the critical information on how we can make this podcast better for you and deliver value every time. And if you know somebody in Louisiana who's doing big things in their field, industry, or business, please drop their name in the comments. We'd love to have the opportunity to bring them on the show. At the end of the day, this is all about the youth of Louisiana and putting local leaders in front of them and giving them something real to learn from. Now let's get it. What's up, everybody? It's your host for the For-Profit Podcast, Matthew Pierce. And I've got my wonderful next guest with me, Mr. Ross LeBlanc, injury attorney with Dudley and DeBozier. Allow Ross to introduce himself and give us a little bit about himself and his background. So why don't you take the mic, Ross?
SPEAKER_02Thanks, Matt. I'm Ross LeBlanc. I grew up in Chalmette, Louisiana, and my family moved up to Baton Rouge after Katrina. I went to law school at Southern University. Played basketball in undergrad at Millsaps College. And since I graduated in 2011, I've been a lawyer representing people. I did a little bit at the public defender's office, and then I started representing people who are injured mostly in car crashes. And I've had the last 10 years of my career at Duly DeBozure here in Baton Rouge and New Orleans and everywhere else in Louisiana.
SPEAKER_01And what Ross failed to mention is you've got a very unique skill. Why don't you let the let the audience know what that skill is? Where they can find you on social media. What is it that you do that's unique to you, Ross?
SPEAKER_02I I can rap a little bit uh on TikTok and I can uh lip sync to some songs if that's a skill. But uh I just started messing around with TikTok this summer, and uh some of the videos you know caught some attention. So it's been fun on there. I didn't realize I spent so much time trying to avoid social media, and then I kind of got sucked into it this year, and I realized you can meet a lot of people. TikTok is completely different than Facebook and Instagram, and so it's been a lot more uh democratic.
SPEAKER_01You you've done a great job in just putting yourself out there, just being authentic. And I think that's probably one of the things I love about you most, um, is just how genuine you are, and you're not afraid to put yourself out there. So I love that about you. That's that's definitely a reason why we had you on here today.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I don't want to say anything negative about anybody, and that's that's not part of my brand. I would go out of my way to say all positive things on TikTok, but there is there are some stereotypical things about lawyer marketing that you see, and I try to go out of my way to not be that. Yeah, most most people will just say, Oh, I love the love watching the LSU fighting tigers and you know, staying at home with my kids, and all those things are true about me like they're true about anybody else. But I don't think that really shows you something about somebody. And so uh I try to show those parts of me that I think are maybe a little bit funny or weird, uh, make me different, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_02Be myself.
SPEAKER_01I mean, we're all we're all unique individuals, and uh I think it's good to be able to show that because it makes you relatable, right? Um, one of the things behind this podcast is uh, you know, I call it my guests are local leaders in industry and business or a particular profession. So um, you know, you're definitely on here because of your pursuit of the constant improvement with your skill set, with being a trial attorney, right? Um we talk uh we've talked at length before about trial lawyers college, and we're gonna get into a little bit about that today. Um, but you know, you're somebody who is local. You were born humble beginnings in Shaalmet, Louisiana, down in New Orleans area.
SPEAKER_02Um, and you know, you funniest thing about Shaalmet is when I mention I'm from there, and people go, nah-uh, you're not from Shaalmet, or it doesn't sound like it, or no, you're not. And I'm thinking, do you know a lot of people pretending to be, you know, from Shalmet or Morero or places like that? Like if you from Donaldsonville and people say, No, you're not from Donaldsonville, it's like, what a place to pretend to be from, right?
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh, dude, that is hilarious. Yeah. No, uh, not many people bragging about being from Donaldsonville or Shalmet. Um, so let's talk a little bit about your upbringing. Tell us about, you know, how I know you have a few siblings, parents. Uh, what was that like? Where'd you go to high school?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I got two brothers, and my older brother has a different mom. Uh, my dad is born and raised in Maroro. My mom was born and raised in Shalmet. And um, well, my dad's family was more like welders, uh, people like that, pipe fitters. And then my mom was all hairdressers, almost all on that side of the family. And so, blue-collar jobs, just like most people in Louisiana. Yeah. And even though my parents didn't go to college, they really wanted me to. I was the first college graduate. I went to Hannon High School, played basketball, and ran track. And I went to Millsaps College, which is a small liberal arts school, and I got to play basketball up there in Jackson, Mississippi.
SPEAKER_01And so, you know, looking back on your upbringing, um, was there a particular coach or teacher who maybe influenced you? You know, where where did it come from that you wanted because that's that's more of an academic college, right? It's a smaller college. You did have the opportunity to play basketball, but um that's that's a college definitely known for academics. Who um who really pushed you?
SPEAKER_02Uh man, one um that's a great question. One English teacher named Gary Weiss really uh comes to mind.
SPEAKER_00Shout out, Mr. Gary.
