Tifiny Swedensky shares her expertise as a fractional CMO for law firms, revealing the essential roles, strategies, and metrics needed to build an effective marketing department that consistently delivers results.

• The six key roles every growing law firm marketing department needs
• Why having a dedicated intake manager is critical for converting leads
• How to structure a smaller four-person marketing team for maximum effectiveness
• The importance of consistent weekly marketing tasks like social posts, newsletters, and content
• Why output beats perfection in legal marketing
• How to properly allocate your marketing team's time (50% routine tasks, 10% data, 40% unique initiatives)
• Why attribution in marketing is often misleading
• Top marketing strategies for 2024 including Facebook retargeting, local service ads, and community events
• Essential marketing tools and technologies for law firm marketing departments
• The value of marketing director mastermind groups for sharing ideas and resources

Grab your tickets for Tif’s event at special pricing for LBTB listeners here: https://www.sharpcookiedev.com/sharp-marketing-seminar-glm/

Visit sharpcookiemarketing.com to learn more about Tiffany's marketing director mastermind program and marketing audits for law firms.

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Brian Glass is a nationally recognized personal injury lawyer in Fairfax, Virginia. He is passionate about living a life of his own design and looking for answers to solutions outside of the legal field. This podcast is his effort to share that passion with others.

Want to connect with Brian?

Follow Brian on Instagram: @thebrianglass
Connect on LinkedIn

What if I told you the secret to delivering exceptional client experiences in your law firm isn't working harder—it's working smarter through thoughtful automation? In this eye-opening presentation from the HONA Disrupt Festival, Brian Glass shares how his Virginia-based personal injury practice achieved 400% growth by combining cutting-edge automation with deep human connection.

When COVID-19 hit, the traditional client engagement model collapsed overnight. No more in-person consultations. No more handshakes. Just voices on phones and faces on screens. For many firms, this created a devastating disconnect with clients. But for Brian's team, it sparked an innovation opportunity: using technology to become more human, not less.

Brian pulls back the curtain on his firm's client journey, contrasting "good automation" that feels warm and anticipatory with "bad automation" that feels cold and transactional. The difference is striking. From personalized video messages that address clients' unspoken fears to "shock and awe" welcome boxes that arrive at clients' homes within days of signing, these touchpoints create the emotional foundation for trust throughout the case lifecycle.

The most powerful insight? Clients don't judge law firms primarily on case results—they judge them on communication. A staggering 50% of malpractice claims involve communication failures, not competency issues. This explains why a firm can secure an objectively excellent settlement yet still receive scathing reviews if the client's emotional journey wasn't properly managed.

Brian's approach has yielded not just remarkable growth, but something even more valuable: clients who feel genuinely cared for during one of life's most stressful experiences. By automating the redundant, his team maximizes the personal, creating space for the empathy that distinguishes exceptional client service from merely adequate representation.

Ready to transform your practice through automation that enhances humanity rather than diminishes it? Discover how to create systems that free your mental bandwidth for the high-value work only you can do, while still delivering the consistent, caring communication your clients crave.

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Brian Glass is a nationally recognized personal injury lawyer in Fairfax, Virginia. He is passionate about living a life of his own design and looking for answers to solutions outside of the legal field. This podcast is his effort to share that passion with others.

Want to connect with Brian?

Follow Brian on Instagram: @thebrianglass
Connect on LinkedIn

What happens when a burned-out litigator walks away from the courtroom—not to retire, but to build something better?

In this episode, Brian Glass sits down with Chicago-based attorney Jonathan Merel, who left a toxic law firm with no business plan, a second baby on the way, and a recession looming—just to prove he could build something human, modern, and meaningful. Sixteen years later, he leads a thriving 20-attorney practice that's redefining what family law can look like.

Jonathan shares the exact mindset shifts that took him from solo grinder to law firm CEO, how hiring a divorce coach transformed his client experience, and why emotional burnout is the silent killer in legal careers. From talent retention and marketing mistakes to automation, AI hesitations, and managing client expectations, this conversation pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to scale with soul.

