Lunch Hour Legal Marketing

Jaksot

• The LHLM Summit Is Coming. Here’s a Taste. 01.07.2026 31min

  The Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Summit is coming. To Nashville. In August. This week on Lunch Hour Legal Marketing, Conrad and Gyi sit down with two of the speakers headed to the LHLM Summit (August 11-13, Acme Feed & Seed, Nashville) for a preview of what's on the agenda. First, Mary Ellen Murrah of Vista Consulting makes the case for why the face of your law firm matters, and why a sea of middle-aged white guys on your website is leaving money on the table. Then, intake expert Kerri Coby White gets tactical on AI, key metrics, comp structure, and why the robots should stay off your phones. Two great conversations. Two very good reasons to get to Nashville. Get your tickets to the Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Summit at https://lunchhourlegalmarketing.com/registration/. Thank you to our sponsors: Juvo Leads, Lawmatics, CallRail, and ALPS Legal Malpractice Insurance and Law Firm Insurance!  
• How To Spend $100K 24.06.2026 51min

  You just received $100,000 from the Marketing Fairy. Now, how do you turn that into clients? With a smart marketing budget guided by Gyi and Conrad’s keen-witted tactics, of course! And later, the guys explain how to invest in community events and grow your brand affinity. ------ To continue to gain more clients and profits, you need to spend your marketing budget wisely. Now, while we know the size of your firm will affect the size of your budget, let’s take a careful look at how Gyi and Conrad would advise you to deploy a $100K marketing spend over the course of 12 months. From direct response to networking to SEO to content creation and more, the guys talk about what’s important, what’s not, and how to prioritize your magical marketing dollars over the course of a year. Later, a listener asked a question about sponsoring a rodeo! Gyi and Conrad have plenty of insights into how investing in events and sharing your passions helps your law firm become a well-known, appreciated business in the community. Yee haw! The News: Well, Conrad sure is surprised—Reddit continues to be a major search choice for the masses: Google May 2026 Core Update: Reddit Up, YouTube Down.  This just dropped: Legal Client Experience Report 2026 | Case Status, and while lots of folks are satisfied with their legal outcomes, far less would actually recommend their lawyer. What gives? CX Summit 2026, we applaud you for not accepting pay-to-pitch speakers at your conference. Keep on keeping it classy.  In contrast to the meager AI search data from Google, Bing appears to be offering a much more robust set of insights: New AI Visibility Insights in Bing Webmaster Tools: Intents, Topics, Citation Share, Compare. Make Summer More Fun:  Come see us in Nashville 8/11-8/13 at the LHLM Super Summit! Listen Next:  How Much Marketing is Enough?   Connect: Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok r/LHLM 
• Law Firm Finance for Dummies 17.06.2026 42min

  Money talks (and so should your P&L). This week, the guys are getting fiscal. Conrad and Gyi bring in two heavy hitters. First up, Leah Miller, fractional CFO and Founder of Firmly Profits, sits down with Conrad and Gyi at the PILMMA Super Summit and breaks down what your finances actually say about your marketing. The big (and predictable) surprise? Most firms are undercapitalized and under-measured. She and the guys dig into the real benchmarks: what healthy marketing spend looks like (you're probably low), what KPIs a CFO actually cares about, and why doubling your intake means nothing if your average case value is tanking. Consider this Chapter One. Then, Josh Porte from Holland & Knight demystifies the MSO model in plain English in a conversation recorded at Vista Consulting Team's A Seat at the Table event. If you've been nodding along to private equity conversations while secretly Googling "what is Rule 5.4," it's time to get schooled. Josh walks through how money flows between a law firm and an MSO, where the ethical guardrails actually live, what rollover equity means for sellers, and why the management services agreement you sign today might be with you for the next 20 years. Minimum. Advanced material, but we believe in you. Whether you're running a tight PI shop or eyeing an acquisition, this episode is a masterclass in treating your law firm like the business it actually is. No yellow book required.-Want to hear more from our guests? They’re on LinkedIn (and they’re real people, not AI!): Connect with Leah Miller; Connect with Josh Porte. -We learned so much at A Seat at theTable that we created a page on our website dedicated to it. Listen to all the interviews, and enjoy the enlightening conversations as much as we did: https://lunchhourlegalmarketing.com/private-equity-law-firms-the-mso-guide/ -We are now less than two months away from The Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Summit! Check out our speakers, agenda, and register on our website.-A roaring ‘thank you’ to our incomparable sponsors: Juvo Leads, Lawmatics, CallRail, and ALPS Legal Malpractice and Law Firm Insurance! Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:23 Leah Miller: How Much Should You Spend on Marketing? 06:27 KPIs & Metrics CFOs Actually Care About 08:19 Financial Benchmarks for Law Firms 11:13 Brand vs. Non-Brand Spend & Regional Variability 12:08 Borrowing to Grow: Acquisition Financing 14:58 AI, Offshore Staffing & the Impact on Labor Costs 15:55 Modeling Finances Around Big Outlier Cases 17:06 What to Look for in a Fractional CFO 19:00 Josh Porte: Rule 5.4 & the MSO Structure Explained 21:12 Josh's Role at Holland & Knight 21:58 What Makes a Great MSO Transaction 23:24 The Gray Areas: Intake, Case Acceptance & Rule 5.3 25:50 How Money Flows: Fixed Fees vs. Cost Plus (No Revenue Splits) 27:56 Where AI Software Lives in the MSO Structure 29:44  Growth Through Acquisition: The Buy-and-Build Playbook 32:29 Operating Agreements, Non-Competes & Rollover Equity 35:58 Management Services Agreements: Terms & Lock-In 37:05 EBITDA Multiples, Multiple Arbitrage & Equity Value Creation 40:17 PE Fund Timelines & Exit Horizons
• AI Search Data Turns to the Dark Side 10.06.2026 48min

