Life Beyond the Briefs

Brian Glass

At Life Beyond the Briefs we help lawyers like you become less busy, make more money, and spend more time doing what they want instead of what they have to. Brian brings you guests from all walks of life are living a life of their own design and are ready to share actionable tips for how you can begin to live your own dream life. 

  1. 4 days ago

    Dan Kennedy’s First Rule of Marketing: Stop Copying Your Competition | pt. 1

    Most lawyers do marketing the same way. They look at what every other firm is doing, copy the message, copy the offer, copy the ads, and then wonder why nobody notices them. Dan Kennedy would tell you that is exactly the problem. We are bringing this episode back because it was one of the conversations listeners loved most. And honestly, it is not hard to see why. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation from the Great Legal Marketing Summit, where Ben Glass and Dan Kennedy unpack one of the simplest and most uncomfortable rules in marketing: Stop copying your competition. Ben starts with the story of how he went from being a good lawyer with no real business training to discovering Magnetic Marketing through a long sales letter he almost threw away. He tested the ideas anyway. That decision changed the way he built his firm, attracted clients, and created a business that did not depend on blending in. From there, Dan does what Dan does best. He cuts through the noise. He explains why “all digital everything” can turn law firms into commodities, why the biggest advertisers are not always your biggest threat, and why intake is not just an administrative function. It is a sales conversation with someone who is overwhelmed, skeptical, and probably wishes they did not need a lawyer at all. You will hear practical ideas around lead magnets, follow-up, positioning, and the “invited guest” concept. In other words, how to stop chasing prospects and start building a marketing asset that brings the right people toward you over time. If your marketing feels expensive, noisy, and too similar to everyone else’s, this episode is worth revisiting. And this is only Part 1. In Part 2, Dan and Ben go deeper into building a moat before consolidation changes the game. Want the full summit notes? Grab them at glmsummitnotes.com ____________________________________ 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

    45 min
  2. 16 Jun

    Your Vacation Should Not Require a Laptop | Conrad Saam

    Most law firm owners say they want freedom. Then vacation starts. The laptop comes out. Slack gets checked. A “quick email” turns into an hour. And suddenly the business you built to create freedom is sitting right there at the hotel breakfast table with you. That is why we are bringing this episode back. In this conversation, Brian sits down with Conrad Saam of Mockingbird Marketing to talk about a simple test every firm owner should take: Can your business run without you for four days? Not forever. Not for a month. Just four days. And if the honest answer is no, that tells you something. Conrad walks through what had to change inside his own company so he could step away without everything falling apart. It was not about working harder. It was about building better structure, giving people real ownership, and learning to accept that someone else’s 80 percent might be better for the business than your 100 percent bottleneck. They also get into legal marketing, AI, directories, and how law firm owners should think about shiny new trends without getting distracted by every headline. But the real heart of this episode is simple. Your firm should support your life. It should not need you every hour of every day just to keep moving. If your vacation still requires a laptop, this episode is worth another listen. Connect with Conrad: Mockingbird Marketing: https://mockingbirdmarketing.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conradsaam/ ____________________________________ 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

    42 min
  3. 9 Jun

    Your Law Firm Is Making Money. But Is It Actually Profitable? | Leah Miller

    Most law firm owners know the feeling. You are busy. The cases are coming in. The team is growing. The bank account looks decent. And somehow, you still do not feel fully in control of the money. That is why we are bringing this episode back. This is one of the most downloaded episodes of Life Beyond the Briefs, and it is easy to understand why. Leah Miller, founder of Firmly Profits and fractional CFO for law firm owners, explains law firm finances in a way that actually makes sense. No accountant-speak. No shame. No pretending you should already know all of this. Leah walks through the numbers every firm owner should understand if they want to build predictable profit instead of just hoping there is enough money left over at the end of the month. She breaks down what to look for in your financial statements, how to think about expenses, why revenue alone does not tell the full story, and how to use your real numbers to build a budget that supports your goals. Because the point is not to turn you into a CFO. The point is to help you make better decisions. How much can you afford to spend on marketing? When can you hire? Are wages eating too much of your revenue? Are you actually paying yourself what you want to earn? This is the kind of conversation every law firm owner needs to have sooner, not later. If your firm is making money but you still feel like you are guessing, this episode is worth another listen. Connect with Leah Miller Website: https://firmlyprofits.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahlnmfinancial ____________________________________ 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

    47 min
  4. 2 Jun

    Why Grassroots Marketing Still Beats Fancy Funnels | Tim Semeroth, Len Spada, & John Griffith

    Most law firm owners are constantly being sold the expensive stuff. SEO.  Paid ads.  Production teams.  Funnels.  Agencies. And sure, some of that can work. But this episode is about the kind of marketing that does not usually get sold from a stage because nobody is making a big commission from it. Grassroots marketing. This is a re-release of one of the most downloaded episodes of Life Beyond the Briefs, and it is easy to see why. Brian sits down with Tim Semeroth, Len Spada, and John Griffith to talk about the practical, scrappy, community-based marketing that actually grows law firms. Not theory. Not vague “build your brand” advice. Real examples. Len shares how he built deep trust in the Latino and motorcycle communities around Boston. John talks about using books, newsletters, referral lunches, and relationships to rebuild after a major shift in Tennessee workers’ comp law. Tim breaks down how his firm stays in front of past clients, referral sources, paralegals, and community groups in a way that compounds over time. The big lesson here is simple. You do not need to outspend everyone to grow. You need to be visible. Useful. Consistent. And genuinely connected to the people and communities you want to serve. If you are a solo or small firm owner trying to grow without lighting money on fire, this is one to study. Because sometimes the best marketing is not the flashiest. It is the stuff people remember. ____________________________________ 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

