Power Up Your Practice

Welcome to Power Up Your Practice, the go-to law practice management podcast for law firm owners and managing attorneys working on the business, not in it.Hosted by Ruby Powers, your guide into the heart of law practice management. Each week, learn insights from leading legal minds, trailblazing attorneys, and expert guests who provide you with actionable advice, out-of-the-box solutions, and a fresh perspective on running your firm more effectively and efficiently.Prepare to open your mind, be inspired, and power up your practice to the next level.

Power Up Your Practice is a business podcast hosted by Ruby Powers, with 133 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Ruby Powers hosts Power Up Your Practice, a business show with 133 episodes published.

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  Power Up Your Practice

  Ep. 134: Buying a Firm, PE Trends & Vaccine Injury Practice with Jon Groth

  Sep 29, 202647 min

  In this episode, Ruby Powers sits down with Jon Groth — founder and managing partner of Groth Law Firm in Milwaukee, trial lawyer, and host of the Groth Law Firm podcast — for a wide-ranging conversation about where the personal injury space is heading and what firm owners need to be doing right now to stay ahead of it. Jon started his firm in 2010 in his basement with his dog running overhead. Today he runs an eight-attorney practice that grew through smart hiring, strategic acquisition, and a relentless focus on running the firm like a business. He's been to the conferences, read the books, done the deal — and he's here to share what he actually learned. What we explore: ✅ Private Equity Is Already Here: It's not coming — it's already buying family law firms, personal injury practices, and everything in between. Jon breaks down what he learned at the Vista consulting conference in Baltimore, who's getting approached first, and what the timeline looks like for small and mid-sized firms. ✅ How to Prepare Regardless: Whether you ever want to sell or not, the playbook is the same — run your firm like a business, understand your numbers, know your EBITDA, separate the law from the back office, and build systems that don't depend on you. The firms that have done that work will have options. The ones that haven't won't. ✅ How to Win Against PE-Backed Competitors: More advertising spend, more cases, more scale — but less personal service. Jon's answer is unreasonable hospitality, white glove client service, and becoming the hometown hero that a Morgan & Morgan never can be. ✅ Buying a Law Firm: How Jon acquired a Milwaukee practice through a firm broker, what the due diligence actually looked like, how they valued cases before any money changed hands, and the one surprise that came after closing — and why it wasn't the firm's fault. ✅ Vaccine Injury Practice: The practice area most lawyers — and most doctors — have never heard of. How the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program works, what on-table and off-table injuries mean, why billions of dollars sit in a fund waiting to pay valid claims that never get filed, and where COVID vaccine injuries currently stand. If you're a PI firm owner trying to understand what's coming, thinking about buying a practice, or just curious about a niche that almost nobody knows exists — this episode covers all three. Connect with Jon Groth: Website: grothlawfirm.com Podcast: Groth Law Firm Podcast SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: Law Firm Retreat: Power Up Your Practice Into Reality – January 2027 in Austin, TX. More details coming soon — stay tuned! We Love Your Feedback! Help us design the next year of the podcast. Take this 2-minute audience survey: https://forms.gle/EgMgxd3tbXCsmqgp9 Join the conversation in our Power Up Your Practice community! Hosted by Ruby Powers, your guide into the heart of law practice management. Each week, learn insights from leading legal minds, trailblazing attorneys, and expert guests who provide you with actionable advice, out-of-the-box solutions, and a fresh perspective on running your firm more effectively and efficiently. Prepare to open your mind, be inspired, and power up your practice to the next level. Watch more episodes of Power Up Your Practice on: Website: powersstrategygroup.com YouTube: @powersstrategygroup Join our Skool Community - Power Hub: https://www.skool.com/powerupyourpractice Connect and learn more from your host, Ruby Powers: LinkedIn: /rubypowers Facebook: /poweruppractice Website: rubypowers.com Ruby's Book: Power Up Your Practice on Amazon Trusted Resources from Our Toolkit: • Stafi https://calendly.com/d/csbk-3y4-35w/staffing-strategy-session-stafi-ruby-powers?month=2025-07 • Filevine https://www.filevine.com/partner/powers-referral/ • CandleAI https://www.trycandle.ai/powers • Vonage https://share.vonage.com/zones/friend_landing_experience_microsite?extole_share_channel=%5C%22SHARE_LINK%5C%22&extole_shareable_code=wzq4f&referral_id=wzq4f&source=%5C%22direct%5C%22&utm_source=Power+Up+Your+Practice+by+Power+Strategy+Group&utm_campaign=a7c6feafe9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_13_07_58_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3b4d3388ea-a7c6feafe9-746189731

