Maximum Lawyer Podcast: "Growing Without Growing Pains: Lessons from Right Law Group"

Host: Tyson Mutrux | Guest: Alexis Austin, Right Law Group
Date: October 7, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Tyson Mutrux welcomes Alexis Austin, co-founder of Right Law Group, for a candid discussion on intentional, sustainable growth in law firm ownership. Alexis shares the evolution of her leadership role, transitioning from hands-on “firm owner” to a high-level visionary and entrepreneur. The episode throws light on Right Law Group’s journey scaling a criminal defense firm, building strong systems and teams, and redefining leadership, purpose, and success in the legal landscape.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Evolving Roles & Leadership Structures

• Separation of Duties at Right Law Group

  • Alexis and her husband Jimmy have structured the firm with clear leadership silos: Jimmy (COLOMA: Chief Operating Legal Officer, Managing Attorney) runs legal operations, Alexis handles finance and marketing.
  • Alexis rarely interacts directly with most team members, allowing the business to operate autonomously.

  "It took years for us to get there, because Jimmy and I had a lot of tension at the beginning. Stepping on each other's toes and having to figure out who's responsible for what... Now, it's really good, and ironically, it's made us better family members too." – Alexis Austin (02:05)

• The Impact of Stepping Back

  • By detaching from daily operations, Alexis notes an increase in team unity and the emergence of a self-sustained organization.
  • Employees have a deeper sense of ownership and the firm has its own identity, independent of the founders’ names.

2. Vision, Growth, and Sustainable Scaling

• Original Vision vs. Evolved Priorities

  • The firm’s initial vision—'Colorado Domination'—was set collaboratively, aiming to be the state's premier criminal defense firm.
  • Over time, Alexis’s personal ambitions outgrew the firm’s scope, guiding her to decouple personal entrepreneurial goals from the firm’s stability needs.

  "I had to look at it and decide what was more important, the feeling of the firm, the cohesiveness of the group, or just cranking out gross revenue goals... What matters is profitability, stability, and a solid trajectory forward." – Alexis Austin (08:09)

• Intentional Slowdown to Build Foundations

  • Right Law Group consciously slowed its rapid growth to solidify systems and processes, enabling future growth without hiring sprees or risking instability.

3. The Key to Scalable Criminal Defense Firms

• Brand Over Individual Attorney

  • To overcome the “name on the door” limitation and ego-driven client expectations, the firm invested in building a team-based brand (“Right Law Group”), funneling all marketing and initial contact through a team focus.
  • Attorneys are only introduced after retainer agreements are signed; paralegals and non-attorney team members handle frequent client communication.

  "We decided to be a brand and make the focus about the team...when we're talking in sales and intake, we never mention the attorneys. We mention the exceptional results our firm gets." – Alexis Austin (12:40)

• Anticipating and Defusing Attorney Pushback

  • Contrary to expectation, firm attorneys appreciate less direct client contact, valuing protected time for legal work over frequent updates.

  "The only pushback I get is 'Why do I have to talk to this person?'...Our attorneys love it. They never ask for more client contact because they trust the team." – Alexis Austin (15:38)

4. Attracting & Retaining Top Legal Talent

• Targeted Recruitment & Culture Building

  • Right Law Group prioritizes attorneys with litigation experience from government backgrounds (DAs, PDs) who value work-life balance and a healthy culture.
  • Recruitment is a multi-stage process (lunch, social, interviews) akin to “dating,” focusing on both skill fit and cultural fit.

• Systems Over Individual Superstars

  • The firm operates on the principle that great systems bring out talent and reveal fit; people aren’t left to figure it out alone.

  "We manage systems, not people...If it's not the system, it becomes very obvious that that person is not working well within the system." – Alexis Austin (21:33)

5. Leadership Philosophy & The 'Owner's Box'

• Delegating Legal Quality Oversight

  • Legal strategies and updates are handled through weekly compartmentalized meetings (case managers, attorneys, assistants), run by Jimmy, allowing Alexis to stay out of day-to-day management.
  • The firm maintains adaptability through weekly feedback loops and open Slack channels for urgent developments.

  "We build systems so no one can deviate...in order to change those systems, we're doing continual feedback loops." – Alexis Austin (26:32)

• Reconsidering the ‘Owner’s Box’ Myth

  • True disengagement is rare; Alexis credits being married to the COO for staying connected, but acknowledges most owners aren’t truly removed.

  "I think if I wasn't married to the person running the firm, it would be a very different feeling, and I would feel much more disconnected. But that just means you gotta marry well." – Alexis Austin (29:28)

6. Personal Life, Work-Life Integration & Homeschooling

• Balancing Family and Business
  • Alexis and Jimmy prioritize family by scheduling shared childcare and date nights, believing “you schedule what matters.”
  • Alexis shares her homeschooling background, emphasizing experiential, independent learning and embedding social opportunities.

