The Fireproof Podcast

The Secret Behind 500 Cases Every Month | Seth Bader

Seth Bader built one of Atlanta's most recognized personal injury firms from the ground up, starting in 2008 with zero team members and a clear mission: fight for injured people the way the insurance companies never would. But building a firm and running one are two different things. For years, Seth ran Bader Law the way most lawyers do: he made decisions by gut, spent millions on channels that felt right, and kept waiting for the numbers to confirm what he hoped was working. The radio spend alone hit $2.5 million a year. He stayed on it for four years before finally pulling the plug, cold turkey. When he did, the firm grew. Things we talked about in this episode: → Why he killed his entire radio budget overnight and what he moved the money into → How going almost fully digital changed his firm's trajectory → What alignment actually means inside a growing law firm (and what misalignment costs you) → Why the peer group inside a mastermind matters more than the curriculum → The lesson about resilience he'd tell every firm owner who's in the middle of it right now Seth built a great firm by staying in rooms where the wrong answers got corrected fast. Seth, thank you for being so honest about the parts of your business that didn't work. What you’ve built with Bader Law is going to be so encouraging for our listeners to hear! Chapters 0:00 - Introduction: Meet Seth Bader of Bader Law 0:43 - Inside the Firm: 150 Team Members, 500 Cases a Month 1:04 - Staying Competitive in One of the Toughest PI Markets in the Country 1:48 - On the Fence About Coaching? Seth Was Too 4:07 - The $2.5 Million Radio Decision: Why He Walked Away Cold Turkey 9:47 - Why a Digital Audit Matters When You're Spending at Scale 12:35 - The 2.5-Year Transformation and the Lessons It Left Behind 13:35 - Resilience, Alignment, and Running a Firm Like a Business 15:49 - What Life Looks Like When the Misaligned People Are Gone 17:51 - Final Advice for Firm Owners on the Fence About Masterminds Connect with Seth ttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbaderesq/ https://www.instagram.com/sethbaderesq/ [https://www.instagram.com/sethbaderesq/] https://www.facebook.com/sethbaderesq/ [https://www.facebook.com/sethbaderesq/] ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ [https://www.fireproofperformance.com/] Prefer to listen? https://open.spotify.com/show/7IaooNnVVvvQ483fPz7qAd?si=f9fce90599014a4d [https://open.spotify.com/show/7IaooNnVVvvQ483fPz7qAd?si=f9fce90599014a4d] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fireproof-podcast/id1895057184 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fireproof-podcast/id1895057184] Connect with us! https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance [https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance] https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/] https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance [https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance] https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/ [https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/]

He Spent $200 Million on TV Ads. Then He Stopped Cold Turkey | Angel Reyes

Angel Reyes has been a plaintiff's attorney for 35 years. His firm has resolved over 70,000 cases and recovered more than $1.3 billion for clients across Texas. For most of those years, he ran the playbook everyone else ran: TV spots. Billboards. Bus ads. Over two decades, he spent roughly $200 million on traditional advertising and built a firm that worked. Then in 2019, he walked away from ALL of it. He went all-in on digital, restructuring his marketing around what was measurable. He started hiring internationally when he couldn't find enough people in Texas willing to do the work… today, 80% of his workforce lives outside the United States. His firm signs between 2,000 and 2,500 new cases a month. The things we tackled in this episode: → Why he pulled $200M in traditional advertising cold turkey → How he built a team of 625 international employees across 24 countries → What competitor conquest is and why it was controversial → Whether there's a ceiling on digital lead generation → How distracted driving changed the auto accident business What stuck with me most is how Angel handles being disliked. He doesn't love it but he doesn't let it stop him either. Angel, thank you for your candidness and willingness to share your story. This time with you was worth every minute! Connect with Angel https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-l-reyes-iii-b97b997/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-l-reyes-iii-b97b997/] https://www.linkedin.com/company/reyeslaw/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/reyeslaw/] https://www.instagram.com/reyes.law [https://www.instagram.com/reyes.law] https://www.facebook.com/AngelReyesandAssociates [https://www.facebook.com/AngelReyesandAssociates] ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ [https://www.fireproofperformance.com/] Prefer to listen? https://open.spotify.com/show/7IaooNnVVvvQ483fPz7qAd?si=f9fce90599014a4d [https://open.spotify.com/show/7IaooNnVVvvQ483fPz7qAd?si=f9fce90599014a4d] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fireproof-podcast/id1895057184 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fireproof-podcast/id1895057184] Connect with us! https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance [https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance] https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/] https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance [https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance] https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/ [https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/]

