Episode 383: Double Revenue 3 Years in a Row (It’s Fewer PI Cases Than You Think) w/ Trey Harrell

Podcast: Personal Injury Mastermind w/ Chris Dreyer
Host: Chris Dreyer, Rankings.io
Guest: Trey Harrell, Trey Harrell Law Office (South Carolina)
Date: January 13, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Chris Dreyer interviews Trey Harrell, founder of the Trey Harrell Law Office, about his remarkable achievement of doubling his law firm’s revenue three years in a row. Trey outlines the practical and focused steps that enabled his firm to grow sustainably, debunking the myth that PI firms need to dominate their entire market or take on overwhelming case numbers. The conversation covers niche case selection, marketing, intake strategy, referral relationships, and the importance of authenticity. Trey provides actionable insight for PI firm owners aiming for scale without sacrificing quality or sanity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The PI Revenue Math: You Only Need a Fraction

• Myth Breakdown: Trey explains firms don’t need the whole market, just a small fraction to succeed.

  • Quote:

    “You really only need a half a percent of what’s available. In 2022, there were 51,000 and some change motor vehicle collisions in South Carolina with injury. Half a percent of that is 256. ...that’s $2 million in revenue.”
    —Trey Harrell [01:06]

• Revenue Realities:

  • Most PI firms overestimate the number of cases they need.
  • Trey’s average case fee benchmarked at $7,500 gets the firm to $2M on a sliver of statewide cases.

2. Bootstrapping and the Early Years

• Background: After leaving the U.S. Attorney’s office in 2020, Trey started with $10k in savings (from selling an old boat) and a need to make it work for his family.

• Cash Flow Challenges:

  • Acknowledged the slow cash cycle in PI (often 12–18 months before revenue flows in).
  • Emphasized tactical resourcefulness and careful case selection.
  • Relying on writing wills, handling criminal defense, and estate planning to stay afloat.

• Quote:

  “You had to focus on what you could get in the door and what you could handle. It’s not just taking anything. It’s taking something you can handle.”
  —Trey Harrell [02:20]

• Building Leverage:

  • Incrementally increased a line of credit as revenue grew, facilitated by local banking relationships.

3. Authentic Branding & Positioning

• Rejecting Big Firm Imitation:
  • “The breakthrough moment was realizing you didn’t want to copy the big firm model.”
    —Chris Dreyer [04:43]
• Finding Your Voice:
  • Trey draws inspiration from Dolly Parton:

    “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

  • Built the brand around personal values and market fit, focusing on the “sliver” of cases and clients that are the right match.
  • Intentionally excludes poor fit cases (e.g., immigration) through referral.

4. The Power of Client Relationships & Storytelling

• Choosing Personal Injury Focus:

  • Trey shares a memorable story: an alert about a multi-million-dollar PI settlement led his wife to quip, “Yeah, and it ain’t going to be in estate planning.”
    [06:54]

• Family Influences:

  • Coming from a family of insurance professionals and an insurance defense lawyer uncle, Trey grew up with an insider’s perspective on the industry.

• Client Advocacy:

  • Maintaining long-term, authentic relationships leads to recurring business and referrals.
  • The role of the family in steering his career direction.

5. Niche Down, Refer Out, and Partner Strategically

• Deliberate Focus:
  • Started by narrowing to what could be best handled—in his case, auto accidents.
• Referral Wisdom:
  • Early on, referred out unfamiliar or complex matters, gradually learning to handle more himself.
  • Prioritized what’s best for the client, even if it means sharing fees:

    “Half of a watermelon is better than all of a grape.”
    —Trey Harrell [08:43]

• Referral Relationships:
  • Maintains co-counsel relationships where possible, ensuring the client feels supported throughout.
  • Refers to and learns from fellow lawyers, which builds mutual value and more referrals.

6. Scaling Up: New Offices, Market Awareness, and Smart Marketing

• Expansion Catalyst:

  • Opened new offices in Greenville and Somerville based on referral demand—not just arbitrary scaling.
  • Responds nimbly to where clients are, not just where the firm is physically located.

• Marketing Philosophy:

  • “Advertising is a consistently changing beast.” (Quote paraphrased from Babe Ruth: “You can’t win games on yesterday’s home runs.”)
  • Focus on understanding local market nuances and only targeting the “sliver” of cases required for success.

