Personal Injury Mastermind Ep. 375 – “Best PIMoments Replay: Reach 10K PI Clients, AI + Marketing”

Host: Chris Dreyer
Guest: Josh Schmerling, Partner at Zirkin & Schmerling Law, Co-Founder of LawPro AI
Date: December 23, 2025

Overview

This episode centers on firm growth through innovation, process optimization, and embracing AI technology in personal injury law. Chris Dreyer interviews Josh Schmerling about how Zirkin & Schmerling Law scaled from local firm to major market contender, the operational bottlenecks they overcame, and how their AI-driven startup, LawPro AI, is transforming client service and law firm efficiency. Key themes include data-driven decision making, navigating a fragmented legal marketing landscape, future-proofing personal injury practices, and using technology to deliver better outcomes at scale.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Scale? Vision and Mindset Shift

• Trigger for Growth: Josh describes a shift from contentment to ambition, motivated by a desire to help more people and increase community impact.
  • “One day I woke up and I just said, this isn't enough. This is one life I have. Are there more people that we can help and be a greater influence in our community? And our vision now is to help 10,000 injured people over the next 10 years.” (00:22, Schmerling)
• Vision Redefined: The firm sets a new target: 10,000 injury clients served in a decade, ensuring the operational backbone to support the scale. (03:04–03:31)

2. Operational Bottlenecks & The Birth of LawPro AI

• Problem Area: As caseloads grew, the biggest bottleneck was reviewing and processing medical records; key personnel spent their best hours reading files instead of driving higher-level growth.
  • “I had my best people in my office, my top, top paralegals reading medical records all day. And I knew that there was a better way for them to handle our office… I Co founded LawPro AI about two years ago…” (03:57)
• AI Solution: LawPro AI automates medical record reviews, creates case chronologies, and drafts demand letters, freeing staff for more valuable contributions and driving firm scalability. (01:13, 03:57–06:00, 08:30)
  • “You can take all of your medical records, upload it to our system…we’re fully AI and engineering based, no humans on the backend…within 30–45 minutes, you have the case summary, medical chronology, everything you need.” (08:30, Schmerling)

3. Marketing & Client Acquisition in a Fragmented Landscape

• Selective Channel Focus: Zirkin & Schmerling Law avoids high-spend radio and TV, prioritizing digital channels—SEO, paid search, social (Meta, TikTok), and LSAs—for efficient market penetration.
  • “I don’t want to get into radio or TV… but what we did want to focus in on was really increase our volume…so that leaves us with social…it leaves us with online SEO, pay per click, LSA…” (06:16, Schmerling)
• Cost Challenges: Recognize increased cost-per-case acquisition due to PE consolidation and channel shifts—incremental efficiency gains, process optimization, and tech adoption provide leverage. (06:51–07:12, Dreyer)

4. Intake, Team, and Process Maturation

• Intake as Sales: Bringing intake in-house, hiring outside traditional legal tracks (bringing in experienced sales professionals), and viewing client intake as the first, crucial sales touchpoint.
  • “She was at a publicly traded company and helped run sales for them…no legal background. But I’m going to have her help kind of run and lead our intake team…” (07:12, Schmerling)
• Process Evolution: As firms grow, process and quality controls become essential; success means shifting from survival to intentional, scalable operations. (03:57–06:00)

5. Technical Details & Trust in AI Outputs

• Multi-Model Approach: LawPro AI doesn’t just use one language model—system automatically selects the best from several leading LLMs for specific tasks.
  • “We work with a lot of different LLMs…patent pending technology that…uses lots of different LLMs at one time…goes through that LLM to pull out whatever data we’re looking for.” (09:47, Schmerling)
• Preventing Errors: Patent-pending verification checks all outputs for hallucinations, with citations tied directly to medical record sources for transparency and reliability.
  • “We also have patent-pending technology that actually reviews our end result…to make sure if there’s a hallucination it picks up on, it can change it automatically…If you ask for a demand letter, it’s going to have citations…you can see the record yourself…” (10:24, Schmerling)