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  Power Up Your Practice

  Ep. 133: Vicarious Trauma & Resilience: What Every Lawyer Needs to Know with Jenny Hughes

  Sep 22, 202648 min

  In this episode, Ruby Powers sits down with Jenny Hughes, PhD — trauma psychologist, founder of the Brave Trauma Therapist Collective, and creator of the Brave Method of Vicarious Trauma and Resilience — for a conversation that most lawyers have never had but desperately need. Jenny started her career in child trauma and infant mental health, then became the trauma psychologist at a Level 1 trauma center in New Orleans — where she went from zero-to-five-year-olds to gunshot survivors overnight. That experience is where she first encountered vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout up close, and where she realized nobody was helping the helpers. She's spent her career since then building the tools and the language that helping professionals — including lawyers — need to keep doing their work without losing themselves in it. What we explore: ✅ The Definitions You Never Got in Law School: The difference between vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout — what each one is, how they're different, and why you're likely experiencing at least one of them right now. ✅ You Cannot Avoid Vicarious Trauma: It happens through the same empathic engagement that makes you good at your job. The goal is not to avoid it — it's to normalize it so you can actually work with it. ✅ Vicarious Resilience: The counterbalance most people have never heard of. The same pathways that absorb trauma also give you access to the transformation your clients experience — and learning to notice and install that is one of the most powerful tools a lawyer can have. ✅ The Soft Transitions Exercise: A two-to-three-minute practice Jenny developed that can be integrated into any existing team meeting — no new meetings required. Ruby walks through it live on the episode, and it's worth pausing just to try it yourself. ✅ Community as the Most Protective Factor: The very first thing Ruby named when Jenny turned the interview around on her — and the research backs it up. Why peer groups, consultation calls, and even happy hours with colleagues who understand the work make a measurable difference. ✅ What Law Firm Leaders Can Do Right Now: Why the change has to be top-down, how to create space for lawyers and staff to talk about the weight of the work without shame, and why this is a retention and turnover issue as much as it is a wellness issue. If you've ever walked out of a client meeting carrying something you couldn't put down, wondered if something was wrong with you, or just needed someone to name what you've been feeling — this episode is for you. Connect with Jenny Hughes: Website: braveproviders.com Free resource: Soft Transitions Exercise — braveproviders.com Podcast: Vicarious Trauma and Resilience Podcast SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: Law Firm Retreat: Power Up Your Practice Into Reality – January 2027 in Austin, TX. More details coming soon — stay tuned! We Love Your Feedback! Help us design the next year of the podcast. Take this 2-minute audience survey: https://forms.gle/EgMgxd3tbXCsmqgp9 Join the conversation in our Power Up Your Practice community! Hosted by Ruby Powers, your guide into the heart of law practice management. Each week, learn insights from leading legal minds, trailblazing attorneys, and expert guests who provide you with actionable advice, out-of-the-box solutions, and a fresh perspective on running your firm more effectively and efficiently. Prepare to open your mind, be inspired, and power up your practice to the next level. Watch more episodes of Power Up Your Practice on: Website: powersstrategygroup.com YouTube: @powersstrategygroup Join our Skool Community - Power Hub: https://www.skool.com/powerupyourpractice Connect and learn more from your host, Ruby Powers: LinkedIn: /rubypowers Facebook: /poweruppractice Website: rubypowers.com Ruby's Book: Power Up Your Practice on Amazon Trusted Resources from Our Toolkit: Stafi https://calendly.com/d/csbk-3y4-35w/staffing-strategy-session-stafi-ruby-powers?month=2025-07 Filevine https://www.filevine.com/partner/powers-referral/ CandleAI https://www.trycandle.ai/powers Vonage https://share.vonage.com/zones/friend_landing_experience_microsite?extole_share_channel=%5C%22SHARE_LINK%5C%22&extole_shareable_code=wzq4f&referral_id=wzq4f&source=%5C%22direct%5C%22&utm_source=Power+Up+Your+Practice+by+Power+Strategy+Group&utm_campaign=a7c6feafe9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_13_07_58_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3b4d3388ea-a7c6feafe9-746189731