If you’ve ever felt torn between practicing law and building a business—or wondered if it’s possible to grow without selling your sanity—this episode is your permission slip to think bigger.

To learn more about Jonathan or connect with his firm, visit www.merelfamilylaw.com or find him on LinkedIn: Jonathan Merel

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Brian Glass is a nationally recognized personal injury lawyer in Fairfax, Virginia. He is passionate about living a life of his own design and looking for answers to solutions outside of the legal field. This podcast is his effort to share that passion with others.

Want to connect with Brian?

Follow Brian on Instagram: @thebrianglass
Connect on LinkedIn

Trial lawyer Brian Glass shares his framework for continuous professional improvement through intentional post-trial reflection and documentation. This approach has helped him learn from nearly 100 trials while avoiding repeated mistakes, and it can be adapted for any profession seeking strategic growth.

• Document basic case information including jurisdiction, judge, opposing counsel, and numeric outcomes
• Analyze what went right, what went wrong, and what surprised you
• Determine if surprises were due to inadequate preparation or truly unexpected events
• Identify specific learnings and tactics to try differently next time
• Maintain this documentation as a reference for similar future cases
• Share relevant past results with clients to provide objective guidance on case value
• Apply this framework to any professional context, not just law

If this has been helpful, please hit subscribe and share this with one other lawyer you know. One-to-one shares are the main way this show grows since we don't do advertising.

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Brian Glass is a nationally recognized personal injury lawyer in Fairfax, Virginia. He is passionate about living a life of his own design and looking for answers to solutions outside of the legal field. This podcast is his effort to share that passion with others.

Want to connect with Brian?

Follow Brian on Instagram: @thebrianglass
Connect on LinkedIn

Most lawyers chase prestige. Patrick Hagen chased freedom—and found it in a $35K clerkship, a debt-free JD, and a few well-timed LinkedIn posts.

Patrick is a business litigator, a father of four, and the kind of lawyer who built his brand not through networking dinners or late-night emails—but by hitting publish on LinkedIn at 5AM.

In this episode, he joins Brian to share how walking away from a $75K salary to attend law school debt-free gave him the freedom to clerk for peanuts, build autonomy in Big Law, and design a career that fits around his family—not the other way around.

They get into:

• Why most lawyers are missing a massive opportunity on LinkedIn
• The hidden power of legal writing as a personal brand
• How law students should think about opportunity cost and clerkships
• What work-life balance actually looks like inside a 1,000-lawyer firm

This conversation is proof that you can play the game—but you don’t have to lose yourself in the process.

Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/hagenlaw/

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Brian Glass is a nationally recognized personal injury lawyer in Fairfax, Virginia. He is passionate about living a life of his own design and looking for answers to solutions outside of the legal field. This podcast is his effort to share that passion with others.

Want to connect with Brian?

Follow Brian on Instagram: @thebrianglass
Connect on LinkedIn

Ever had that client who makes your stomach knot every time their name appears in your inbox? The one whose case you've kept far longer than you should have? You're not alone.

Today I'm tackling my number one client tip for attorneys, and it's not what most expect. Forget marketing strategies or case valuation techniques – the most crucial skill is learning to "rip the bandaid" by terminating problematic client relationships promptly and professionally. This seemingly simple action can save you years of frustration, wasted energy, and needless stress.

Through personal experience (including some painful lessons), I share the three critical red flags that signal potential client issues: inconsistencies between client reports and medical records, the client who complains about everyone they encounter, and the excessive editor who doesn't trust your professional judgment. These early warning signs almost always intensify rather than improve with time.

The decision to terminate a client relationship is never easy. We fear the phone won't ring again, or we've already invested too much time, or perhaps worst of all – the client is genuinely nice. But maintaining these relationships past their natural conclusion inevitably leads to regret. As one colleague bluntly asked after I finally terminated a particularly difficult client: "What took you so long?"