The $9 Million Verdict Lawyer Who Had to Learn to Let Go | Andrew Pickett

Andrew Pickett joined Fireproof in October 2024. The coaching forced him to look at what he was actually doing in his firm versus what he should be doing… His firm nearly doubled in 18 months. In our episode, we covered: → How Andrew identified the roles he was defaulting to as the firm owner → Why core values have to be descriptive, not aspirational → What a weekly accountability cadence does to a leadership team's behavior → How revenue forecasting gave him the confidence to hire ahead of growth My major takeaway: the ceiling for most law firm owners is just the hat in their organization they refuse to take off. Andrew, thank you for sharing your story! Hearing where you started and where you're going is the entire point of what we're building here at Fireproof. Chapters 0:00 - Intro & Meet Andrew Pickett 1:50 - Andrew's Firm, Trial Background, and $9M Verdict 2:10 - Why Andrew Chose Fireproof Over Other Coaching Programs 4:07 - Discovering the Hidden Roles He Didn't Know He Had 5:11 - Weekly Accountability and What It Does to a Leadership Team 7:22 - The Numbers Andrew Tracks Every Single Day 8:15 - Revenue Forecasting: Predicting to Within 1% 11:06 - Core Values: Hiring and Firing Based on What You Actually Stand For 13:37 - Coaching vs. Masterminds and the Community You Don't Expect 17:47 - Why Mentors Matter and How Andrew Finds Them 20:23 - Delegation, Freedom, and Why You Started the Firm 21:15 - Summit Takeaway: Ghost Calls for Intake ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance. Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ [https://www.fireproofperformance.com/] Connect with us: https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance [https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance] https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/] https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance [https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance] https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/ [https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/]

He Was Arrested 17 Times… Then He Became a Lawyer. | D’Angelo Lowe

D'Angelo Lowe grew up with a single mom, three siblings to help raise, and no professional role models... From a young age, was arrested 17 times for selling drugs. But after graduating high school while on probation, he looked at everything he'd already survived, and decided he owed it to himself to change. Ten years into running Lowe Law in one of the most competitive personal injury markets in the country, D'Angelo has grown his firm from four people to sixteen plus. He's built a culture where people from all kinds of backgrounds get a real chance, and where accountability helps them grow. In this episode of The Fireproof Podcast, we covered: → Why the scarcity mindset almost broke him when business started working → How he went from spending 6% of revenue on marketing to building a brand that can compete → What it actually looks like to stop being the bottleneck in your own firm → The data he tracks to the penny, and why precision matters more than rounding → What he learned about leadership from a business attorney who told him, "I need you to trust me" Thank you, D'Angelo, for being open with me and our audience. This episode's sure to inspire everyone who listens! Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 1:00 - D'Angelo Introduces Himself and Lowe Law 2:15 - Growing Up in Harvey, Illinois 4:40 - Self-Doubt and the Scarcity Mindset 6:10 - The Arrest That Changed His Life 8:50 - Leading with Grace Without Losing Accountability 11:45 - Exploding from 4 to 16 People 16:00 - Discovering the Business of Law 19:20 - The Data He Tracks to the Penny 22:00 - CRM Systems and Tech Stack Breakdown 24:10 - What He's Obsessed With Right Now (Intake and Branding) 27:25 - The Bottleneck Moment and Learning to Delegate 31:50 - Building the Fireproof Community 33:15 - Books, Podcasts, and Resources He Recommends 35:10 - Final Words for Other Firm Owners ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance. Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ [https://www.fireproofperformance.com/] Connect with us: https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance [https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance] https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/] https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance [https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance] https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/ [https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/]

Why Most Law Firms Lose Before They Ever Get to Trial | Mike Alder

Mike Alder built one of the most respected plaintiff trial practices in California. Mike was winning in the courtroom and leaving a lot on the table everywhere else. It took reading a book during COVID to start asking the hard question… what would it look like to build a firm the right way? That led him to Fireproof. And in a short time, the work on culture, hiring, case-building systems, and business development has started compounding in ways he didn't expect. Here’s what we talked about in this episode: → How understanding insurance policy layers changes everything about how you make a demand → The handwritten note strategy that followed Mike into courtrooms he'd never walked into before → What discipline in small things has to do with trying month-long cases → What 95% of referred cases have in common once a real trial lawyer steps in The lawyers who win the biggest aren't always the ones who outwork everyone in the courtroom, but are the ones who build systems and stay disciplined on the days it doesn't feel like it matters. Mike, thank you for joining me on the episode! Chapters 0:00 - Welcome & Introduction 1:08 - Mike's Firm: 14 Lawyers, 400 Cases, and 10 Trials Last Year 3:49 - How Fireproof Changed the Way Mike Thinks About His Practice 5:19 - Fitness, Sobriety, and Why Personal Discipline Matters in the Courtroom 6:51 - The Case-Building Strategy Most Firms Get Wrong 8:32 - How the Defense Controls Your Case (And How to Stop It) 10:35 - Insurance Policy Layers and How to Use Them to Force a Settlement 12:34 - The Ego Problem Costing Lawyers Referrals and Verdicts 15:02 - Mike's Favorite Case: The Homeless Woman, the Bluff, and 12 Years of Christmas Cards 16:51 - The Handwritten Note That Followed Mike Into Courtrooms He'd Never Seen 18:51 - 4am Sardines, Cold Showers, and a Daily Routine Built Around Hard Things 21:09 - The Filevine Controversy: When a Late-Night Rant Got Hundreds of Thousands of Views 25:40 - Using Social Media to Help, Not Promote 26:37 - What the Fireproof Community Has Meant for Mike's Firm ~~~ This episode is powered by Fireproof Performance. Ready to fireproof your firm? https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ [https://www.fireproofperformance.com/] Connect with us: https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance [https://www.youtube.com/@FireproofPerformance] https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/fireproof-performance/] https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance [https://www.facebook.com/fireproofperformance] https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/ [https://www.instagram.com/fireproofperformance/]