  Google Search Console is serving up AI search impressions… and we’re not impressed. But first, good ol’ email marketing campaigns are more effective than you might think! ------ Email marketing is often pretty underrated, but, with the right finesse, it’s a great way to stay in touch with your people and grow your business. Gyi And Conrad share email best practices and key business objectives to help you make good use of this inexpensive, but advantageous, marketing tool. Later, some data is better than no data right? Right? Or, is AI search sliding down the slippery slope to minimal marketing accountability? Zeroing in on today’s first news item, the guys dig deep into the ways AI features track impression data, taking a particularly hard look at its imperfections. But, is there still hope? Gyi and Conrad share practical ways to analyze the data available to you to attempt to shine some light on the efficacy of your law firm marketing in AI search.    The News: Google’s newest offering really wants to sound like it’s giving some helpful AI search segmentation, but it’s pretty embarrassingly basic. – Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console Win a trip to the LHLM Super Summit!!! Learn how: The Lunch Hour Legal Marketing FIFA Pool || FIFA World Cup 2026 Contest Our good friends at Lawyerist are doing their annual Website Competition, and they’ve found that new AI-created sites are pretty substandard and—shocker—dealing with security issues. Don’t forget!  Google is opting you in for call recordings on JULY 1 if you currently have that as ‘unselected’. Take appropriate action, folks.    Podcast Appearances:  Un-Billable Hour – Seat At The Table: Getting an “A+” in Client Satisfaction Lawyerist – AI for Law Firm Growth: Building Smarter Systems and Better Business Decisions, with Conrad Saam Championing Justice: A Personal Injury Podcast – PART 1: Why Legal SEO Isn’t Dead, But Most Law Firm Marketing Is and PART 2: Why Legal SEO Isn’t Dead, But Most Law Firm Marketing Is Answering Legal – Lunch Hour Except the Law? Conrad & Gyi on How Clients ACTUALLY Find Your Firm   Make Summer More Fun:  Come see us in Nashville 8/11-8/13 at the LHLM Super Summit!   Listen Next: What is AI Visibility, Anyway?   Connect: Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok r/LHLM 
• Conversations From ‘A Seat at the Table’: Inside the Private Equity Shift 03.06.2026 39min

