Watch the YouTube version of this episode HERE

MaxLawCon 2026 might have been the best one yet. Tyson Mutrux is back from Atlanta with the conversations and lessons that made this year’s conference memorable. From Ben Glass explaining why law firms waste money on marketing to Gary Falkowitz challenging how firms handle intake, Tyson shares practical takeaways owners can apply long after the conference ends.

But some of the biggest lessons had nothing to do with marketing. Tyson reflects on honest mastermind conversations, the value of getting the right people in a room, and a speaker whose authentic message earned a standing ovation. He also celebrates the speakers, the first MaxLawCon awards, and what’s next in Las Vegas in June 2027.

What You'll Learn

• Five ways attorneys sabotage their marketing
• Why chasing new digital platforms can scatter your efforts
• How follow-up, clear messaging, and former clients affect results
• Two common intake mistakes that create friction for potential clients
• Why an authentic message can beat a polished delivery
• What happens when firm owners work openly through challenges together

Timestamps

• 00:33  Was this the best MaxLawCon yet?
• 02:34  What made this year’s mastermind different
• 05:41  Ben Glass and old-school marketing in an AI world
• 09:37  Five ways lawyers sabotage their marketing
• 11:13  Why memorable messages matter more than polish
• 15:08  Other standout speakers and sessions
• 16:43  Gary Falkowitz on fixing law firm intake
• 17:30  First-ever MaxLawCon awards and video lessons

🎟️ Get your MaxLawCon 2027 tickets: maxlawcon.com

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Full Transcript: 

Tyson Mutrux [00:00]  Welcome back to Maximum Lawyer. I'm Tyson Mutrux. I am like just in awe of what happened last week. It was really just incredible. got back from MaxLawCon. I got back late Friday night. I end up coming back a little earlier than what I normally do. Amy wasn't able to come with me this time, but it was it may have been the best one yet. I it's one of those things I want to give it a little bit of time. In the moment, I was like, this was the best one yet. Right, right. This was absolutely the best one yet.

Tyson Mutrux [00:31]  But I it is one of things like I wanna give it a little bit time so I can think about it. That you kind of think back to it and in a year I'll gauge, you know, hopefully, you know, the next one in June, MaxLawCon.com. If you don't have your tickets, we've already sold a bunch of tickets, so make sure you get your tickets because we've already sold a third of the mastermind tickets and we've sold a bunch of the MaxLawCon tickets. So we are definitely headed to a sellout, so make sure you get your tickets. But

Tyson Mutrux [01:02]  In when in 2027 at that one in June of 2027, I'll I'm gonna look back and say, okay, where does this one rank and all that? So I it's one of the things like each one, it's like which one's your favorite kid? Like you can't really pick a favorite because they're all just so different. We try to design these things so that they're not like the cookie cutter same every single time, right? We just try to make them a little bit different. But I do wanna, I mean, I kind of go through I guess a couple things. for me

Tyson Mutrux [01:33]  For me, the week looks way different than what it does from like an attendee because we've got there's a lot of prep going into it that Becca, I mean, Becca does the vast majority of the work getting the conference ready, but there's some prep that I've got to do both from a presentation standpoint. I was also the co-MC with Jane Muir. Thank you so much, Jane. She's been the MC for the last two years. That was amazing. but for like the attendee, like so we have like for me, I've got this, we have the recording day.

Tyson Mutrux [02:03]  So we always do a recording day, then a mastermind day, then the actual two conference days. So my week is a little different from the attendee. If you're an attendee, if you just come to the conference, you got two days of conference. if you also do the mastermind, then you've got the mastermind too. So it's kind of like two different things, right? For an attendee, from an attendee standpoint. And really fun group that it was interesting. A lot of times you have tears in a mastermind. Sometimes you have laughs, sometimes you have a mix. This one was a really upbeat.