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  Power Up Your Practice

  Ep. 132: Stop Playing It Safe: Ghostwriting, Poker & Bold Moves with Amanda Botfeld

  Sep 15, 202644 min

  In this episode, Ruby Powers sits down with Amanda Botfeld — published author, founder of Finally Get Your Book Done, and author of A Girl's Guide to Poker — for a conversation about two things that have more in common than most people realize: writing your book and playing to win. Amanda has bylines in the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, and Los Angeles Times. She submitted to the WSJ op-ed desk over and over for a year before they ran her piece. She played the World Series of Poker main event with her father and they both cashed. She teaches poker to executive women at Goldman Sachs. And she built a ghostwriting company that helps people who have a story to tell finally get it on paper — in their own voice, live, sentence by sentence. What we explore: ✅ Why People Write Books: The permanence and crystallization of what you know, what you've been through, and what you keep repeating to everyone around you. Why a book is different from every other format — and why now might be your moment. ✅ The Finally Get Your Book Done Model: Collaborative ghostwriting done live on Zoom, where you're in the driver's seat for every sentence. Why it's faster than traditional ghostwriting, more authentic than handing off your story, and more demanding than people expect — in a good way. ✅ What Holds Most Manuscripts Back: Hands down, it's not being willing to be vulnerable. The people who hold back, gloss over things, and play it safe on the page end up with books that don't land. The ones who go there — that's what draws readers in. ✅ Poker as a Business Framework: Aggression frequency, playing the hand you have, why playing it safe is statistically a losing strategy, and what happens when you stop waiting for perfect cards and start making moves. ✅ Women in Poker, Women in Business: Why something changes between age 14 and 40 that makes women more risk-averse at the table — and how the same pattern shows up in boardrooms, pitch meetings, and business bank accounts. What it takes to lean into your strengths and stop being afraid of making a mistake. ✅ What Great Writing Actually Is: It's not about saying something new. It's about saying something people already believe in a way that is shockingly, refreshingly, and inspiringly clear. Pace, cadence, and sticking the landing. If you've been thinking about writing a book, or you've been playing it safe in your business — this episode is your permission slip to stop waiting. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: Law Firm Retreat: Power Up Your Practice Into Reality – January 2027 in Austin, TX. More details coming soon — stay tuned! We Love Your Feedback! Help us design the next year of the podcast. Take this 2-minute audience survey: https://forms.gle/EgMgxd3tbXCsmqgp9 Join the conversation in our Power Up Your Practice community! Hosted by Ruby Powers, your guide into the heart of law practice management. Each week, learn insights from leading legal minds, trailblazing attorneys, and expert guests who provide you with actionable advice, out-of-the-box solutions, and a fresh perspective on running your firm more effectively and efficiently. Prepare to open your mind, be inspired, and power up your practice to the next level. Watch more episodes of Power Up Your Practice on: Website: powersstrategygroup.com YouTube: @powersstrategygroup Join our Skool Community - Power Hub: https://www.skool.com/powerupyourpractice Connect and learn more from your host, Ruby Powers: LinkedIn: /rubypowers Facebook: /poweruppractice Website: rubypowers.com Ruby's Book: Power Up Your Practice on Amazon Trusted Resources from Our Toolkit: • Stafi https://calendly.com/d/csbk-3y4-35w/staffing-strategy-session-stafi-ruby-powers?month=2025-07 • Filevine https://www.filevine.com/partner/powers-referral/ • CandleAI https://www.trycandle.ai/powers • Vonage https://share.vonage.com/zones/friend_landing_experience_microsite?extole_share_channel=%5C%22SHARE_LINK%5C%22&extole_shareable_code=wzq4f&referral_id=wzq4f&source=%5C%22direct%5C%22&utm_source=Power+Up+Your+Practice+by+Power+Strategy+Group&utm_campaign=a7c6feafe9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_13_07_58_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3b4d3388ea-a7c6feafe9-746189731