SPEAKER_02And you know, I probably spent most of my high school time trying to be an athlete and trying to fit in with the popular kids and the athletic type of kids, even though probably my predisposition, if I'm being honest with myself, is to be more bookish and uh introverted. More scholastic. Yeah, more scholastically inclined. But I guess I was a little embarrassed about that, you know, and uh at a younger age. I just wanted to fit in like most kids do. Yeah. And so I spent more time trying to get involved in sports. Uh my teacher, Gary Weese, always gave us writing assignments. He would teach us really difficult and interesting vocabulary words. Uh he would write them up on the board every day. And I remember this this weird one, Boostrophodon. And it was, you'll never use this word.
SPEAKER_00Boostrophodon.
SPEAKER_02I can't wait to hear about them. It has to do with the way like uh cows get herded in a line like this, and you know, bank lines and lines at um at theme parks kind of move in that little way, and that's a word for it.
SPEAKER_01TSA lines.
SPEAKER_02Yes, like a TSA line. So he would give us like really obscure words all the time, and you'd have to try to use them in a sentence. Uh, he would give us crazy writing assignments, uh, and encourage us to think that we were good writers and we could do things like that. Uh, took um some poetry classes with him, and so I think he really encouraged me to pursue English, which is what I majored in. And I, you know, I could probably guess your major had something to do with business or something like that. Yeah, every football.
SPEAKER_01Business management, yeah, so concentration and marketing.
SPEAKER_02So my major was English. And when you go to college, even at a smart college like Millsaps, every athlete is like, well, I'm gonna major in business or something like that. That's useful, right?
SPEAKER_01A useful general debate. Right, right, right. And I said college teammates, they got put into those health, uh like healthcare administration, and after school they were looking for jobs.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So I did English, and I think it's a different path, but you know, those skills are communication, being able to write, think clearly, read a lot, communicate, talk to people, and I think those skills would benefit anybody in any type of business. I just happen to end up deciding to go into law school, and and it helps there too, you know.
SPEAKER_01So what had you so you finish in English at MillSAPS, did undergrad, you attended Southern law, right? Right. What um how did you come to choose uh Southern as your law school of choice? And um, you know, what what made you say, you know what, I'm gonna be an attorney. This is what I'm gonna do with this degree. I'm not just gonna stop here and go teach English, you know.
SPEAKER_02Which I thought about, yeah. I thought about coaching high school basketball and teaching English. That was something I was prepared to do with my life, you know, and I thought that that would be a lot of fun. Um man, you know, 2008 was the year that I graduated college, and if you remember, there was a financial crisis that year. So it was a terrible year to try and get out and start a job. A lot of my business friends uh were getting fired from their jobs uh around that time, too. So yeah, thought about law school as maybe a place to go wait out for a couple of years till the economy got better.
SPEAKER_01Kind of kicked the can down the road.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. Exactly, like a lot of people did, but oh yeah. How's that? Bring it in. Right there. Did y'all catch?
SPEAKER_01We're just gonna enhance his voice. All right. Take that thought. You wanna roll?
SPEAKER_02So, yeah, I guess law school was a way to kick the can down the road in a kind of way. Um, but you know, thinking back, my mom always told me, hey, you could be a lawyer or you should be a lawyer, because that's what moms tell smart ass little kids. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, uh and you're so damn good at arguing, you got a defense case all the time. Why don't you be an attorney?
SPEAKER_02You gotta question, you gotta question everything, why don't you be a lawyer? Something like that. Uh so they told me to be that. And I always liked the lawyers I saw in movies and and read in books. And then uh, you know, we had different times where my family had to go to court for different things, and so I was always kind of uh thoughtful about the role of judges and lawyers in in ordinary people's lives and how much they affect it, you know.
SPEAKER_01If a hurricane wipes your house off the you know, face of the earth, and Shao Med, that's a real possibility, happen all the time.
SPEAKER_02And so, and then you need to make a claim, and the insurance company needs proof, and it's never enough proof, and uh you'd have to call a lawyer. And it just always occurred to me that lawyers can make a real big difference in people's lives. So it's kind of a job where you can do something good for the public for everyday people.
SPEAKER_01And I know the common misconception when you hear trial attorney or injury attorney, you know, most people think, you know, there's like you said, there's that um what the what is the word I'm looking for? Help me, Mr. English major. No, um, like that stereotype, like they're just you know, money hungry or you know, chasing accidents, you know, praying on on these things to happen, right? But like you are more about impacting people's lives. Um, I know when I first met you, you describing some of the cases to me and how you were able to make a difference. It wasn't about a dollar amount, but it was it was helping these people to become whole again and feel heard. Um, and and that was just so impactful to me because you know I didn't know any injury attorneys at the time that I had met you, but I'd you know, you see all the commercials and you you you come up with things in your head. And so um that's been one of the favorite things about getting to know you and and learning about the impact that that you've made in your clients' lives. So um well, thank you, Matt.