6. The Impact & Future of AI in PI Law

• AI as the New Baseline: Adoption is non-negotiable for survival. Efficiency allows firms to control expenses, deliver better client outcomes, and avoid getting priced out by well-resourced competition.
  • “Lawyers used to say…‘I’m not into AI.’…I would say to them, you’re not going to be in business eventually. It’s the same as going from a typewriter to a computer…Anyone that stuck with a typewriter…was not going to stay in business.” (11:38, Schmerling)
• Speed to Resolution: AI will shrink claim processing times, improve margins, and may give negotiating firms an edge; those ignoring these tools risk obsolescence. (12:41–13:24)
• Trial Firms & Market Dynamics: Firms that refuse to try cases (“pre-lit only”) have short-term advantages if marketing-rich, but long-term, they must adapt or risk irrelevance as insurers track which firms actually go to trial.
  • “Insurance companies have books on all law firms…they know who’s willing to follow suit and who’s not…some are starting to…hire attorneys to try cases…they see the writing on the wall…” (13:24, Schmerling)

7. Recruiting and Compensating Legal Talent

• Market for Trial Lawyers: High-performing trial attorneys command premium compensation as firms compete for the skillset, leading to “golden handcuffs” strategies.
  • “Everyone in my office has to try cases…If I find someone that I think’s to be good in front of a judge or jury, I’m hiring them even if I’m not looking right now, just because they’re hard to find.” (15:06, Schmerling)
• Changing Law Firm Pathways: New lawyers have lucrative options at growth-minded firms, shifting the calculus on starting solo practices.
  • “Maybe there won’t be as many new startups because you can go to an established firm…still make a lot of money…” (15:29, Dreyer)

Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [00:22] Schmerling on Vision:
  “This is one life I have. Are there more people that we can help and be a greater influence in our community? And our vision now is to help 10,000 injured people over the next 10 years.”

• [03:57] Schmerling on Bottlenecks:
  “I had my top, top paralegals reading medical records all day… I Co founded LawPro AI about two years ago… Now my director of operations is driving culture and hiring, not reading records.”

• [06:16] Schmerling on Marketing:
  “I don’t want to get into radio or tv… we have really taken a deep dive into all those [digital] areas and those are areas that we’ll continue trying to dive into.”

• [11:38] Schmerling on AI Adoption:
  “It’s the same as going from a typewriter to a computer from my perspective. And anyone that stuck with a typewriter…was not going to stay in business.”

• [10:24] Schmerling on Trusting LawPro AI:
  “We have patent pending technology that actually reviews our end result before it goes to the law firm to look and change to make sure if there's a hallucination it picks up on, it can change it automatically.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:22–01:13 – Vision shift: from contentment to 10,000 client mission
• 02:05–03:31 – Firm growth strategy and team scale-up
• 03:57–06:00 – Medical records bottleneck, LawPro AI origin story
• 06:16–06:51 – Marketing channel selection & digital focus
• 07:12–08:30 – In-house intake & impact of non-legal hires
• 08:30–09:47 – LawPro AI technical overview
• 09:47–10:24 – Multi-LLM architecture and preventing hallucinations
• 10:24–11:33 – Ensuring reliability/trust in AI outputs
• 11:38–13:24 – The near- and mid-term future of AI in PI law
• 13:24–15:29 – Trial attorneys, law firm adaptation, recruiting
• 15:43–16:17 – Associate pay and the legal career ladder
• 16:17–end – How to contact Josh Schmerling

Resources & Guest Contact

• Josh Schmerling (LawPro AI): Email josh@lawproai.com for discussion about law, operations, or technology. (16:17)

Tone & Closing

The episode is candid, insight-driven, and highly practical: Schmerling’s real-world experience (as both a PI lawyer and legal tech founder) offers a roadmap for firms wanting to grow intentionally and future-proof operations. Dreyer’s questions pull out tactical strategies as well as broader vision, blending business fundamentals with upcoming disruptions.

For PI firm leaders:

• Embrace process optimization and tech like AI for scale
• Focus on digital-first marketing
• Invest in talent, incentivize trial readiness
• Continuous improvement is key—"keep innovating, keep growing, and keep building the practice of your dreams.”

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