The Fireproof Podcast

Mike Morse
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Business

Owning a law firm is harder than anyone told you it would be. Mike Morse, Kate Nachazel, and Alexa Levantis sit down with attorneys and firm owners to talk about what the job actually looks like — the wins, the bad hires, the pivots, and the moments that almost broke them. Mike built a 290-person firm with $360M in settlements. Every guest has their own version of that story. You'll leave each episode with a newfound purpose and the inspiration to keep going, along with practical lessons you can put in place today.

  1. 20h ago

    AI Changed Law Firm SEO. Here’s What Still Works | Corey Vandenberg

    Corey Vandenberg has spent more than 15 years helping law firms get found online—and he believes the rules of SEO are being rewritten in real time. Since 2019, Corey and Clixsy have managed the Mike Morse Law Firm’s SEO strategy. During that time, search has expanded beyond traditional organic results to include map packs, AI overviews and platforms like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity. In this episode, Corey sits down with Mike to explain why the old “blog about everything” model is losing ground, why local maps remain one of the strongest sources of high-intent leads and how law firms can use real case data to build authority in the age of AI. They also covered: → Why informational website traffic is declining across the legal industry → How AI decides which lawyers and law firms to recommend → Why the most valuable content may already exist inside your cases → How national ranking reports can create a misleading picture of performance → What law firm owners should ask their SEO agencies → Why reviews, Reddit, Yelp, social media and other third-party signals matter → How brand building is making a major comeback in legal marketing → Why traditional SEO remains the foundation of online visibility The biggest takeaway: SEO is not disappearing—it is evolving. The firms that build recognizable brands, strengthen their local authority and turn real experience into credible content will be positioned to stay visible wherever clients search. Corey, thank you for joining Mike and breaking down what law firm owners need to know about the rapidly changing search landscape! Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:34 Meet Corey Vandenberg of Clixsy 01:31 How AI is rewriting law firm SEO 01:54 Why “content is king” is changing 02:56 How law firms can protect their visibility 03:30 Why the gold is in your cases 04:42 Creating case content without compromising clients 05:22 Why the map pack still matters 06:24 How AI decides which lawyers to recommend 07:48 Questions to ask your SEO agency 09:02 Why national ranking data can be misleading 10:45 Competing with national firms in local markets 12:03 Can AI identify firms that are not truly local? 12:39 The third-party sources shaping AI answers 14:10 Does organic search still generate cases? 16:20 Understanding Google Search Console 17:44 How to evaluate your website’s performance 19:16 The return of brand building 19:58 Why social signals matter more than ever 20:34 Closing ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ Connect with us! https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/ https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/

  2. Oct 1

    How to Build a Small Firm That Punches Above Its Weight | Josh Inkell

    Josh Inkell is building a Delaware personal injury firm designed to punch above its weight. After nearly a decade defending doctors and insurance companies, Josh encountered a case that made him question which side he wanted to represent. Today, The Inkell Firm handles car crashes, nursing home abuse and medical malpractice—using the predictable revenue from auto cases to fund complex, high-cost litigation. But Josh’s connection to personal injury law is deeply personal. Twenty years ago, his sister Jenny was killed by a drunk driver while riding her bike home from work. Watching his uncle guide the family through the aftermath helped set Josh on a path toward becoming an attorney and fighting for people facing powerful institutions. In this episode, Josh sits down with Kate to explain how he operates what he calls “three firms in one,” uses AI to review thousands of pages of records and tracks the numbers that allow him to hire, market and scale with confidence. They also covered: → Why different case types require completely different intake systems → How AI is transforming medical malpractice case review and legal drafting → Why introducing AI should make your team feel supported—not threatened → How average case value and time on desk influence hiring and marketing decisions → What a difficult business partnership taught Josh about ownership → Why optimism and a “figure it out” mindset shape his leadership → How the Fireproof community helps small firms compete at a higher level Josh, thank you for joining Kate, sharing your story and making your first podcast appearance on The Fireproof Podcast! Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:36 Meet Josh Inkell 01:08 Fighting for the small guy in Delaware 02:25 Running three practice areas under one roof 04:49 Building different intake systems for different cases 05:32 Using AI to evaluate complex cases faster 06:51 How AI changed document review and legal drafting 08:31 Identifying viable medical malpractice cases 09:27 The loss that inspired Josh to practice law 11:19 Why he left insurance defense 12:32 Taking a year to travel before law school 16:22 Joining Fireproof Coaching and Masterminds 18:08 Firm ownership and challenging broken systems 19:18 Will AI replace legal jobs? 21:56 Introducing AI without threatening your team 23:00 Building an AI agent to open insurance claims 25:19 Kate’s Burning Questions 27:42 Using data to overcome imposter syndrome 30:07 Marketing math and knowing when to spend more 31:28 Choosing optimism through tragedy 35:42 Building a “figure it out” culture 39:28 The difficult end of a business partnership 43:16 Rethinking attorney compensation 44:09 AI, legal drafting and human review 47:42 Is AI making us less capable? 50:13 The risky decisions that changed Josh’s life 51:11 The numbers every law firm owner should know 54:42 Dollars per day and moving cases efficiently 56:26 Finding the right caseload for your firm 57:52 What lawyers should—and should not—be doing 01:00:13 Why the Fireproof community stands apart 01:02:02 Closing Connect with Josh Inkell! https://www.linkedin.com/company/inkellfirm/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshinkell/ ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/