SPEAKER_02I I think there's definitely uh a marketing battle that goes on out there about tort reform and about lawyers. And look, a lot of lawyers don't do us as lawyers as a group any favors for those types of bad images that we get put out there. Um, but it it definitely benefits some certain people if lawyers are thought of as bad and greedy, you know. And nothing turns me off more than listening to a lawyer brag about how much money they've made or um you know how they settled a case that was, you know, more than what they should have gotten. Uh it makes me it makes me feel not so good. And I imagine that anyone who's not a lawyer hears that type of response and thinks like, oh, okay, well, that's why my insurance is so high, or that's what's wrong with the country, or that's what's wrong with America. So I think if anybody's chasing money and and putting money, and I know we got for profit is the name of this show here, but if money is your goal, you're never gonna be happy and nobody else is gonna root for you. Yeah, and why should they? You know, because if if the only thing that you're in it for is the money, and that's the only thing that you're chasing, then what good is that really for everybody else?
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, absolutely. And it's funny you mentioned the name of the podcast, for profit. So um that that'll be something that we get to a little later, but we we don't just say that profit per se is you know the money that's left over, how much money you made, it can be in abundance or what it looks like for success for you. So it has a lot of different meanings for us here on this show, but it's funny you kind of called that out. Um why don't you tell me maybe about a recent case where you you were able to have a tremendous impact on somebody's family? Um is there anything that comes to mind?
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. I mean, there's you know, I saw there was a list of questions you sent me, and some of them were like, What's your ideal client? You know, what's a good client look like? And there were so many answers to that question. Um, but when I look at somebody who's a parent, sometimes a single parent, those ones have always stood out to me as the most. Like a single parent that's trying to balance everything, raise their kids, provide for them the way everybody wants to provide for their kids, right? But then an injury takes you out of work and everything's more difficult. Everything so watching somebody that has fought through that, still made it work, made a dollar out of 15 cents, uh, put a smile on their kids' faces, did all the things they were gonna have to do, but on their own. And then being able to give a large amount of money to that person because it's the right thing, the right amount of compensation for them. But then to stay in touch with them and watch how they've been able to build a new life for their kids, either buy a new house or put their kids in a better school and improve their life, and to know that you did that for one person, it always just makes me think like you know, there's no politician that's impacted one single person's life in that way. Now, you know, there's I've had maybe a thousand clients or maybe two thousand clients somewhere in that range. So it's not like I'm changing the world for everybody, but for a couple of people, uh I'm changing their life completely, and that kind of thing feels amazing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So uh one thing I mentioned earlier was your constant pursuit of improvement and sharpening your skill set to help these families out. Um, and it makes me think back to something that I read on the daily, uh, it's mastery, and uh you just kind of embody that it's like the constant pursuit of mastery in your craft, and uh that's been another thing that I really admire about you. And so um, where does that come from? You know, that that pursuit of mastery, because as an attorney, you can make a good living, you can you can help a lot of people, you can uh impact, you know, lives, several lives. But what is it for you that makes you want to be the best attorney that you can be for those clients? And then get into a little bit about the uh trial trial lawyers college.
SPEAKER_02Okay, man. I think uh like what does the pursuit of excellence come from? I mean, maybe you know, a little bit of self-hatred, you know, maybe um maybe maybe bullying from being younger and and people bullied you and made you think that you weren't good or that there was something wrong with you. And then as you go through life, and I found out this with me, but you know, as I go through life and I leave my bullies behind me, but I kind of become the bully to myself. You know, I'm the one that's constantly saying, like, Ross, you're not good enough, or there's something wrong with you, because the bully's not around me. So whose voice isn't in my head saying that to me? Um, and always trying to fix something about myself that I thought was broken. So maybe that's been a lot of it. A lot of the time you spend putting in the books or trying to work on yourself is because you tell yourself you're not good enough. Yeah. And so if it's a motivational tool, do you really want to get rid of it? But if what a negative one, you know? Yeah. So part of maturing is uh starting to accept, like, hey man, you're good just the way you are. You know, God made you perfect, and you have a purpose here. Just have to be yourself and show up and be present every day, and let go of the fear and let go of the the self-judgment and the self-criticism so much.
SPEAKER_01And dude, that that's what to me shines so much when you're being so authentic on social media, like when you're putting yourself out there, um, just becoming relatable, right? And being able to kind of laugh and and have fun with yourself. And um, so the trial trial lawyers coming.
SPEAKER_02Just to the the bullying that happened to me uh to be fully authentic is um my armpits were uh stained yellow in uh high school, and this one guy would call me mellow yellow.
SPEAKER_00Mellow yellow.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, man. That was like the the roughest that it got, you know. Dude, he said the roughest that hey, I never hated it because uh then you would have to be like, nothing would take these yellow stains out. And if you ever went to your mom and asked her to buy you new clothes, you know.
SPEAKER_00That's wild. So I look they didn't want to, right? Dude, I am thinking to one of my best friends to this day. Dare I shout him out on this podcast.
SPEAKER_01He is a bad son of a bitch. I'm gonna describe him, and everybody from my hometown is gonna know who I'm talking about. But he had that same issue, like his the underneath his arms and shirts would turn yellow. But I'll be damned if he wasn't bench pressing like 225 in the eighth grade. Like I'd have taken the same approach, Ross. And he was, dude, one of the hardest-nosed football players. Like, and I played in college, you know. You got some people that you play with with some screws loose, and this dude would put it all out on the line. And I we never picked on him though for that. So um, and thank you for being vulnerable with us here today. Um, so yeah, I I want to get to that that trial lawyers college. Please tell us more about that. And where did that come from? Um, you know, you deciding to go and and say, hey, you know what, I'm probably getting trained at at my office and and learning from other attorneys around me, but I'm gonna take this thing international. I'm going, you know, across the country. Uh you you've learned and taught at these. Is that correct?