  Everyone's talking about MSOs. But this isn't really a conversation about MSOs. This week on Lunch Hour Legal Marketing, Conrad Saam and Gyi Tsakalakis take you inside Vista Consulting's "A Seat at the Table" event, where lawyers, operators, bankers, and investors gathered to wrestle with the biggest structural shift in legal in a generation. Conrad and Gyi went with one agenda: filter through the PE noise and find out what all of this actually means for law firm marketing. What they found was more interesting than the headlines. Law firms are being evaluated as branding and marketing companies. Outside capital is chasing firms with diversified case acquisition, strong community relationships, and operational sophistication. And the firms that still can't track cost per case, attribute a lead, or explain their marketing mix? They're increasingly invisible to the people writing the checks. Three guests. Three very different seats at the table. Rob Bordonaro of Nager Romaine & Schneiberg brings a Fortune 50 operator's eye to a legal industry he describes as years behind on process, technology, and leadership development, and explains why that gap is exactly what makes this moment interesting. Jonathan Hawkins of Law Firm GC has brokered these deals from both sides. He breaks down growth capital, why law firm mergers fail, and why private equity has started describing law firms as branding and marketing companies first. Chad Dudley of Dudley DeBosier built the deal that put MSOs on the map for personal injury firms. He explains true cost per case, what makes a firm worth partnering with, why brand means something different than awareness numbers, and why depending on a single marketing channel is just waiting for a failure. If you've been watching this space and wondering what it actually means for your firm's marketing strategy, this is the episode. More LHLM If you want to hear all of our full-length conversations from A Seat at the Table, there’s a space for that! Head over to Private Equity & Law Firms: The MSO Guide - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing to find out more about what we learned and hear the conversations. Thank you to our sponsors: Juvo Leads, Lawmatics, CallRail, and ALPS Legal Malpractice Insurance Want more Gyi and Conrad in your work week? Join us for Office Hours, live every Thursday at 1 PM ET on LinkedIn. We’re starting a Slack Community. Want in? Come on over! The Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Summit is coming to Nashville this August! Will you heed our call and get your tickets? The clock is ticking… Secure your tickets: https://lunchhourlegalmarketing.com/registration/ Chapters 00:00 The 3 Marketing Themes Lawyers Should Watch 03:25 Ohio’s Largest Workers’ Comp Firm Explores MSOs 05:28 Why Legal Is “Years Behind” Other Industries 06:47 Outside Operators Are Changing Law Firms 08:38 The CMO & Leadership Gap in Legal 10:06 Economies of Scale in Legal Operations & Marketing 11:32 Will MSOs Actually Improve Client Experience? 13:13 Jonathan Hawkins on PE Interest in Law Firms 14:45 Fear, Growth Capital & the PE Opportunity 15:57 What “Growth Capital” Actually Means for Law Firms 17:58 Why PE Sees Law Firms as Marketing Companies 18:46 Equity Opportunities for Non-Lawyer Talent 19:45 The Operational Reality of Law Firm Consolidation 19:46 Why Law Firm Mergers Fail (and How to Avoid It) 20:57 Marketing Challenges Inside Consolidated Firms 22:05 Economies of Scale for Advertising & AI 23:05 Chad Dudley: How Dudley DeBosier Pioneered the MSO Model 25:35 How an MSO Actually Accelerates Case Growth 26:50 True Cost Per Case: The Marketing Metric Most Firms Miss 29:34 What Makes a Firm an Attractive MSO Candidate 31:56 Why Brand Matters More Than Awareness Numbers 34:59 Brand vs. Direct Spend: How to Think About Your Marketing Mix
• What is AI Visibility, Anyway? 27.05.2026 45min

  If your marketing agency is telling you they can deliver your law firm visibility in AI search, they might be selling you a bunch of hogwash. Come for the rest of the “Top 10 Things that Piss Off Gyi & Conrad,” stay for their sage insights on marketing questions from PILMMA Super Summit 2026. ----- Howdy, dear listeners! Gyi and Conrad met up in San Antonio for a Texas-sized showdown with the latest AI-slop-marketing-nonsense. They hash out “AI visibility” (quotations for skepticism, folks), chat with the good people on the PILMMA conference floor, and answer a few pressing questions—leaving just enough time to ride off into the glorious orange sunset.    The News: Well, they’re saying this is the biggest thing to happen in search in 25 years: Google Shifts to AI Search, Heralding Major Change in How People Use the Internet. So, what’s the sitch?    Catch Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on the road!  LHLM Super Duper Summit (of course!)   Listen Next: Help, My Law Firm is Stuck! – Should I Expand Practice Areas or Locations?   Connect: Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok r/LHLM 
• It Really Is Brand (Told You So!) 20.05.2026 59min

  Your brand is where it’s at, folks, but maybe you’ve forgotten the marketing fundamentals that really make it work. Join us for Gyi and Conrad’s crash course in brand economics to help you focus your efforts and grow your business. ----- Summer might be coming for the kiddies, but all good little legal marketers need to go back to school! The Foundational Brand Advertising class is in session with professors Gyi Tsakalakis and Conrad Saam, so put on your thinking caps and let’s relearn the basics of brand—the keystone of your marketing efforts. They start with a vocab review and then dig into brand marketing essentials—discussing audience, reach, medium, targeting, market penetration, impression understanding, and so much more.  Later, when it comes to brand understanding and direct response, wouldn’t it be great to get into the mind of the consumer? The guys do just that, using recordings taken by real people looking for legal services, obtained through Near Media research.    The News: ChatGPT ads are here for the masses, but is there any way to know what you’re getting? – Advertise in ChatGPT | Open AI Ads Well, Google has deprecated FAQ markups, so you might want to rethink your priorities. – Markup FAQs with Structured Data Darren Shaw with the breaking news, yet again! – Reddit and your Google Business Profiles Big brother is listening, folks… Google Ads Call Recording To Default To Yes On July 1st.     Catch Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on the road!  PILMMA LHLM Super Duper Summit (of course!)   Listen Next: What's In A Brand?   Connect: The Bite - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter! Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok r/LHLM   
• Butts, Not Bots 14.05.2026 39min