  3. Sep 24

    AI Can’t Fix a Broken Process | Jesse Callahan

    Jesse Callahan took an unconventional path from practicing attorney to law firm operator. After starting as a law clerk and gaining experience in pre-litigation, Jesse discovered that she was more energized by the business behind the practice. Today, as Chief of Staff, she connects teams, improves operations and helps turn leadership strategy into action. In this episode, Jesse joins Kate at the Fireproof Legal Production Summit in Chicago to explain why firms need strong processes before adding AI. She also shares why trust matters more than a title, where technology can create meaningful efficiency and why people will remain essential to the client experience. They also covered: → What a Chief of Staff actually does inside a law firm → How servant leadership builds credibility and team buy-in → Why firms should strengthen their foundation before adopting AI → How to decide whether a problem requires technology or another employee → The data Jesse uses to monitor intake, settlements and cash flow → Why traditional work-life balance can set leaders up for failure → How radical candor makes difficult conversations more productive Jesse, thank you for joining Kate in Chicago and sharing an honest look at leadership, operations and the human side of building a better law firm! Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:27 Meet Jesse Callahan 00:50 What a Chief of Staff does 02:07 From practicing attorney to law firm operator 03:16 Why trust matters more than credentials 04:27 Building relationships and leadership credibility 06:19 Servant leadership and asking better questions 07:02 Redesigning the claims-handling process 07:42 Building the foundation before adding AI 08:47 Hiring in the age of AI 10:08 Why technology still needs people 12:16 The importance of human review 13:26 Using AI to improve the client journey 15:20 The emotional weight of client service 18:06 The law firm metrics Jesse tracks 18:53 Settlements, disbursements and the final client experience 20:37 Kate’s Burning Questions 21:08 Leadership lessons from Multipliers and Radical Candor 21:49 The myths of work-life balance and “almost being there” 28:47 Navigating guilt as a working parent 34:10 Building habits around presence and priorities 39:23 Clear expectations and difficult conversations 44:14 Making hard decisions about the wrong people 47:12 Transparency inside the Fireproof community 48:44 Weekly accountability and coaching 51:10 Closing thoughts ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance. Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ Connect with us! https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/ https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/