SPEAKER_02Um, the teaching that I've done has been more like through my office at Deli de Boisure. We put on some some clinics.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so you've gone to learn at the this trial attorney's college.
SPEAKER_02Trial lawyers college. I've always gone always gone as a student. And they have uh a couple of week-long classes at different parts around the country, but the big one is going for three weeks or 23 days, and uh excuse me. But I I just went, I just got back from this 23-day long class, which is like their flagship program, the three-week, 20 23-day trial lawyers college. So you learn advanced trial skills, you stay on your feet the whole time. So it's not a lot of reading and writing and sitting down and listen listening to lectures. Because most of the it's like anything, any industry, you go to a presentation or a seminar, and it's like hundreds of people sitting down, right? Hundreds of people sitting down in an audience listening to one guy speak. But the things with trial lawyers college is they get you up on your feet and get you to talk about your cases and work on things in real life, and so it's a lot more memorable and a lot more beneficial.
SPEAKER_01So kind of segueing um from the trial attorney's college, you know, I wanted to ask you, and there's this saying, I want to know what your feelings are on it. You know, a good lawyer knows the law, but a great lawyer knows the judge.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, man, that is a popular saying. Um, you know, I feel conflicted about it. I I think about that saying a lot, and I've sort of changed how I thought about it over the years. So when I first heard it, I think what it implied is you know, a good lawyer knows the facts or a good lawyer knows the law, right? But a great lawyer knows the judge. It kind of implies that if you know the judge, you might be getting some special treatment kind of winning in a around the not quite in a proper way, you know, because you know the judge, so you're getting the right rulings or something.
SPEAKER_01I feel like it would just be a way to present the facts that the judge would prefer.
SPEAKER_02Just and I I didn't know that's the way I've come to uh that's the way I've come to appreciate it. But whenever I'm seeing when I make videos on social media, some people will say, No, I'd rather have a lawyer who's golfing with the judge. You know, like they want someone that has a personal relationship with the judge.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02You know, and I think that's where the way some people the way some people take it. Uh but the more that you practice, the more you have to think. The judge is your audience. Before you ever get to the jury, the judge is the gatekeeper on most of your motions that have anything to do with your case. So it's right to think about the judge, you know. Is the judge someone that grew up rich or grew up poor? You know, did they have to fight or did things get handed to them? Have they been discriminated against, or have they been the person that's had all the power mostly? Does the judge have children? You know, is the judge is the judge a mother or a father? Very simple things like that can can change. So I'll use an analogy being a father, a lot of times I'll use an analogy that has something to do with my kids when I'm arguing emotion, but it makes no good to do that. To a judge that doesn't have children.
SPEAKER_01So what um you said your viewpoints on that have changed. Has it changed since trial attorney college? Or is that just something that has developed over your career from going to court to, you know, the tenure of of how long you've been doing this? What has had the biggest influence on you?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think the experience, uh it's been 14 years now that I've been a lawyer. So it's been a long time. Four 14 years as a lawyer now. 14 years. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And we met, when did we meet, Ross?
SPEAKER_02Back in Oh, it was after COVID.
SPEAKER_01I thought it was 2021. 2020? 21. We met at brass.
SPEAKER_02Uh-huh. You remember what we did the first time we met?
SPEAKER_01Me and Ross got torn up at it was basketball draft.
SPEAKER_02My wife went out of town.
SPEAKER_01Oh Lord. My wife went out of the town.
SPEAKER_02So I Ubered to uh I Ubered I Ubered to the Draft for And that was my like my first time really meeting you. And uh I think I brought a bottle of Jack Daniels with me. Yeah. And you know, we drank it.
SPEAKER_01We drank that whole bottle. I remember having a drink and spilling my drink on Jordan Faircloth, absolutely incoming president for that year. And here I am, a rookie, getting to participate. I I had a good showing in flag football that year. We won a championship. And I'm talking Matt. What's that? Selfless plug. Selfless plug. I was uh I won a lot of things that year. Um, but so anyway, so it's our first basketball draft, and we meet, we hit it off. Like we're both post players, big guys, you know, big strong athletic guys. And we had a uh friend in the club who was like, Man, if I get the chance, I'm drafting both of you. And we both got drafted to that team.
SPEAKER_02Shout out to Trey.
SPEAKER_01Shout out Trey Albin, and we were literally we were lit, we were excited. So uh got a little rowdy, um, which is kind of funny because we're both sober now, both of us sober, neither of us drank. Um, and I haven't said it prior to this uh on any episode, but you know, I'd stopped drinking because of the Iron Man um when I was training, and I've talked about that, but the reason why I didn't start again, Ross, was because of you. So dap you up on that. Awesome. I uh went that whole year for training, I had these goals, I wanted my habits to align with my goals, and I think you had might you had celebrated a year at that time, like maybe sometime last year. You had made it a year, and then so you had gotten it two years. And when I got to a year sober, I was like, Well, I'll be damned if you know I let Ross outdo me.