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  Power Up Your Practice

  Ep. 131: Stop Chasing Invoices: Legal Payments & Disbursements with Emery Wager

  Sep 8, 202636 min

  In this episode, Ruby Powers sits down with Emery Wager, co-founder of Confido Legal, for a conversation about one of the most overlooked parts of running a law firm: actually getting paid — and getting money where it needs to go. Emery came to legal payments from the outside. While managing outside counsel relationships at a previous company, he was personally responsible for paying millions of dollars in legal bills — and was consistently putting law firm invoices at the bottom of the pile because the experience was so difficult. That frustration became the foundation for Confido, a digital integrated payments platform built specifically for the legal space, now working with over 1,600 law firms across North America. What we explore: ✅ The Collect Early Billing Model: Why the default — do the work, send the invoice, hope you get paid — is the worst possible system for cash flow. The four billing models that actually work: evergreen retainer, auto-billing, flat fee, and subscription, and why the best firms bill multiple times a month. ✅ Cash Flow vs. Collection Rate: Why getting paid in 15 days instead of 45 days is worth almost a month of revenue — and what you can do with that money when it's in the bank instead of sitting as accounts receivable. ✅ Why Disbursements Are Still Stuck in the Past: Almost every plaintiff firm Emery talks to is still sending paper checks. In 2026. With AI intake, AI demand letters, and sophisticated case management — and then the moment the case settles, everything goes completely offline. ✅ The Paper Check Problem: Why checks are becoming one of the most dangerous ways to move money, what the actual fraud loss rates look like, and why your account and routing number going out to hundreds of people a month is a risk most firms haven't thought through. ✅ How to Start: You don't have to overhaul everything at once. Try digital disbursements on one small case. See how the client reacts. See what it does to overhead. Then phase it in. Dip your toe in the water before you commit. ✅ The Marine Corps Lesson That Runs His Company: Go to the point of friction. Don't stand behind the battlefield directing traffic — find the single place where the outcome is being decided and get there. If your firm is still billing monthly, still sending paper checks, or still hoping invoices get paid — this episode is your wake-up call. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: Law Firm Retreat: Power Up Your Practice Into Reality – January 2027 in Austin, TX. More details coming soon — stay tuned! We Love Your Feedback! Help us design the next year of the podcast. Take this 2-minute audience survey: https://forms.gle/EgMgxd3tbXCsmqgp9 Join the conversation in our Power Up Your Practice community! Hosted by Ruby Powers, your guide into the heart of law practice management. Each week, learn insights from leading legal minds, trailblazing attorneys, and expert guests who provide you with actionable advice, out-of-the-box solutions, and a fresh perspective on running your firm more effectively and efficiently. Prepare to open your mind, be inspired, and power up your practice to the next level. Watch more episodes of Power Up Your Practice on: Website: powersstrategygroup.com YouTube: @powersstrategygroup Join our Skool Community - Power Hub: https://www.skool.com/powerupyourpractice Connect and learn more from your host, Ruby Powers: LinkedIn: /rubypowers Facebook: /poweruppractice Website: rubypowers.com Ruby's Book: Power Up Your Practice on Amazon Trusted Resources from Our Toolkit: • Stafi https://calendly.com/d/csbk-3y4-35w/staffing-strategy-session-stafi-ruby-powers?month=2025-07 • Filevine https://www.filevine.com/partner/powers-referral/ • CandleAI https://www.trycandle.ai/powers • Vonage https://share.vonage.com/zones/friend_landing_experience_microsite?extole_share_channel=%5C%22SHARE_LINK%5C%22&extole_shareable_code=wzq4f&referral_id=wzq4f&source=%5C%22direct%5C%22&utm_source=Power+Up+Your+Practice+by+Power+Strategy+Group&utm_campaign=a7c6feafe9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_13_07_58_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3b4d3388ea-a7c6feafe9-746189731