  4. Sep 17

    How to Grow a Small Firm Without a Big Budget | Riz Ali

    Riz Ali is building a personal injury firm in one of the country’s most competitive legal markets. With an eight-person team and Riz serving as the firm’s only attorney, he has grown without relying on television, radio or billboards. Instead, he shows up at community events, builds referral relationships, creates social media content and invests in learning from law firm owners who are further ahead. In this episode, Riz sits down with Mike Morse in Chicago to share why he joined the Fireproof Masterminds early in his career, what happened when he examined his firm’s numbers in detail and how that experience helped him identify his biggest priorities for growth. They also covered: → How community involvement builds trust without a massive advertising budget → Why language access matters when serving immigrant communities → How simple social media content can keep your firm top of mind → What law firm owners learn when they openly compare KPIs → Why small-firm owners cannot afford to wear every hat forever → How coaching and peer relationships can help firms avoid costly mistakes → Why investing in yourself is one of the smartest investments you can make The biggest takeaway: You do not need the biggest budget to build momentum. You need to know your numbers, show up consistently and learn from people who have already solved the problems in front of you. Riz, thank you for joining Mike in Chicago and sharing an honest look at what it takes to build a growing law firm early in your career! Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:28 Meet Riz Ali in Chicago 00:53 Discovering Fireproof 02:29 Building an eight-person firm as the only attorney 03:04 What sharing your numbers reveals 04:01 Why small-firm owners need support 05:03 Growing without television, radio or billboards 06:22 Building trust within your community 07:38 Digital advertising and social media 08:45 Creating social content in real time 10:34 Serving new communities authentically 12:24 Using food reviews to build community connections 14:26 The value of referrals and trusted peers 16:15 Wearing every hat in a small firm 17:16 The right time to find a coach 18:14 Comparing KPIs with other law firms 19:26 Knowing your numbers and cutting waste 20:55 The secret sauce behind faster growth 22:43 Why lawyers should not build alone 24:31 Investing in yourself and your firm 25:30 Building happy, healthy and successful lawyers ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ Prefer to listen? https://open.spotify.com/show/7IaooNnVVvvQ483fPz7qAd?si=f9fce90599014a4d https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fireproof-podcast/id1895057184 Connect with us! https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/ https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/

    How to Grow a Small Firm Without a Big Budget | Riz Ali

  5. Sep 10

    The Systems Behind a Scalable Law Firm | Perry Schneider

    Perry Schneider has had a front-row seat to nearly two decades of growth at the Mike Morse Law Firm. He joined when the firm had roughly 30 employees, inherited a distressed docket and was asked to lead the pre-litigation department within his first year. Today, Perry is an attorney and senior business coach at Fireproof, helping law firms build the leadership, structure and accountability needed to grow with intention. In this episode, Perry breaks down the “how” behind scaling from a small team into a 350-person organization without losing the culture at its core. He also shares why panic hiring creates bigger problems, how weekly leadership meetings reduce noise and what firms should identify before making a major investment in AI. They also covered: → Why attorneys can successfully report to non-attorney business leaders → How a firm’s culture moves from the founder through every level of leadership → Why clearly defined roles become critical as a firm grows → The hiring mistakes that set employees up to fail → How to approach AI as a solution instead of a shiny new tool → The two numbers every law firm should be tracking → Why profitability and growth do not have to be competing goals → How delegation empowers people and creates stronger leaders The biggest takeaway: A scalable law firm is not built by throwing more people, money or technology at every problem. It is built through clear roles, intentional decisions, disciplined communication and leaders who are willing to let go. Perry, thank you for sharing your experience and so many practical lessons for building a stronger law firm!

    The Systems Behind a Scalable Law Firm | Perry Schneider

  6. Sep 3

    The Leadership Shift Your Firm Needs to Scale | Jen Harvala

    Jen Harvala has spent more than two decades growing alongside the Mike Morse Law Firm. Starting as a receptionist after working as a hairdresser, she built her career one opportunity at a time—becoming a paralegal, joining the leadership team and eventually overseeing nearly 60 domestic and offshore employees in pre-litigation. In this episode, Jen breaks down the “how” behind two major department restructures, including why the firm moved from a traditional generalist model to specialized, centralized services. She also shares how her team built employee buy-in, hired ahead of growth and created clearer career paths without automatically pushing great producers into management. They also covered: → Why the traditional case manager model stopped supporting the firm’s growth → How specialization helps cases move faster while improving the client experience → Why growing firms need to hire proactively instead of waiting for a backlog → The mistake firms make when integrating offshore team members → Why promoting your best producer can create the wrong manager → How servant leadership helps people grow without holding the firm back The biggest takeaway: The strongest leaders are not the ones who pretend to have every answer. They are the ones willing to say, “I don’t know,” use their resources and help their people move forward. Jen, thank you for sharing your story, leadership experience and practical lessons for growing law firms! Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:53 Meet Jen Harvala and her role in pre-litigation 02:16 Why the traditional case manager model stopped working 05:51 Moving to specialized, centralized services 07:15 Restructuring the department and building team buy-in 12:35 Managing capacity and hiring ahead of growth 19:00 Strategic workforce and succession planning 21:05 Managing a major “Disruption Day” 23:38 Treating offshore employees like team members 27:59 Building career paths inside a growing firm 35:07 Resource hoarding and putting the firm first 38:59 The Peter Principle and servant leadership 41:07 From hairdresser to law firm leader 45:30 Advice for new and aspiring leaders 48:24 The wisdom in saying “I don’t know” 50:13 Why leadership requires emotional intelligence ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ Prefer to listen? https://open.spotify.com/show/7IaooNnVVvvQ483fPz7qAd?si=f9fce90599014a4d https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fireproof-podcast/id1895057184 Connect with us! https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/ https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/