SPEAKER_02See, that's what it was. No, yeah, it wasn't it wasn't that I inspired you. It was like you can't let me have anything. Yeah, no, I said because I did the triathlon first, too. You did do the triathlon first. It was like anything, anything I'll go do, he's like, Oh, I bet I can do that like a hundred times.
SPEAKER_01You know, that was not even a thought. I do remember Ross when I was training. You were like, I think I didn't tell you for probably four or five months. Like, you knew I was training for a triathlon, and you you were like, Well, what you gonna do? You gonna do something else? And I was like, Yeah, I got an Iron Man targeted. And you're like, Man, an Iron Man, a whole damn Iron Man? And and you were like, That's the appropriate reaction. You said something, you're like, Man, I hated you kind of doing that. I'd like to do that. Or some you made like a joke about it, it was funny, but uh no, I mean, great men, iron sharpens iron to push one another. And I've uh, you know, I've I've thoroughly enjoyed being sober. I think I'm sharper, I'm quicker, I'm wittier, funnier, whatever you want to be. Uh, you know, I don't lack sleep in the mornings when from being hungover. So just beneficial. And uh I have you to thank for my continued sobriety um because I saw you doing it, and uh I just wanted to be like be like Ross.
SPEAKER_02Thanks, man. Do you you want to talk about sobriety? Is that a topic we want to we've talked about it with other guests?
SPEAKER_01How have you seen that? So you said you've been an attorney for 14 years, right? A lot of those years spent drinking a lot of alcohol, me diving into that with you at the the brass party. But what have you seen as a positive effect from that, whether that be with family, friends, or work and business?
SPEAKER_02Man, well, I think um, you know, in the law, like law is one of those professions that has a higher rate of suicide. They have a higher rate of depression, they have a higher rate of alcoholism. And so there's all these stereotypes. You talk about being a um a personal injury lawyer and the bad stereotypes that go along with that. Uh one of them is that you're greedy, one of them is that you're lazy, one of them is that you're an alcoholic, um, that you're all the all these different negative things. That it who would want to be those things, you know, and so when you take a look at your life and you think, am I drinking a little bit more? Um, am I am I being a little bit lazy? You know, am I making money a priority in my life? If I'm doing those things, then I'm the stereotype that that I wish I wasn't.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And uh to look in the mirror and see that that's who you're becoming or that could be who you're becoming, uh, even just a fraction of yourself, really scared me and made me want to drop all those things. You know, what if uh what if I went completely the other way? You know, because it's not written in stone that you have to be one thing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, it uh I wanted to. I could think of a couple of times that I got drunk and embarrassed myself and woke up and didn't want to feel that way again. Yeah. Um, I could think about my children uh, you know, wanting to set a good example for them and wanting to live a long life for them. But I think really when it comes down to just yourself, you know, if you have ambition and there's things you want to do in life, then alcohol no doubt is probably holding you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's not gonna add to it's not gonna be a positive gain.
SPEAKER_02But as a young lawyer, there's you know, all the lawyers in books and TVs that that are drinking, and so you saw that as part of what it was.
SPEAKER_01Correlate that with success or fun or being the personable guy.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I was I was in court last week and we were waiting on a jury trial, and one of the judges uh said to me, Oh, you know, a lot of lawyers like they go have a drink, you know, while they wait for the jury. And that was always something I thought about. Like, there's some great lawyers in town that they love bourbon, they love cigars, they love all these nice things. And I just thought that that was part of it, that it all came together. Yeah, you know, so maybe there was some mystery there that I idolized and associated with success. And then I just came to realize that it's you know, probably a fool's game, something that keeps you from being success, at least in my in my own personal life.
SPEAKER_01No, absolutely. I mean, that was one of the things I kind of struggle with as well, is like in business and networking. You know, I make I make relationships, you know, happen and you gotta treat people, treat clients, and things like that. And um, I always thought that you needed to have that stuff in those environments, and they can still have it, but I don't have to have it to still be that fun guy, to still be able to entertain. I've got friends who are like, you know, I I just don't know how I would stop drinking, you know. I'm in business, and I'm like, look, one of the ones you're thinking about.
SPEAKER_02We're not gonna shout him out, but one of the ones you're thinking about, he called me today. You know, and there's there's just some of some people that they're not gonna stop. Yeah, and there's some people that it doesn't, there's no negative consequences that I can see for them, yeah, you know.
SPEAKER_01But then I think about man, how much sharper would they be if they're at this level of success if they took that away? I don't know. Like I said, I don't care if you do or don't. It's just uh I know it helps me get a little bit of an edge.
