Running a law firm isn’t just about practicing law—it’s about leading a business. In this episode, Jay Ruane and Charley Mann break down the 7 stages of law firm leadership and the unique challenges at each level. 💼⚖️

🔹 Solo to Supported Solo – The power of delegation & hiring key personnel 👥

🔹 Head of the Family – Growing to a 4-6 person team & managing culture 🏡

🔹 Captain of the Ship – Leading a 7-12 person team & navigating responsibilities ⚓

🔹 Leader of Leaders – Scaling to 13-25 employees & managing by data 📊

🔹 When to Use the CEO Title – Why you shouldn’t call yourself CEO too soon ❌👨‍💼

🔹 Financial Challenges & Wealth Creation – The 4 ways to build long-term financial success 💰📈

🔹 Marketing & Branding Tips – Practical strategies for newsletters & LinkedIn engagement ✉️🔗

✨ Join us as Brooke Birkey delves into the crucial role of emotional intelligence in law firm intake processes. 💼💡 Discover practical strategies to boost client trust 🤝 and improve your firm's intake performance. 📈

🧠 Understanding the importance of emotional intelligence in intake

💪 Techniques to handle clients in crisis

🔍 Recognizing and managing client blind spots

📝 Personality assessment for intake specialists

📣 Integrating marketing and intake tasks to enhance performance

Your Criminal Defense Practice Roadmap for Q1 2026

Get ready for an incredible first quarter at The Criminal Mastermind! Join Jay Ruane as he unveils the powerhouse lineup of speakers and sessions designed to transform your criminal defense practice in early 2026. From Patrick Stox's evidence-based SEO strategies that replace guesswork with data, to Delisi Friday's relationship-building gifting techniques, Gyi Tsakalakis's essential guide to protecting your assets when changing marketing partners, hot seat problem-solving sessions, Jonathan Mast's cutting-edge AI insights, and Jill Jensen's client retention strategies through newsletters—this quarter is packed with actionable content you can implement immediately.

But these sessions are just the beginning of what you get as a Criminal Mastermind member. Discover how you gain instant access to over 1,000 pages of proven systems and frameworks, plus Jay's complete collection of books including "The 1 Day MBA for Lawyers," "From Call to Client," and "Get Out of Your Way!" Most importantly, you'll join a tight-knit community of criminal defense attorneys who are committed to each other's success—not competitors protecting secrets, but colleagues who understand exactly what you're facing because they're living it too. If you've been thinking about joining, now's the time. Head to thecriminalmastermind.com and choose the membership level that fits your practice.

While you spent the last year grinding, trying to figure out why your leads dropped or why your staff wouldn't stay, the members of The Criminal Mastermind were already fixing those problems.

In this special series kickoff, we are unlocking the vault. We are giving you access to eight powerhouse sessions that took place live in 2025. These aren’t predictions for the future—they are the playbook our members have been executing for months to build competitive advantages you don't have yet.

We’re pulling back the curtain on the topics that defined the last year of growth for top-tier firms, including:

• Leveraging Emotional Intelligence: Brooke Birkey reveals why logic fails in intake and how to use EQ to close clients in crisis.
• The 7 Stages of Law Firm Leadership: Charley Mann breaks down the painful but necessary transitions from "Head of the Family" to true CEO.
• Exiting Without Selling: Richard Schaull teaches the "COO Method" to stop being the bottleneck and build a firm that runs while you vacation.
• The Death of Google Dominance: Julio Casado explains how AI search is eating traditional SEO and why you need to become the "entity" the algorithms trust.
• Onboarding & Culture: Why retention starts with the job post and the psychology of the "Bag of Swag".
• Knowing Your Numbers: CFO Terrell Turner on why you need more than a tax preparer and the "Golden Financial Formula" for profit.
• The Technical Toolset: Jay Ruane opens his laptop to show you exactly how to track key events and hold marketing vendors accountable using tools like Google Analytics 4 and Local Falcon.

The Hard Truth: You are getting this information late. Our members asked the questions, implemented the systems, and reaped the rewards while you were in the dark.

Stop playing catch-up. Stop getting the answers a year late.