    The Leadership Shift Your Firm Needs to Scale | Jen Harvala

  7. Aug 27

    Stop Making These Hiring Mistakes! | Fireproof Part 4: Hiring and Firing

    For years Mike Morse hired on gut alone, but he was burned more than once. So he built a system. Now interviews carry 40% of the decision, testing and resumes split the rest. He reads people the way he used to read tables as a waiter, watching for small tells: a jumpy resume, a typo on a cover letter, a candidate who's five minutes late. After implementing this system, Mike Morse has built one of the largest personal injury firms in the country. On this episode of The Fireproof Podcast, Mike and Kate covered: → Hiring for traits and training for skills, even for candidates with zero legal background → How much weight to actually give resumes, tests, and interviews → The offbeat questions Mike uses to see how someone really thinks → Why he ends interviews early for tardiness, gum chewing, or a sloppy resume → The difference between onboarding and training, and why the firm treats them as two completely separate systems The big takeaway: the best hiring decisions are built on a process you trust to follow, even when you really want to like the person across the table. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:00 Hiring for traits, training for skills 04:34 How much weight tests, resumes, and interviews should carry 08:27 Reading nervous candidates and what their tells actually mean 10:50 The salad question and other ways to make candidates squirm 17:00 Why five minutes late means no interview 20:19 Balancing speed with a thorough hiring process 22:08 The onboarding philosophy behind a great first day 25:35 Onboarding versus training, and why they're not the same thing 27:09 Building the Mike Morse Law Firm training academy Connect with Mike https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljmorse https://www.instagram.com/855mikewins/?hl=en ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ Prefer to listen? https://open.spotify.com/show/7IaooNnVVvvQ483fPz7qAd?si=f9fce90599014a4d https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fireproof-podcast/id1895057184 Connect with us! https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/ https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/

  8. Aug 20

    Why He Stopped Selling and Started Connecting | Paul Faust

    Paul Faust runs RingBoost, the country's largest marketplace for custom phone numbers, and he's spent 20 years inside the legal industry building relationships instead of selling to them. Early on, his job was simple. Sell to a lawyer. But a few years in, he figured out that wasn't actually his job anymore. When Paul switched his approach from selling to connecting, it changed everything about the work and the results. In this episode of The Fireproof Podcast, they covered: → Why Paul stopped selling and started connecting people instead → What actually makes Fireproof different from other coaching programs → How to pick a vendor you can trust, and the questions most people skip → Why a strong foundation matters more than any new technology → The moment Paul stopped suffering alone Chapters 00:00 Intro and meeting Paul Faust 00:50 From selling phone numbers to connecting people 02:46 What makes Fireproof different 04:06 "I'm bringing these guys with me" 06:09 There's enough business for everyone 09:19 How to actually pick a trustworthy vendor 11:21 Bring your team, not just yourself 15:59 A tree with strong roots doesn't fear the storm 18:10 I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of not living. 21:08 Don't suffer alone Connect with Paul https://www.linkedin.com/in/pfaust/ https://www.instagram.com/coolguypaulfaust/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/ringboost/ https://www.instagram.com/ringboost/ https://www.facebook.com/ringboost/ ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ Prefer to listen? https://open.spotify.com/show/7IaooNnVVvvQ483fPz7qAd?si=f9fce90599014a4d https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fireproof-podcast/id1895057184 Connect with us! https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/ https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/

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About

Owning a law firm is harder than anyone told you it would be. Mike Morse, Kate Nachazel, and Alexa Levantis sit down with attorneys and firm owners to talk about what the job actually looks like — the wins, the bad hires, the pivots, and the moments that almost broke them. Mike built a 290-person firm with $360M in settlements. Every guest has their own version of that story. You'll leave each episode with a newfound purpose and the inspiration to keep going, along with practical lessons you can put in place today.

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