SPEAKER_02If you're thinking about you wanted to quit drinking, you know, whether it was to get an edge or something like that, I found some of the greatest motivators were just uh the vanity. You know, your skin looks better. Um and tell us, Ross, tell us you're gonna lose some weight, you know, and you're gonna live a longer life. Yeah, there's no doctor out there that would say alcohol will extend your life or make your skin look better. Yeah, absolutely. Or help you with weight. So those are those are real appealing to your vanity types of things that motivated me.
SPEAKER_01So leading into the health and wellness, um, what's something that you're doing to keep in shape? Do you have a morning routine? You know, what what gets you up and going in the mornings? How how are you able to stay sharp and keep your mind and body where it needs to be to be the best attorney?
SPEAKER_02Thanks, man. Uh, my wife, Ann, she loves yoga and she does a lot of yoga, and I really appreciate doing uh downward dog and some of those morning stretches to loosen everything up. It's one of the first things I do. Um, I do try to drink a lot of water, I try to journal, and I try to walk. You know, I was running and biking a lot. I broke my ankle about a year and a half ago, and it's been a slow recovery. I think I'm back there. I jogged this morning, you know. Um, but since I haven't been able to jog so much, I've been picking up weights more lately. And that was something I never really played with. I used to just run, jog, play basketball, and that's how I stayed in shape. Now that I can't do those things as often as I would like, um, I've had to lift weights a little bit more and stretching, meditating, and journaling. Okay, okay. So um and I'm up at like 4 a.m. a lot. Now I go to bed pretty early, but I'm up at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. pretty regularly. So I like to I I have two or three hours to myself before the rest of the world starts working. And it's important to put yourself first and take care of some things for your own health and wellness.
SPEAKER_01Gotcha. So I want to talk about or ask you what are maybe two or three things, core values or principles that you believe have led you to your success today and to helping so many people and impacting so many lives. I know you're a great attorney at Dudley and DeBozier. Um, you know, what are some of the things you live by and that you apply to your life?
SPEAKER_02Okay. Well, um, you know, uh the right thing isn't always easy to do, and the easy thing isn't always the right thing to do. So if there's uh something difficult, then I usually try to do it rather than avoid it. And if if you know something's right, I think it's important to go out of the way to do the right thing. You know, in this business as a lawyer, your credibility, your word, your professional image matters a lot. So even small things like you could have a typo in a brief, or you might have somebody else write something for you as a lawyer that might not be a hundred percent correct. But if you sign your name off on it, you're saying you read it and that this is all true and correct. Well, it's happened to me before that I've discovered a mistake later and I've had to go and confess to everybody like, hey, this was a mistake in here. But it's better off than letting the mistake, a lie, run off like it's the truth for a long time, you know. So even sometimes it may be embarrassing that you have to admit that you did something wrong, but I think that you uh accountability taking that. It's better to it's better to admit when you know you did something wrong and to take something back that was untrue than rather let an injustice be done. Because then later on down the line, your credibility would be completely shot, you know. I love that, man.
SPEAKER_01I love that. Accountability. Definitely uh I think that's something that our world lacks today. And I think that's something that the audience could definitely take away from today's episode is just holding yourself to a high standard of accountability. Um, what are some other things, Ross?
SPEAKER_02What do you want to know, Matt?
SPEAKER_01You know what do you want to know? I mean, you're a great husband and a great father. Why don't you tell us a little bit about those little rascals you got? I know, I know one of them, uh Big Gus, Augustus, and we got uh Lee is your oldest, right?
SPEAKER_02So Well, I'll I'll tell you about my my wife first, and so we have been together for 15 years, and we met at Fred's bar in Tigerland. Uh I was in law school and she was in college, and we've been together for 15 years. We've had a bunch of wonderful vacations and trips together, and uh she's my best friend, so she's somebody I can talk to about anything, and we shared a lot together.
SPEAKER_01And we have She's got your whole rap album.
SPEAKER_02She's got all my she's got my rap album. Uh we got married with no prenup. So no prenup? Knowing you were gonna be a big dog attorney, huh? That's right, that's right. When I definitely was overdraft on my checking account when I met her. So she's been there since the beginning. Have you seen this uh SEC couple thing that's going around? No, I have not. Why don't you tell me that? It's just all about how the women are much hotter than the guys, you know? In the SEC. In the SEC, that's the way. But uh my wife's a good-looking lady, so you know, um I hit out of my hit out of my league on that one, maybe.
SPEAKER_01I've kicked your covers, they like to say. And um, so tell us about your maybe your your parenting style. I want to hear about how you keep those boys in line. What are some of the things that you're trying to instill in them that maybe you received or didn't receive when you were younger?