Join the room where the lights are on: 👉 Apply today at TheCriminalMastermind.com

Join Jay on a walk down of some of the highlights from the first 3 months of sessions in The Criminal Mastermind! If this year is the year you decide to treat your firm like the business it is, join us at www.thecriminalmastermind.com/apply

In The Criminal Mastermind we have no long term commitments. If you decide you just don't have the time - you can cancel at any time! There is NO RISK to you!

🔑 *In this episode, you'll learn:*

1️⃣ **Ripple Effect of Success**: Discover Melissa's dynamite strategy for mobilizing your team with the 'ripple effect of success' - a way to visualize and actualize the widespread impact of reaching those towering goals.

2️⃣ **Rocks vs. Goals**: Melissa demystifies the concept of "rocks" as the pivotal levers, laying out a crystal-clear road for you to hit those targets with precision and finesse.

3️⃣ **Environment Matters**: Ever thought about the setting of your meetings? Melissa will change your game by stressing the 'natural' factor in creating a productive off-site atmosphere.

4️⃣ **The Huddle Hustle**: Stay in tune with daily huddles and how they can maintain the momentum of your operations. Yes, even at the close of the day!

5️⃣ **Engage to Win**: We share Melissa's pro tips for keeping both on-site and virtual teams pumped and productive.

🤓 *Fun Fact*

Did you know that mixing up the crowd can work magic for team communication? Jay Ruane reveals how switching up colleague groups can be a total camaraderie booster - because who doesn't love a stellar mash-up?

✌️ *Outro with a Grateful Shoutout*

We can't wrap up without a massive thank you to our exceptional guest, Melissa Shanahan, who brought her A-game, leaving us with strategies that are nothing short of transformative.

This time, Jay dives deep into the world of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs and the amazing potential they hold for your legal practice.

🤓 Here's What You'll Learn:

Referral Strategies:

Jay shares his secrets on using CLE programs to build a robust referral network. From creating captivating presentations 🎤 to choosing the right partners 🤝, you'll get actionable tips to enhance your practice.

Time-Saving Tools:

Discover how Jay uses cool tools like SlyDial and Handwrytten to streamline his communication 📱✍️, making his follow-ups swift and effective ⏱️.

Event Planning Tips:

From picking the perfect timing 🕒 to partnering with local bar associations ⚖️, Jay shares his playbook for hosting successful CLE events that people actually want to attend 🎉.

Engaging with Communities:

Learn creative ways to connect with various groups, such as Rotary clubs or local reporters 🗞️, to expand your referral networks beyond the legal world 🌍.

🎉 Fun Fact from the Episode: Did you know Jay manages a master spreadsheet in his office specifically for rotating referrals? It's an organized and effective system inspired by how local police rotate tow companies. Talk about a well-oiled machine!

Change is hard. 😓 Incredibly slow. 🐢 And when your law firm decides to finally apply business strategy and systemize itself, you may run into legacy employees who are resistant to change. Even if you really want to implement new things, if your team isn't on board, you may find yourself frustrated 😤 and even throw your hands up and give up on the change you desperately need.

But it doesn't have to be this way. 💡 Matt Homann, former attorney, CEO, and founder of The Filament in St. Louis, will be joining us to help our firms address overt (and covert) resistance to change. It could be a long-time employee desperate to hold onto institutional knowledge that makes them indispensable, or just old habits that are hard to break across the firm, but change is required to take your firm to the next level. 🚀 There are proven ways to address change and Matt will help us find ways to make change easier and (maybe, just maybe) welcome in our firms! This session is PACKED with nuggets that will transform your firm. 💼✨

Join Matt Homann and Jay Ruane as they dive into strategies for managing change in your office. Gain actionable insights for improving team dynamics, communication, and decision-making in your law firm.

• Emphasizing the importance of in-person retreats for collaboration and culture-building. 🤝🏽
• Utilizing frameworks like "easy, hard, safe, crazy" and "I wish, I wonder, I worry" to generate and refine ideas. 💭🛠️
• Addressing the impact of AI on employee roles and task prioritization. 🤖📋
• Implementing a daily check-in system to monitor team engagement and well-being. ✅😊
• Establishing principles, promises, and priorities to rebuild and maintain firm culture. 🏛️🔄