• Data-Driven Approach:

  • Routinely monitors market size, case numbers, and average fees to benchmark firm growth.

7. Referrals, Community, and Protecting the PI Practice

• Lawyer Community:
  • Maintains robust relationships with other PI attorneys.
  • Sees a collaborative PI legal community as crucial for weathering challenges like tort reform and insurance pushback.

    “If we’re not working together… you’re going to get bad law. And if you get bad law, that’s bad for the client.”
    —Trey Harrell [15:00]

• Referral Management:
  • Regularly sends turndowns or cases outside the firm’s focus to trusted colleagues, sometimes yielding referral checks “in the mail.”

8. Intake, Tech Stack, and Sales Systems

• Intake is Everything:

  • Intake must be immediate, responsive, and relentless—Trey was answering leads day and night early on.
  • Proverb:

    “If you can get a fish on the line, if you can’t get them in the boat, it doesn’t matter... you’re not gonna eat.”
    —Trey Harrell [17:54]

• Technology Stack:

  • Uses Intake Accelerator with Lead Docket for lead management.
  • Uses Case Peer for case management; the systems “speak very well together.”
  • Dedicated in-house intake coordinator (promoted from within); marketing director was the first hire.

• Sales Mentality:

  • “Sales fixes everything.”
  • The firm stays flexible and quick to respond, believing lead response is directly tied to growth.

9. Vision for the Future & Leadership Philosophy

• Incremental Growth Over Giant Leaps:

  • Growth is stepwise, focused on “the next step on the staircase,” not chasing being a mega-firm overnight.
  • As the firm grows, Trey aims to handle more cases in-house without losing flexibility or client focus.

• Work-Life Balance:

  • Values the ability to prioritize family for both himself and his staff—does not want that compromised by over-expansion.

10. Final Advice & Notable Quotes

• #1 Lesson: Always Ask

  • “Don’t ask, you don’t get. Always, always ask the question. Take the shot. Try to figure it out.”
    —Trey Harrell [21:25]

• Peer Learning:

  • Trey encourages lawyers to use the community and reach out, noting he did so frequently himself for advice and growth.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Focus:

  “I was always focused on what I could get across the threshold.”
  —Trey Harrell [02:23]

• On Marketing Assets:

  “You’ve got to consistently know your market, right? It changes and evolves, but you have to be tuned in and know your market.”
  —Trey Harrell [12:24]

• On Intake:

  “If you don’t get that fish into the boat, you know you ain’t gonna eat.”
  —Trey Harrell [17:54]

• On Asking for Help:

  “If I didn’t ask my buddy from law school for referrals, my practice wouldn’t have grown. … Always, always, always don’t be afraid to ask the question. Because if you don’t ask, you don’t get.”
  —Trey Harrell [21:25]

Important Timestamps

• The "half a percent" math & PI revenue clarity – [01:06], [13:15]
• How Trey bootstrapped with $10K – [02:20]
• Authenticity and building a brand – [04:47]
• Deciding to focus on PI (the “car radio” story) – [06:10]–[06:54]
• Referral system for handling outside-capaity or unfamiliar cases – [08:43]–[10:19]
• Expansion rationale: responding to referral demand – [12:08]
• Sales, intake systems, and staff roles – [16:53]–[19:12]
• Trey’s leadership vision and future goals – [19:40]
• Trey’s advice to “always ask”—the family wisdom – [21:14]

Summary Takeaways

• PI law firm growth does not require dominance—targeting a sliver of the market, executed with systems and focus, is plenty.
• Authenticity in branding and service quality, coupled with strong intake and referral systems, compounds growth.
• Relationships—with clients and other lawyers—are competitive advantages in both client acquisition and weathering industry disruption.
• Embracing technology and relentless focus on sales/intake can transform small practices into durable growth engines.
• Workable, step-by-step growth—rather than chasing rapid, chaotic scale—is key to sustainable, successful firm-building in PI law.

Contact for Trey Harrell:

• Social: [@TreyHelps]
• Web: treyhelps.com
• Email: tray@attorneyharrell.com

“You don’t need the whole market. You need the right cases handled well with systems that can support the next step forward." – Chris Dreyer [22:18]