    49 min
  5. 26 May

    Why Law Firms Are Getting Sued Over Their Own Marketing | John Henson

    Most law firms assume their marketing is someone else’s problem. The agency handles it. The lead vendor handles it. The intake team handles it. Until the lawsuit shows up. In this episode, Brian sits down with John Henson for a conversation that starts with TCPA compliance and quickly turns into something much bigger. Because this is not really about regulations. It’s about how little most firms actually know about where their leads come from, how their marketing vendors operate, and the amount of risk hiding inside systems they barely pay attention to. John breaks down how law firms end up exposed without realizing it, why “more leads” can quietly become a liability, and how firms accidentally outsource responsibility while still being the ones left holding the bag. And honestly, some of the stories in this episode are a little wild. But underneath all of it is a bigger point. As firms grow, complexity grows with them. More vendors. More automation. More moving parts. And if nobody is asking hard questions, things can go sideways fast. If your firm is spending money on lead generation, intake, or marketing vendors, this episode is worth your attention. Because the problem usually starts long before the lawsuit does. Connect with John LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-h-henson/ Website: https://www.henson-legal.com/newsroom ____________________________________ 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

    26 min
  6. 19 May

    How to Build a Reputation Without Owning the Firm | Will McCreight

    Most lawyers think the only path to influence is starting their own firm. Own the business. Put your name on the door. Build the brand yourself. But what if that’s not true? In this episode, Brian sits down with Will McCreight for a conversation about reputation, visibility, and building a meaningful career inside someone else’s organization. They talk about the career advantages most professionals overlook, why relationships still matter more than people think, and how consistently showing up can completely change the trajectory of your career. There’s also a deeper conversation underneath all of it. About ambition. About patience. And about the difference between building a title and building a reputation. Because the people who stand out in this industry usually are not the loudest people in the room. They’re the ones who keep showing up, keep contributing, and keep building trust over time. If you’ve ever wondered whether you need to start your own thing to build something meaningful, this episode might challenge that assumption. Connect with Will LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-mccreight Website: https://www.blusharkdigital.com/ ____________________________________ 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

    30 min
  7. 12 May

    What Happens When Your Legal Niche Gets Wiped Out? | Alexander Licznerski

    Most lawyers assume their niche is safe. Until one day… it isn’t. A law changes. A rule shifts. And suddenly, the work you’ve spent years mastering starts to disappear. That’s exactly what happened to Alexander. He had a dream job. He was in the top tier of earners at one of the largest personal injury firms in the country, building his career around PIP litigation. Then Florida tort reform hit. And just like that, the pipeline dried up. This episode is about what comes next when that happens. We talk about the moment you realize the ground has shifted under your feet, the decision to walk away from something that was working, and what it really feels like to start over from scratch. There’s no clean playbook here. No overnight success story. Just the reality of rebuilding. Learning a new practice. Taking hits. And finding your footing again. If you’ve ever thought your practice was stable, or if you’ve been quietly wondering what you would do if everything changed tomorrow, this conversation will stick with you. Because the real question isn’t whether change is coming. It’s whether you’re ready for it. Connect with Alexander LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-licznerski/ Website: https://www.licznerskilaw.com/ ____________________________________ 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

    32 min
  8. 5 May

    The $20M Case No One Wanted | Sharif Gray and Gray Broughton

    Most lawyers would have said no to this case. No clear damages. Messy facts. A client with a complicated history. Three firms already had. Sharif Gray and Gray Broughton said yes anyway. And that decision turned into a $20 million verdict. But this episode isn’t really about the verdict. It’s about the way they think. We get into what it looks like to build a firm that doesn’t chase the easy, high-volume cases. A firm that is willing to take risks, invest time, and bet on cases that don’t fit the usual formula. They walk through how this case came in, why they decided to take it, and how they proved damages without relying on the typical playbook of medical bills and diagnoses. There’s a moment where everything shifts. Where the case stops being about what’s easy to measure and starts being about what was actually taken from the client. We also talk about trial strategy, focus groups, jury selection, and the mindset it takes to stand in front of a jury and say a number out loud with conviction. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re playing it too safe in your practice, this conversation will push you to rethink that. Because the real takeaway here isn’t just about winning big cases. It’s about building a firm that’s willing to take the kind of swings that make those outcomes possible. Connect with Sharif and Gray Sharif Gray LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharifgray Website: https://www.graybroughton.com Gray Broughton LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gray-broughton-2a8a265 Website: https://www.graybroughton.com ____________________________________ 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

    42 min

About

At Life Beyond the Briefs we help lawyers like you become less busy, make more money, and spend more time doing what they want instead of what they have to. Brian brings you guests from all walks of life are living a life of their own design and are ready to share actionable tips for how you can begin to live your own dream life. 

You Might Also Like