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  Power Up Your Practice

  Ep. 129: Stop Blending In: Legal Marketing, GEO & CRM Strategy with Amanda Sexton

  Aug 21, 202643 min

  In this episode, Ruby Powers sits down with Amanda Sexton, founder and principal at Focus Works, a marketing agency dedicated exclusively to law firms, for a conversation about what's actually working in legal marketing right now — and what's quietly becoming obsolete. Amanda has been in marketing since college, fell into the legal space when most of her network turned out to be lawyers, and has spent years helping firms build predictable pipelines based on data and results rather than vanity metrics. She's here to cut through the noise on AI search, CRM, content strategy, and what it actually takes to stand out when every firm in your market sounds exactly the same. What we explore: ✅ How Clients Are Finding Firms Now: AI search is converting at significantly higher rates than Google — because by the time someone asks ChatGPT who to call, they've already done the research and are ready to hire. What that means for your marketing strategy and why diversifying beyond Google is no longer optional. ✅ GEO vs. SEO: What generative engine optimization actually is, why recency and external validation matter more than ever, and the one thing you can do right now — just ask Claude or ChatGPT what it thinks about your firm and see what comes back. ✅ CRM: The Biggest Missed Opportunity: Less than 10% of law firms use their CRM well — and some are still doing paper intake. Why that gap is costing firms clients they've already paid to attract, and what the data actually tells you once you start tracking it. ✅ The Five-Minute Window: The drop-off after five minutes of not responding to a new lead is dramatic. What to do if your intake team is also your legal assistant — and how to build a backup system so no lead falls through. ✅ Stop Sounding Like Everyone Else: Most firm websites and social content are nearly identical. How to find your firm's actual through-line, use client stories to build trust before the first call, and create the parasocial relationship that makes prospects feel like they already know you. ✅ LinkedIn Is Still the Most Underused Tool: Why company newsletters on LinkedIn are getting indexed at rates far higher than regular posts, why consistent personal presence on LinkedIn generates referrals firms didn't know they were missing, and why now is the time to lean in. ✅ Waterfall Content Strategy: One video, turned into clips, blogs, LinkedIn posts, newsletters, and GEO-optimized content — how to get the most out of the time you're already spending on content creation. If you've been doing the same marketing for years and wondering why it's not working the way it used to — this episode gives you the clearest picture of what's changed and what to do about it. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: Law Firm Retreat: Power Up Your Practice Into Reality – January 2027 in Austin, TX. More details coming soon — stay tuned! We Love Your Feedback! Help us design the next year of the podcast. Take this 2-minute audience survey: https://forms.gle/EgMgxd3tbXCsmqgp9 Join the conversation in our Power Up Your Practice community! Hosted by Ruby Powers, your guide into the heart of law practice management. Each week, learn insights from leading legal minds, trailblazing attorneys, and expert guests who provide you with actionable advice, out-of-the-box solutions, and a fresh perspective on running your firm more effectively and efficiently. Prepare to open your mind, be inspired, and power up your practice to the next level. Watch more episodes of Power Up Your Practice on: Website: powersstrategygroup.com YouTube: @powersstrategygroup Join our Skool Community - Power Hub: https://www.skool.com/powerupyourpractice Connect and learn more from your host, Ruby Powers: LinkedIn: /rubypowers Facebook: /poweruppractice Website: rubypowers.com Ruby's Book: Power Up Your Practice on Amazon Trusted Resources from Our Toolkit: • Stafi https://calendly.com/d/csbk-3y4-35w/staffing-strategy-session-stafi-ruby-powers?month=2025-07 • Filevine https://www.filevine.com/partner/powers-referral/ • CandleAI https://www.trycandle.ai/powers • Vonage https://share.vonage.com/zones/friend_landing_experience_microsite?extole_share_channel=%5C%22SHARE_LINK%5C%22&extole_shareable_code=wzq4f&referral_id=wzq4f&source=%5C%22direct%5C%22&utm_source=Power+Up+Your+Practice+by+Power+Strategy+Group&utm_campaign=a7c6feafe9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_13_07_58_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3b4d3388ea-a7c6feafe9-746189731

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