Whether you're a seasoned attorney or just starting your practice, mastering when to say goodbye to clients who aren't the right fit is essential for your professional longevity and personal wellbeing. Remember, there are plenty of clients who will value your expertise and guidance – and plenty of other attorneys who might better serve those you let go.

Have you faced this challenge in your practice? Share your experience, subscribe to the podcast, and pass this episode along to a newer attorney who hasn't yet learned this crucial lesson. Your future self will thank you.

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Brian Glass is a nationally recognized personal injury lawyer in Fairfax, Virginia. He is passionate about living a life of his own design and looking for answers to solutions outside of the legal field. This podcast is his effort to share that passion with others.

Want to connect with Brian?

Follow Brian on Instagram: @thebrianglass
Connect on LinkedIn

Would you hire you?
That’s the uncomfortable but powerful question at the center of this episode—and it just might change the way you build your law firm team forever.

This week, Brian sits down with Jay Henderson, performance coach, hiring expert, and the brain behind Real Talent Hiring. With over 50,000 assessments under his belt, Jay breaks down what most law firms get completely wrong about hiring.

We’re talking about how to assess judgment—not just experience—the secret to interviews that reveal the real person, why your culture is either attracting or repelling top talent, and how to flip the script so that candidates are chasing you, not the other way around.

If you’re tired of hiring people who check all the boxes but still don’t perform, this episode is for you.

Want to dive deeper into Jay’s work or get your hands on his new book?
Jay is offering free copies of The Lawyer’s Guide to Hiring Superstars. To request one, simply email him at jay@realtalenthiring.com —no charge, no shipping.

To learn more about Jay’s hiring assessments and how he helps law firms build high-performance teams, visit www.realtalenthiring.com.

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Brian Glass is a nationally recognized personal injury lawyer in Fairfax, Virginia. He is passionate about living a life of his own design and looking for answers to solutions outside of the legal field. This podcast is his effort to share that passion with others.

Want to connect with Brian?

Follow Brian on Instagram: @thebrianglass
Connect on LinkedIn

What separates thriving law practices from struggling ones isn't always what you'd expect. Drawing from our firm's recent EOS quarterly meeting, I'm peeling back the curtain on the three critical obsessions that drove our personal injury practice to grow by over 400% in just five years.

The first revelation might surprise you: most law firms think they have a marketing problem when what they really have is a sales problem. We've become relentlessly focused on our sales process, ensuring our team genuinely believes we offer the best solution and communicates that conviction to potential clients. This obsession extends to regular call reviews, script refinements, and streamlining the signing process—all of which dramatically improve conversion rates without spending an extra dollar on marketing.

The second game-changer has been our fanatical approach to client experience. We recognized the dangerous gap that forms when firms are hyper-responsive during acquisition but seemingly disappear afterward. Our solution includes welcome boxes arriving within 48 hours of signing, automated yet personalized status updates, and a carefully orchestrated communication schedule. The result? Clients never wonder what's happening with their case because we've already told them. This approach generates authentic five-star reviews without gimmicks or manipulation.

Our third obsession might be the most pragmatic: making it ridiculously easy for insurance companies to pay us. By understanding adjuster workloads and organizing our demand packages with crystal clarity, our files naturally rise to the top of their stacks. This collaborative rather than obstructionist approach accelerates settlements and maximizes outcomes. Interestingly, this contrasts with our long-term disability practice, where a more confrontational style sometimes proves necessary—highlighting that there's no one-size-fits-all approach to law firm success.

What would you say you obsessed over if looking back on your perfect law firm years from now? Take some time this weekend to reflect on the obsessions that could transform your practice into exactly what you want it to be.

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Brian Glass is a nationally recognized personal injury lawyer in Fairfax, Virginia. He is passionate about living a life of his own design and looking for answers to solutions outside of the legal field. This podcast is his effort to share that passion with others.

Want to connect with Brian?

Follow Brian on Instagram: @thebrianglass
Connect on LinkedIn