  “Butts, not bots.” That’s the philosophy behind this week’s conversation with Ted DeBettencourt of Juvo Leads, a new sponsor of Lunch Hour Legal Marketing, and honestly, it sparked one of the most practical discussions we’ve had about intake in a long time. From AI chat frustrations and LSA response failures to empathetic intake conversations and signed retainers through text, this episode digs into what actually helps law firms convert more leads into cases. Ted joins Conrad and Gyi to break down why human-powered intake still outperforms automation in many legal marketing scenarios, how firms lose leads by forcing clients into the wrong communication channels, and why response speed alone isn’t enough if the experience feels robotic. They also get into A/B testing intake vendors, reducing wasted PPC spend, qualifying leads properly, and the hidden dangers of certain lead-handling practices in the legal industry. If you’ve ever wondered whether AI intake is really “good enough” yet or whether your law firm is accidentally creating friction for potential clients, this episode is for you. Connect with Ted! You can find Ted on LinkedIn, and head over to juvoleads.com to take advantage of Ted’s offer to get 50% more leads or your money back with a free 30-day trial. Enter code LHLM for discounted retainer pricing. A massive thank you to all of our new sponsors we have onboarded under our endorsed sponsor model: Juvo Leads, Lawmatics, CallRail, and ALPS Insurance! Gyi and Conrad are headed to the PILMMA Super Summit in San Antonio! If you’re in attendance, say hello and let us know your thoughts on the event. The Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Summit is coming. Have you secured your ticket?
• Don’t Be Weird About Sponsorships (Just Be Honest) 06.05.2026 18min

  Conrad’s query sounds simple on the surface: If we’re getting paid to talk about something, how obvious do we have to be about it? That turns into a much bigger conversation with John Henson about disclosures, sponsorships, and where people tend to get themselves into trouble. They talk through the new LHLM endorsement model, what actually needs to be said out loud, and how far you can go before it starts to feel like you’re hiding something. (Hint: don’t do that.) There’s also a practical side to this. Nobody wants a podcast that sounds like a legal disclaimer with a few jokes sprinkled in. So the question becomes: how do you stay compliant without killing the flow? Chimes, hashtags, beginning-of-episode callouts: John walks us through what works, what’s probably enough, and what starts to look a little shady. Then John flips it around with a great question he’s been stewing on for Lunch Hour Legal Marketing: He’s running a small firm with a national footprint and doesn’t care about ranking locally. How is he supposed to market that? Plus! John Henson will be schooling us on staying out of FTC jail at the Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Summit this August in Nashville. Get your tickets: https://lunchhourlegalmarketing.com/ Want more Lunch Hour in your week? Catch Gyi and Conrad live every Thursday at 1 PM for Office Hours on LinkedIn! Thank you to our beautiful, brave sponsors Juvo Leads, Lawmatics, CallRail, and Alps Insurance!
• A Tale of Two Dashboards 29.04.2026 40min

  Two dashboards. Two stories. One broken relationship. This week on Lunch Hour Legal Marketing, Conrad Saam and Gyi Tsakalakis unpack a client loss that wasn’t really about performance; it was about measurement. The agency saw success. The law firm saw zero cases. And both were looking at completely different versions of reality. We break down a $11.5K paid search campaign that generated 64 leads at a $181 CPL with strong engagement metrics but still ended in termination. Why? Because the agency optimized for cost per lead, while the firm measured success by signed clients. No shared definition of a “good lead” meant no shared understanding of success. So what actually went wrong? And more importantly, how do you prevent it? We dig into: Why cost per lead is the wrong scoreboard for a firm measuring signed cases How “wanted leads” become the missing feedback loop in legal marketing The role of intake, attribution, and CRM gaps in distorting performance Why even strong campaigns fail when dashboards don’t match reality How fractional CMOs can either bridge—or widen—the measurement divide At the center of it all is a simple problem: agencies and law firms are often not just disagreeing… they’re not even reading the same watch. Lunch Hour Legal Marketing will be covering Vista Consulting Team’s Baltimore event, A Seat at the Table. Conrad and Gyi will be at the PILMMA Super Summit in May. Want to meet them and be on the pod? Reach out! Come to the Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Summit, and listen to John Henson school us on how to stay out of FTC jail, and eat a listicle on us! ------- Conferences & Mentions:
• By the Numbers: The Super Duper Data Edition 22.04.2026 40min