7. Consulting, Coaching, and New Ventures

• Consulting vs. Coaching

  • Alexis differentiates consulting (deep, hands-on, firm-specific problem solving) from coaching (teaching general frameworks).
  • Sales (not “consults” or “intakes”) is central to her method—offering genuine solutions, not performative legal advice.

  "Selling is something you do for someone. When you're selling someone, you're trying to help them get what they want." – Alexis Austin (39:41)

• Refocusing on Client-Centered ‘Sales’

  • Alexis teaches intake teams to avoid leads getting legal advice in the first call—improving both sales outcomes and ethical practice.

8. Overcoming Chaos, The Value of Focus, and Leadership Legacy

• Common Law Firm Owner Pitfalls

  • Biggest frustration: owners creating chaos and “shiny object syndrome,” mirroring mistakes Alexis herself once made.

  "I created so much chaos... They build things for other people, not themselves... The simplest, elegant solution is usually the best." – Alexis Austin (48:00)

• Personal Responsibility and Helping Clients Change

  • Coaching is about inviting clients to see—and decide to change—their own self-sabotage patterns, not “fixing” them.

• Leadership as Multiplication of Leaders

  • True leadership is about creating other leaders, not being the smartest—in the law firm and beyond.

  "I think leadership is more like the rudder on a ship... The fatal flaw is wanting to be the smartest person. It’s about moving things forward." – Alexis Austin (55:54)

9. Mindset, Faith, and Lasting Legacy

• Entrepreneurship as an Act of Faith

  • Alexis’s mission is teaching people to use faith (action driven by confident expectation) in business and life.
  • Her aim: help others “get more connected to their purpose,” using faith as a verb, not just belief.

  "My mission in life is to teach people how to utilize faith to live the best life possible... The exercise of faith is taking action towards an expectation." – Alexis Austin (57:54)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Letting Go of Control:

  "What mattered was not always doing things the way I want... but what’s best for the firm, best for the clients, best for the employees." (05:10) – Alexis Austin

• On Sustainable Scaling:

  “Getting to seven figures is actually really, really easy. But a lot of people do it in a really reckless way… it’s about sustainable growth.” (09:47) – Tyson Mutrux

• On Systems vs. People:

  "If you have the correct systems, then the right people rise and shine to those systems. So I think systems." (19:51) – Alexis Austin

• On Sales in Law Firms:

  "Selling is something you do for someone...I call sales 'sales' because it is and should be a sale." (39:41) – Alexis Austin

• On Avoiding Legal Advice in Sales Calls:

  "Providing legal advice on an initial call with a client is unethical. I think it’s dangerous, and I think it risks your license." (41:08) – Alexis Austin

• On Leadership:

  “True leadership is developing other people into leaders. It’s not just one leader; it’s developing everyone else into leaders.” (54:03) – Alexis Austin

• On Chaotic Owners:

  "We think that overcoming something difficult makes us more valuable... The simplest, elegant solution is usually the best." (48:00) – Alexis Austin

• On Mistakes:

  "I don’t think there are mistakes. Making a mistake is just you learning something that didn’t work because now you know how to make it work." (52:27) – Alexis Austin

• On Faith in Business:

  "Entrepreneurship and business ownership is the most gigantic leap of faith a person can take... Faith is an action towards an expectation." (58:20) – Alexis Austin

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:05] – Alexis on separating roles with Jimmy and team autonomy
• [06:50] – Building and renegotiating the firm’s vision
• [09:47] – On the difference between fast growth vs. sustainable growth
• [12:28] – Scaling a criminal defense practice via team branding
• [15:38] – Attorney pushback on client contact (or the lack thereof)
• [19:39] – Systems versus people—what matters more?
• [26:32] – How firm leadership keeps legal strategy current
• [36:59] – Difference between coaching and consulting
• [39:41] – Why Alexis insists on the word “sales”
• [48:00] – The chaos problem: shiny objects and unnecessary complexity
• [54:03] – On leadership and building leaders in the firm
• [58:20] – Defining her mission: teaching faith through entrepreneurship

Takeaways for Law Firm Owners

• Clarity of vision and clear role delineation are vital for both firm growth and founder satisfaction.
• Intentionality in growth—solid systems, embedded culture—prevents burnout and chaos.
• Building a brand rather than a personality-centered practice makes a law firm scalable and sustainable.
• Great systems are more important than great people—but empower the right people to shine and rise to the occasion.
• Leadership is about multiplying leaders, not centralizing power or expertise.
• Personal responsibility and honest assessment are crucial for real change, whether in a law firm or in consulting relationships.
• Entrepreneurial success is an act of faith combined with intentional, persistent action.

For law firm owners aiming to scale deliberately, Alexis Austin’s playbook is clear: Set your vision, build purposeful systems, let your team and brand flourish, and lead with both humility and faith.