SPEAKER_02Man, it's so funny. Um, so I have two sons and they're eight and five, and they both remind me of me in different ways, even though like they're different from each other. Uh, but with boys, they need a lot of physical activity. You know, they need to wrestle with their dad, they need to go to the park and run around. Um, if you don't let your boys run out like that, they'll act out in different ways. Uh, you know, you definitely need to teach boys, all kids, but boys especially, the difference between right and wrong, the importance of honesty. Um, you know, because they always try to find things they can get away with a little bit, you know, and you you understand that. And it's been a it's been a challenge uh because I think I can be quick to get mad, you know. Uh my own anger is something that I have to deal with. And so with your kids, you don't want to put anger onto your kids or put any kind of like um negativity or or bad juju onto your onto your kids, you know, but they do make you upset sometimes. And so learning how to process your anger and react in a different way has really helped me mature as a person, being a dad. So I'm grateful to them for that. And I I'll say I don't get it all right all the time. I'm not a perfect dad all the time, but it it matters to me about trying to be a good influence on their lives, and maybe that's the best you could hope for out of a dad.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, absolutely. I think you're doing a fantastic job. We we often come over for dinner and you got great young boys. Um Thank you. Thinking about that, raising raising young men, if you were able to look back, whether that be younger Ross or early in his career, Ross, what is something that you'd like to tell him?
SPEAKER_02If I if I met uh younger Ross, how old Let's go high school Ross and then we'll go like five years into his career, Ross.
SPEAKER_01So high school Ross first.
SPEAKER_02If I met high school Ross, I would say that you're fine just the way you are, and I wish you'd let yourself be yourself a little bit more often because people might like you more if they got to know the real you. Okay. That's what I would say to high school Ross. Be authentic. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01And then now let's talk about Ross five years into his career. Five years into my career.
SPEAKER_02I was early in your career. I would I would probably say Ross quit drinking so much. That would be that would be one. Um and I would also say um it's important who you surround yourself with. Important who you surround yourself with, you know.
SPEAKER_01Um don't split that ball of jack at the draft with that knucklehead, right?
SPEAKER_02No, yeah, yeah, yeah. And look, man, I think you're a good influence as a friend. Um, so I'm glad to count you in in one of my circles. Um, I think a lot of people probably claim you as a as a best friend, you know. Yeah, but I'm glad to count you in for me, you're one of my best friends too.
SPEAKER_00I appreciate that, Ross.
SPEAKER_02And friends are people that you'd that make you want to be better.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02That you'd like to that you'd like to associate with. Um, I don't know. I hear about people taking trips, 10 or 12 people going together on vacations. I don't have any friends like that. I don't either, man.
SPEAKER_00I feel like that happens.
SPEAKER_02I'm not in that group, bruh. I got a ton. But I got my I have my family, I have my job, I have myself that I have a relationship with, and I got a little bit of time left to call a few people and text a few people, you know, and those are my male friendships right now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, right, dude.
SPEAKER_02At this point in my life.
SPEAKER_01I've got some friends, you know, back from high school, small town, you know, and they they take those big trips like that with the big friend groups. I just, I don't know. I have like I said, like you said, I have a select group of friends, people um who hold me to a different standard, uh, things that I look at them, look up to them for and and want to aspire to be like. And each each one of them's kind of different. I I just can't help but think about the mastery when I look at you and your constant pursuit of being the best attorney you can be. Um, I know one thing, uh I don't know how many people you've shared this with, but I know you've been working on something. Working on a little uh project. Have you have you talked about this on any of your platforms or something? What are you talking about? You've been writing something, Ross. Talk about that? You care to share?
SPEAKER_02Man, I've I've been writing a book. Um, I forgot I told you about that.
SPEAKER_01Oh but Elephant never forgets.
SPEAKER_02Right, right. No, I've been writing a book called uh Shoot the Score, and it's just kind of my thoughts on how to practice law. And I was thinking, you know, would this be a book that I could give to my sons one day or to other younger lawyers? Because I do enjoy mentoring younger lawyers. People come into the the career, come into the field, and it's important who tells them, you know, what to do and how to do it. Because there's there are some thoughts in the personal injury field of just settle every case, um, settle them quickly, you know, um, avoid trial as much as possible. And there's a whole lot of shortcuts that people teach to others. And I while maybe those that might be important to know, um, it might be the right thing to do on some cases, I think if people don't learn the exact right way to do it the long way, you know, or the right reason to try a case in certain instances, and they never focus on that, then it corrupts the whole process. And we end up with bad lawyers overall, you know, and the public's harmed. And the lawyers themselves don't enjoy the job as much either. So whenever I get a younger lawyer I'd that I get to work with or mentor in some way, I enjoy teaching them everything that I've learned along the way.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I definitely think you have so much to share with a young attorney, somebody who's aspiring to impact lives, right? We you know, we talk about some attorneys are thinking about money, but it's really about the impact that you have on people's lives. And if anybody should write a book, I think it's you, my friend. And so I'm I'm very glad that we touched on that. Uh I don't know if you've tried to write a book yet, but uh I have a lot of notes in my phone about different things that I think like principles in my life and like different phrases that I've coined and kind of come up with, and so I think experiences I thought I had a good uh book together.
SPEAKER_02I sent it off to a publisher. I don't even think they read it, but they emailed me back. They emailed me back like it's not what we're looking for because toilet paper material for it. It wasn't in like the right format that a publisher would want it. So then I had to go look at well, what are they looking for? And that person educated me and told me some more. Um, so now I've been trying to structure it and organize it into a book instead of just some ramblings of of some wrongs.
SPEAKER_01Have you heard of Chat GPT?
SPEAKER_02Man, I I do use Chat GPT, but not to write.