  Is your law firm marketing budget relying on channels that account for less than 1% of new leads? Oh boy, do we love a good stat!  ----- We're back with a super duper installment of "By the Numbers" where we dive into real data for your law firm marketing strategy! Gyi Tsakalakis and Conrad Saam break down the latest stats from Near Media and CallRail that are changing the game for legal marketing and law firm SEO. How many consumers actually know how personal injury lawyers are paid? And despite the hype, how relevant is AI in legal search right now? CallRail data shows AI touches are a very small part of inbound leads, but just how small? We also cover important local search statistics on when consumers choose to call without clicking your website. The News: CallRail is giving us easy, generous access to their AI resources. Good stuff!  Cool your jets, private equity—new boundaries incoming: Bills to rein in outside investment in law firms advance in California, Illinois. Google’s latest reviews update is suuuuper problematic. Here’s Darren Shaw’s take. Everyone start prepping your doomsday bunkers. Anthropic’s Mythos Model is showing emergent cyber-hacking skills. Catch Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on the road!  GLM Bootcamp  A Seat at the Table PILMMA LHLM Super Duper Summit (of course!)   Listen Next:  Is AI Optimization a Thing?  Connect: The Bite - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter! Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok r/LHLM 
• ABA TECHSHOW 2026 Recap: Our Favorite Conversations from the Floor 15.04.2026 24min

  The best conversations from ABA TECHSHOW 2026, all in one place. Gyi and Conrad hit the floor to talk with legal tech innovators, lawyers, and industry leaders about what’s actually working right now. ----- In this special recap episode of Lunch Hour Legal Marketing, we’re bringing you our favorite conversations from the floor of ABA TECHSHOW 2026. From getting paid faster to using AI more effectively, these interviews highlight the ideas shaping the future of law firms. ----- In this episode: Why law firms struggle with collections (and how to fix it) How AI is saving hours in legal workflows Smarter estate planning through automation Building a brand that actually connects with clients Real-world insights from lawyers and legal tech founders Subscribe for more insights on legal marketing, tech, and law firm growth.Which conversation stood out most to you? Let us know in the comments.Connect with our guests!Matt Darner, Cofounder and CEO of CollBox-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdarner/-Website: https://collbox.co/Isabella Hughes, Cofounder of EstateMin-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabella-hughes-77719a250/-Website: https://www.estatemin.com/Majo Castro, Founder & Managing Attorney of Castroland Legal, PLLC-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/majocastro/-Website: https://www.castrolandlegal.com/Mike Whelan, Host of the “AI in Practice” Podcast; CEO of Lawyer Forward-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewhelanjr/-Podcast Page: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-in-practice/id1846506529 Wendy Meadows, Attorney & Mediator at Law Office of Wendy S. Meadows, LLC-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-s-meadows/-Website: https://www.wendymeadowslaw.com/  
• Is AI Search Optimization a Thing? 08.04.2026 52min

