Maximum Lawyer Podcast Summary

Episode: The 3 Part Power Model to Scale a Law Firm Without Hiring an Army
Host: Tyson Mutrux
Guest: Hamid Kohan (Legal Soft)
Date: December 16, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into how law firms can drastically scale operations without massive headcount, focusing on the “Three Part Power Model.” Host Tyson Mutrux and guest Hamid Kohan, a legal tech entrepreneur, discuss the evolving dynamics of law firm staffing through local, virtual, and AI-powered resources. They candidly explore the technological disruptions facing the legal industry, from the overwhelming wave of AI solutions to the challenges of tech adoption in law firms, and look ahead at the fate of transactional legal work in a world where smart automation is fast becoming the norm.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of the Three Part Power Model

• Problem Definition:
  Law firms nationwide struggle to find affordable, skilled local staff. The classic “hire an army” approach isn't feasible for most.
  • "Staffing has been terrible…hard to find qualified, affordable, reliable legal staff to work in the firms. And then it spread all over the place. From New York to LA, it’s the same challenge." (Hamid, 01:41)
• Inspired by other industries, Hamid explored global staffing, but realized standard virtual assistants weren’t skilled enough for legal work.
• Legal Soft’s innovation: identify and train global staff to legal-industry standards—introducing the first two legs of his model.

2. Explanation of the Three Part Power Model

• Model Breakdown:
  • 1/3 Local Staff: Onsite team members for tasks requiring a physical presence.
  • 1/3 Virtual Staff: Remote, global legal professionals.
  • 1/3 AI: Leverage artificial intelligence for automation and process efficiency.
• Quote: "Now with the evolution of the AI, now the third needs to be AI, a third virtual, a third in-house." (Hamid, 03:30)
• The model’s evolution is ongoing: future innovations may add more “slices.”

3. The Surprising Speed of AI Adoption

• Hamid didn’t expect AI to be key so quickly:
  • "I would have never guessed it goes this fast…the implementation of AI is going 100x faster than anybody expected." (Hamid, 04:07)
• Overwhelm is real: the flood of legal AI solutions actually stalls firm adoption due to analysis paralysis.
  • "By end of the day I’m so overwhelmed and not making no decisions…so I’m saying, you know what, I’m just going to wait until the dust settles." (Hamid, 05:41)

4. Need for Integrated, All-in-One Platforms

• Frustration with tools’ fragmentation—firms use dozens of disconnected software:
  • "In the legal space…you got to have 40 different softwares to do anything. That just seems insane to me." (Tyson, 08:59)
• Hamid aims for one unified AI law firm operating system, akin to the CRM space (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot).
• Successful legal tech solutions start with clear problem statements and “doable, not imaginary” solutions. (Hamid, 11:10)

5. Tech Adoption vs. Law Firm Culture

• Most lawyers are slow to adapt, focused on doing things “by the book:”
  • "If you let them alone, they'd still be wearing their pagers, waiting at the fax machine…Adoptability for this crowd is difficult." (Hamid, 13:32)
• Law school doesn’t prepare students for tech, business, or innovation.

6. AI’s Impact on Transactional Law

• Prediction: 65% of all transactional law firms will disappear, replaced by AI-driven processes.
  • Quote: "65% of all transactional law firms going to go away." (Hamid, 15:13)
  • Use cases: Immigration, bankruptcy, estate planning—if it’s mostly paperwork, AI can do nearly all of it.
  • Real-world example: AI tool to automate all functions in an immigration law practice, eliminating need for most staff.

7. Practice Area Breakdown: What Survives?

• Transactional Law: Most at risk (“no lawyering being done”).
• Complex Litigation: Some protection due to need for real advocacy and nuanced argument.
  • "Where there is this, there’s going to be arguing. That’s what’s going to happen." (Tyson, 18:48)
• Even much of PI (Personal Injury) pre-litigation can be automated:
  • "65% of pre-lead on PI is going to be AI." (Hamid, 19:04)

8. How to Start a Fully (or Mostly) AI-Powered Firm

• Start by mapping every staff function, then finding existing AI solutions for as many as possible.
• Hire or retain only for high-value-add, irreducibly human work.
• "For my practice that I’m starting tomorrow…I start mapping each one of those positions to the AI solution that already exists." (Hamid, 20:51)
• Referral-based business is a viable entry strategy: generate leads, refer them out, take a cut, and learn the market.

9. The Fate of Legal Jobs

• Paralegals face risk, except “true” paralegals (those involved in substantive tasks like depo prep).
  • "The paralegal who can actually get prepped for deposition, can do mediation prep…that’s a paralegal." (Hamid, 36:38)
• To survive: legal professionals must be “AI-enabled;” using AI for at least 40% of their work is the new safe minimum.

10. The Future of Law Firm Structures

• Expect more solo/lean firms powered by AI and a handful of high-skilled staff.
• Marketing is (still) everything—build lead generation first, then operations.
  • "You need to do your marketing, you need to get your clients…before it gets to the paralegal." (Hamid, 38:16)
• Firms must master financial analytics, process tracking, and efficiency to thrive.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Law Firm Mindsets: "All the limitation is manmade in their own head...is all the limitation is manmade in their own head?" (Hamid, 42:28)
• On AI Solution Overwhelm: "There's so many new things that doesn't give you opportunity to figure out what you already started with." (Hamid, 43:25)
• On Law as a Business: "Lawyers are taught to follow the law, not to lead, not to change anything...so innovation is other law." (Hamid, 24:43)
• On Scaling with AI: "I guarantee [65% of transactional firms] will go away." (Hamid, 15:20)
• On Intake as the First AI Role to Replace: "Intake, legal assistance, document collections and met summaries, document summaries." (Hamid, 45:10)
• On Resistance/Fear: "I'm moving to the moon because it's going to be dangerous here." (Hamid, 21:59)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:30] – Explanation of the Three Part Power Model
• [05:40] – The overwhelm of legal AI tools
• [11:10] – The Silicon Valley approach: problem statements first
• [13:32] – The legal profession’s slow adoption of tech
• [15:13] – "65% of all transactional law firms going to go away."
• [20:51] – Planning a fully-AI firm: mapping jobs to AI solutions
• [38:50] – Starting with marketing in a new AI-driven firm
• [40:36] – The future: “princes and paupers” among law firms
• [42:28] – On mindsets and self-limiting beliefs
• [45:10] – Roles to replace with AI first

Closing Thoughts

Hamid's overarching message is both a warning and a playbook: law firms must wholeheartedly embrace AI, not just for efficiency but for survival. While not all roles will disappear, the vast majority—especially in transactional practice—are at risk. The next few years will draw a sharp line between innovative, tech-enabled firms and those that choose not to adapt. The time for law firm owners to take action is now—or risk being left behind.

How to Connect:

• Hamid Kohan: hkohan@legalsoft.com
• Legal Soft: legalsoft.com
• Law Practice AI: lawpracticeai.com

This summary skips advertisements, intros, and outros, focusing solely on the substantive content and discussions between Tyson Mutrux and Hamid Kohan.