SPEAKER_01Um, not to write, but maybe to help with the organizational, like you said, kind of reorganizing it.
SPEAKER_02I mean, you've got so I feel like you've got the content, you've got the finish the book, and then I went through like a revision draft, okay, and then I've gone back to it, and then you change so much in the over the year or two that you spend writing a book, you change, and then you start thinking, rethinking whether you even need to put that chapter in or take that one out. You start rethinking everything you put.
SPEAKER_01I've got to give you something. Put the book out, put the book out now. This won't be the last book that you write. Yeah. So when I started doing this podcast, I love Laura to death, my business partner, who's helped me to develop this. And I kind of had anxiety about you know what it was gonna be like. I had this vision for these 10 first 10 guests, and um, I was just a little bit of anxiousness to it in, you know, negative self-talk or doubt creeping in your mind. Um, no doubt you're gonna put out the best version that you can put out. And every decision that we make is with the best information that we have at the time. So uh I'd love to see that book come out sooner than later. And I know it won't be the last book that you write. So that would be a bit of advice.
SPEAKER_02You know, don't let perfect be the enemy of the good.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Don't don't get hung up on, you know, oh, I've changed and I would write, man, put the book out and write another book, have a volume two, you know.
SPEAKER_02You know what? This is a non-fiction book that I'm working on, but I want to write a fiction book, you know. And it's that thing is being a lawyer, when I said I was going to law school and I was in when I was in college and I said I was going to law school, at the time I was doing creative writing. I was in a lot of poetry workshops and fiction workshops. And all my teachers there told me, Well, if you become a lawyer, then you'll never be a writer. Because, you know, there's John Grisham and there's some other ones, but lawyers don't generally write a lot. I mean, there Don't become artists. Yeah. You know, you start to work in different tools in a different way. It bummed me out that they said that. And it always was kind of like somebody telling you you can't do something made me want to do it more. Um, so anyway, I've picked up some fiction books this year. I've read some more, and I'm kind of thinking, like, I think I can do this as I'm as I'm reading through them. I'm like, I know you can do this. I see how it goes.
SPEAKER_01I think it's how you can do it, dude. Shit. I had uh had my surgeon after my hip repair tell me I'd never be able to run again. I thought about that son of a bitch every mile on that 26-mile marathon after a 112-mile bike ride, after a 2.4 mile swim. So for anybody who says you can't do something, I think, you know, give them that little salute.
SPEAKER_02Look at that camera and tell that doctor right now what you think.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I can't say that doctor's name. He's here in Baton Rouge. He's a turd, though. But that's why I go to Dr. Jeremy Burnham with Oxner, who would endorse this message. No, he's awesome. He's phenomenal. That's who I got my second opinion from. That's who helped me um refer to a better physical therapist to get me on the mend and has able to get me back to being what Laura would consider athletic. Awesome. Awesome.
SPEAKER_02Good for you, man.
SPEAKER_01So uh, you know, getting back uh to the name of this podcast for profit. Now, profit doesn't always have to mean something monetary, but in in your words and thinking on it, you know, what does profit mean for you in your life, in your industry? Um, whether it'd be personally, with your family, relationships? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Man, I've thought about this question a lot, you know, like what does what does money even mean for you? You know, how much money do you need? Because I think as a kid, and I do like to go talk to high schools and and talk to kids, and they'll ask, do you make a lot of money? And I'll ask them, what do you think a lot of money is? You know, and it's funny to hear. I mean, children will say, you know, they think making a hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money. And that's that's what I thought when I was a kid too, you know. Um, so what is it, how much do you need to be healthy and happy? Probably less than you're making right now. You could still be healthy and happy. Yeah. Um, but it's hard to think about doing with less, you know. So what does money really mean to you? What does for-profit mean to me? Uh, and you know, money to me means time and it means breathing room, you know, because if you're a slave to the clock and you have to work overtime or you have to do all these things just to make ends meet, that is a hard existence. A lot of people do live that way, and it's it's a hard way to make it through, very stressful way to make it. If I can make enough money where I have time to do other things I want to do besides work, time with my family and friends, that's what money and that's what the real profit would be to me. I love that. What does it profit somebody to you know gain the whole world and lose your soul? Is the the quote, you know?
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, absolutely, brother. Well, look, we appreciate you for coming on the show today. I don't doubt that this will be your last episode. I'm sure we'll have you on in the future. I know a lot of people are going to be interested in some of the things you've had to say today. Um, what's one way that uh, you know, how how can people connect with you on social media? Do you have some handles you'd like to share? Um, and then when's that book dropping?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, okay, books next year. TikTok, you can 2026.
SPEAKER_01The book is coming out. I'm holding them to that.
SPEAKER_02Hey, friend me on Facebook, um, Ross LeBlanc. You can call me or text me. My cell is 504 236 2451. I live in Baton Rouge. I go to New Orleans all the time. And you can find me on TikTok. It's lawyer Ross or call Ross. Just type in Ross LeBlanc on TikTok and you'll find me.
SPEAKER_01Well, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. That's another episode in the books. Thank you.