  Why is it SO difficult to track success in AI search? You want to rank, AI is a beast, your agency might be full of it, and we want to help. Then, we know people are going to lose their jobs to AI, but whose heads will be the first to roll? --- If the chaos of AI search is making your head spin, let’s see if we can get you off the merry-go-round. The lack of understanding and transparency from digital marketing agencies is bonkers right now, so you might be getting bad info about your AI search data. Gyi and Conrad get into the realities of how these AI results really work and how to approach your law firm growth tactics in this environment.  Later, it was fascinating to see the heavily AI-centric startup alley pitches at ABA Techshow. Tons of law firms are building their own tools with AI, so what does this mean for legal tech, marketers, agencies, etc.? Let’s discuss whether we’re all losing our jobs…   The News: Smokeball and Thomson Reuters are dating. Is it love, or do they just want each other for their data? –  Smokeball and Thomson Reuters Partner to Create the Premier Legal Technology Ecosystem  Wanna chat about the ins and outs and heres and theres of the private equity landscape? Join us at A Seat at the Table May 6-7 at the Baltimore ballfields.  You know what they say, Astroturfing is the best form of flattery. Also, come hang out at r/LHLM! Listicles have never been classy, but did you know that they could also be illegal? Lily Ray explains it well:  Promotional listicles: in some cases, they may actually be *against the law,* according to FTC rules. Come to the LHLM Summit! Join us 8/11-13 for some killer talks on law firm growth. Lee Rudin will be there to tell you why your merch sucks, and we know you don’t want to suck. Kerri Coby White is gracing us with an in-depth talk intake, and we know you need that, too! So much good stuff—be there.  Listen Next:  How to Rank in Google AI Mode Connect: The Bite - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter! Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok r/LHLM  Chapters 00:00 Go Blue! 01:51 Legal Marketing News 02:05 Smokeball and Thomson Reuters Getting Cozy 03:21 Private Equity in Legal: "A Seat at the Table" Event 04:18 We Got Astroturffed! 04:50 Promotional Listicles May Be Illegal (FTC Rules) 08:23 LHLM Summit: Your Merchandise Sucks (Lee Rudin) 09:07 LHLM Summit: In-Depth Intake Talk (Kerri Coby White) 09:38 How to REALLY Rank in AI Search & ABA Tech Show Recap | Segment 1 11:13 The Impossibility of Tracking AI Search Success (Why Agencies Lie) 18:26 Tactical AI Search Optimization: Data Infrastructure & Tracking 24:01 Why It’s Still a "Google Most World" & The Importance of Digital PR 37:21 Who Will Lose Their Jobs to AI? (ABA Tech Show Startup Alley) | Segment 2 42:56 The Race to Bespoke AI Software and Headcount Reduction 48:56 Join us for Office Hours
• Claudia Unleashed! 01.04.2026 20min

  Conrad and Gyi are live from ABA TECHSHOW 2026 at McCormick Place in Chicago, and they've got a big announcement. Lunch Hour Legal Marketing is going all-in on AI with the debut of Claudia, the podcast's new AI co-host. Trained on the most authoritative legal marketing sources (including this very podcast), backed by private equity from Amazon's Alexa Fund, and equipped with her own proprietary accuracy-testing model... What could possibly go wrong? The guys break down the news: A landmark social media addiction verdict against Meta and Google  The epic police accountability case starring Afroman A lawyer whose social profiles were hijacked by a Morgan & Morgan slogan Thanks to our sponsors: Thyme, Alps, LexReception, CallRail, and our new sponsors, Lawmatics and Juvo Leads!An additional thank you to the hosts of this week's events, Smokeball and 8AM!   Chapters 0:00 Welcome from ABA TECHSHOW 2026 0:43 Thank You: Smokeball & 8AM 1:54 Why TECHSHOW Is Different 2:42 Big Announcement Coming 3:26 New Format & Weekly Episodes 3:53 Going All-In on AI 4:17 News: Afroman's Civil Rights Case 5:29 News: Meta & Google Social Media Addiction Verdict 6:27 News: Attorney's Social Profiles Hacked 7:29 ALPS Insurance Ad (Read by Claudia) 8:56 Introducing Claudia, AI Co-Host 11:04 What Claudia Does for LHLM 11:19 How Claudia Was Trained 12:37 Hallucinations & Accuracy — How Claudia Handles It 13:35 The Self-Serving Training Problem 14:34 Claudia as Agency Secret Sauce 15:20 Three Firms Per Market — The Business Model 16:02 Claudia's... Unconventional Capabilities 16:56 Things Get Weird 17:22 Budget AI Problems
• Mail Bag – You Asked, We Answered 25.03.2026 43min

  We love answering your questions, folks! Gyi and Conrad have collected a series of queries from a variety of LHLM listeners, and they’ve got plenty of tactical insights to share. ----- Mail time! When we know what’s on your mind, we can bring you the focused, valuable guidance you need to keep growing and improving your law firm business. So, what questions & answers do we have for you today? They guys address marketing mindset shifts (think like a CEO!), seemingly dubious PPC data, visibility tips, 2026 conference recommendations, and more. Also, things are a’changing at Lunch Hour Legal Marketing. Gyi & Conrad take a moment to explain the new partnerships they've been developing, and the next step in the evolution of the podcast.  The News: Greater personalization seems to be the driving force behind the expansion of Personal Intelligence across AI Mode in Search, the Gemini app, and Gemini in Chrome. Is this good? Bad? Another step toward hyperdependency? We’ll see: Bringing the power of Personal Intelligence to more people Anthropic has done an extensive study on What 81,000 People Want from AI. Give it a read. Users can now ask AI about the businesses they see in Google Maps, and we think this promises to bring some significant user behavior shifts over time. Think about it: How we’re reimagining Maps with Gemini. OpenAI updates: Introducing GPT‑5.4 mini and nano. Find Conrad and Gyi at ABA TECHSHOW!   Listen Next:  BS You Hear at Legal Conferences Connect: The Bite - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter! Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok r/LHLM Chapters 00:00 Intro: LHLM at ABA TECHSHOW 2026 02:23 The News: Google's Personal Intelligence & AI 03:16 The News: Anthropic’s Massive AI Study 04:10 The News: Google Maps Re-Imagined with Gemini 05:10 The News: New ChatGPT Release 05:31 Find LHLM at ABA TECHSHOW 06:43 An Evolution for Lunch Hour Legal Marketing (Sponsored Endorsement Model) 13:50 Listener Review: Invaluable 5 Stars 14:58 Opening the LHLM Mailbag 15:15 Mailbag Q1: Helping Marketing Operators Think Like a CEO 22:54 Mailbag Q2: Turned Off PPC, No Drop in Leads - Why? 29:57 Mailbag Q3: Top 3 Trends to Increase Visibility/Growth 36:20 Mailbag Q4: Legal Conferences to Attend in 2026 39:10 Wrap-Up
• Beets, Berries, and Better Paralegals 18.03.2026 16min

  Paralegals might not wear capes, but they’re often the ones keeping your law firm running and making sure your clients are happy. Conrad and Gyi dive into the unsung, everyday heroes of your practice, your paralegals, and how the right team can make or break your client experience. We highlight a few key clips from a full-length interview Conrad had with Ryan McKeen and Marisa Rua from Para Era about building better paralegal training programs, hiring talent from unexpected industries like food service, and creating systems that let paralegals thrive.  Your paralegals are often the first face of your firm, the first voice clients hear, and the first impression that shapes your brand. Ryan and Marissa discuss how to turn that reality into a competitive advantage.📺 Want to hear our entire discussion with Ryan and Marisa? Watch on YouTube The News Congratulations to Neil Katyal for overturning Trump’s unconstitutional tariffs. Big law firms like Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, and Susman Godfrey stand strong, proving that not all big law groups are wusses. And yes, your paralegals are still more important than you thought.   Chapters: 00:00 Dirty Hands and Native Berries 02:34 News: Legal Wins and Law Firm Backbone 04:07 Why Paralegals Matter for Marketing 06:07 The Paralegal Training Gap 06:33 Hiring Great Paralegals (Even with Zero Experience) 08:45 Marketing Law Firm Jobs to Non-Legal Talent 09:18 When It’s Time to Let a Paralegal Go 10:14 Operational Tips for Better Paralegal Performance 10:18 Let Paralegals Schedule Their Own Calls 11:47 Send Paralegals to Conferences Too
• Olympic Lawyer on Competition, Law Firm Growth, and the Rule of Law 11.03.2026 48min

  A real Olympian on our little podcast?! Athlete and lawyer Rich Ruohonen shows us all how excellence and commitment are good for business. And, more importantly, how standing up for what’s right as both a citizen and a representative of the law is so necessary in our current cultural climate.  ---- Okay, so maybe you can’t be an Olympian, but you can grow your business by pursuing your passions, investing in your community, and showing genuine care for those around you. Gyi and Conrad are honored to welcome Rich Ruohonen, the oldest-ever American winter Olympian, to talk about his experiences with the American Curling team in the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games. Oh, and for all you lawyers out there, Rich shares down-to-earth insights on how his personal injury law firm engages with their community.  Later, in the wake of the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, Rich was compelled to use the Olympic stage to speak out about ICE violence in his home state of Minnesota. He shares what that experience meant for him as both a lawyer and a citizen of our great country. Thank you to Rich for representing our country and the profession so well.  📺 Watch: Rich's Olympic Speech   The News: Guess this wasn’t a no-brainer—don’t be a dummy and talk about sensitive information with public AI chatbots. This case shows us why: United States v. HEPPNER And, in more AI nonsense: Lawyer apologizes for fake quotes, fabricated judgments generated by AI in murder case. Yikes. And, some lawyer skulduggery in South Carolina: Lowcountry Attorney Charged with Defrauding $1.5M from Mt. Pleasant Law Firm and Clients. Eesh. On a lighter note, get your tickets for the LHLM Summit! Yay!   Listen Next: The One Where Gyi and Conrad Rock the Boat   Connect: The Bite - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter! Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok r/LHLM  In This Episode: 00:00 Fit Check 02:24 Starting with the News 07:50 Introducing Olympian Lawyer Rich Ruohonen 08:18 Rich's Olympic Journey in Curling 15:15 Curling, Law, and Business: The Intersection of Being an Athlete and a Trial Lawyer 29:11 Making a Stand: Rich Ruohonen's Olympic Speech on the Rule of Law in Minnesota 41:18 Closing & Final Thanks
• Help, My Law Firm Is Stuck! – Should I Expand Practice Areas or Locations? 25.02.2026 41min

  Business feeling stagnant in your smaller market? Contradictory to our previous claims, adding a new practice area might be just the thing. But first, new Direct Business Search data just dropped—what do you do now? ----- Fantastic news, everybody—Google has finally segmented out your Direct Business Search results. What does that mean for you? Gyi and Conrad hash out the details to help you understand how this new data could affect your tactics and budget, ultimately bringing better focus to your marketing efforts.  Later, we’ve often said that finding your niche area in legal practice can be a very effective way to capture more business in your market. Buuut… is that always true? Could there, perchance, be a situation where adding new practice areas is the best move for your business? Gyi and Conrad discuss the pros and cons of practice expansion and how to stay tactical and competitive in the process.  The News: Very clever PR stunt, folks. – Cheeky law firm offers to help Native American tribe evict Billie Eilish from their land after smug Grammys rant.  Just want to offer our appreciation to Rich Ruohonen for being an awesome athlete, lawyer, and citizen of our great country – A 54-year-old personal injury lawyer from Minnesota just became the oldest US Winter Olympian Google Direct Business Search data now showing in LSAs.  Fresh Near Media Research is on its way. Stay tuned!    Listen Next: LHLM Office Hours  Connect: The Bite - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter! Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok r/LHLM 
• The One Where Gyi and Conrad Rock the Boat 11.02.2026 50min

  Hey, friends. The hard truth of it is—It’s bad for business if there’s no rule of law. We’re grateful for the voices in the profession that have shown a willingness to defend our nation’s laws in the midst of uncertainty. Later, Conrad shares tips for making friends. ----- We’ve been heartened to see a variety of voices standing up for the rule of law in recent weeks, and working in legal, we know the pressures firms feel as they consider how to engage in our current political climate. But, on this we can all agree: The rule of law is essential for the health and prosperity of our nation. Gyi and Conrad take a moment to share stories and amplify the voices of those who have shown their commitment to uphold the Constitution.  Next, Conrad really opened a can of worms on Facebook this week. Come for the drama, stay for the tactical tips on standing out in a world of private equity-backed agencies. Grab some popcorn. The News: Bob Ambrogi digs into the hopeful thought that legal-specific tech platforms can do a better job for lawyers’ AI needs – Anthropic’s Legal Plugin for Claude Cowork May Be the Opening Salvo In A Competition Between Foundation Models and Legal Tech Incumbents Multiple clients have seen a 40% drop in their local visibility. Seems shady, eh?  If you don’t control your WordPress site, there’s a problem, folks. Gyi & Conrad explain how to own your stuff from the get-go.  Announcing the Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Summit in Nashville, Tennessee! It’s gonna be a great time, everyone. Get your tickets before they’re all gone! Mentioned: NCBP discusses the rule of law: Presidential Check-In – A Conversation with Patrick Palace  Sign the Pledge! Listen Next: Local Love, Review Realities, and the Truth about Google’s PMax Campaigns   Connect: The Bite - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter! Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok r/LHLM 
• Local Love, Review Realities, and the Truth about Google’s PMax Campaigns 28.01.2026 44min

  As you advertise locally, advertise your localness! Then, what's a small firm to do in the sea of reviews? And, we really hate Google’s Performance Max nonsense.  ----- Lots to cover today, folks! Being connected to your community matters, and consumers respond with notable positivity to ads that emphasize all the local feels. Gyi and Conrad have plenty of insights on making the most of where you’re planted. Next, fake reviews keep pouring in, and you need a clear strategy to rise above the flood. The guys share tactical tips for directing your resources to become a strong competitor in your marketplace. And, lastly, Google’s PMax campaigns are a mighty unfunny joke. Ugh. The data is in, and—surprise, surprise—Google might not have your best interest at heart. Gyi and Conrad pick apart the latest data to help you understand what these campaigns are (not) doing for your law firm.    The News: OpenAI put this out there: Our approach to advertising and expanding access to ChatGPT. And, just to remind you all, at one point they told us ads were definitely not in the game plan. But… qué será, será, eh?  Near Media’s “Near Memo” podcast welcomed our very own Gyi for a chat you should definitely go listen to: AI Is Breaking Local Search—But Google Still Decides Who Gets Chosen   Mentioned:  Al Ludwig's LinkedIn post    Listen Next: Conrad’s Crystal Ball V: Lawyer Marketing Predictions for 2026     Connect: The Bite - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter! Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok r/LHLM