Tyson Mutrux [02:35]  Positive group. Real really a very interesting group, as as positive as it was. It was a really cool group to be a part of. And there's some people that came in with like very they were very vulnerable about things and came out with some really good solutions to some of their really big problems. And I thought that was really awesome. That was one of the things I heard from people is like the especially new attendees like I can't believe that like how open you can be and

Tyson Mutrux [03:02]  And feel comfortable talking about these things because like everything's confidential in the masterminds. And so it and in the conference, whether it's the mastermind of the conference, everyone's there to help each other out. It's the rising tides, right? We take that very seriously. Rising tides, raise all boats. So it's a r we take that very seriously, right? That's a that's why we did tables in the round this time, right? As opposed to doing just you know, tables, conference style tables, right? We did we did things a little bit different. We wanted it to

Tyson Mutrux [03:32]  Have people be able to communicate directly with each other as opposed to looking just at the stage. So we we tried to mix it up and test that out at that share this year. But yeah, so like the the mastermind part of it, it can be a long day, right? It's one of those things where it can be a really long day, but you have, you know, 12, depending on on the mastermind, depending on the year, you know, 12 to 15 people in a room, and you're you're grinding through some issues.

Tyson Mutrux [04:01]  This was an interesting one year this year too, because not everyone had a lot of times you have like these themes, and there wasn't a lot of repeat of themes during at least during our mastermind, which I thought was also something very interesting. but it was I was very impressed by how how solution focused people were in this, where there was an issue that was presented, people on this one got

Tyson Mutrux [04:23]  Quickly to the to the issue for the most part. And then we got right into solution mode. And that was awesome to see. Really cool. People really taking it seriously and, you know, going to work, right? Rolling their sleeves up and trying to solve some issues for people. That was that was really cool. And then we got to the conference and really kind of a dream come true for me having Ben Glass come and speak. And they're putting on their last conference, I think this week or next week.

Tyson Mutrux [04:51]  And just to have him come and speak before they even have their last conference and the generosity of Ben Glass. Thank you so much, Ben, for doing it. Thank you, Ben, for the years of doing this. I know you're not retiring. That's not what it's not what you're doing. I'm d I don't want it to sound like that. I'm just thank you so much for everything you've done for the legal world. so I'm so thankful for you. I r I was telling I was I just gotta tell you all

Tyson Mutrux [05:19]  Sort of an inside story. I was, I was, we were at this rooftop. It was the night before the conference. We usually do like a dinner the night before, and it was outdoor and the Braves playoff game was going on, which was really cool. And we could actually see into the stadium. And I was it was funny. It was the first time I talked to Ben in person, like it was I other like we had done a podcast with him, but like I'm talking about in person, in person. And it was so surreal to me because

Tyson Mutrux [05:49]  I

Tyson Mutrux [05:50]  Remember getting his CDs back early 2010, 2011. And I remember listening to him because he used to do these like phone calls and he'd record them and then send them out to people. And it's just so crazy to be like listening to hearing his voice and then thinking about those discs. And it was it was such a surreal moment for me. It was really cool. So I really enjoyed that. And his topic was so cool. It was old school marketing to survive and thrive in an AI world. It was so good. It was on point, phenomenal.

Tyson Mutrux [06:20]  You couldn't ask for a better presentation. You really couldn't. And he was our keynote. Thank you again, Ben. Just an amazing, amazing experience. and I want to make sure that this is an episode that you all get something from. I really do. So I'll I'm gonna give some of the takeaways from these. And it's w one of the things when it comes to Ben’s is that how how a lot of law firms, most small firms, they waste money on marketing because they

Tyson Mutrux [06:46]  They don't own the media, right? And there's a lot of noise by companies that are selling you digital marketing, right? And it really he's talking about how that leads you into the trap. He talks about the digital marketing maze, like you have the social media platforms and you got paid advertising. you've got, you know, content marketing, and then then he's he's talking about like the emerging and specialized when it comes to like AI chat bot marketing and things like that and voice search.

Tyson Mutrux [07:12]  And how it really can get just scattered all over the place. And he talked about the hidden cost of keeping up with digital marketers. and that's how it can be really, really dangerous. And then the main takeaway I'll give for for that this isn't the main takeaway. I'll say this is one of them. He talked about the five ways attorneys like they sabotage their sabotage their own marketing. so chasing every new trend, that's that shiny ball syndrome. you know, no like

Tyson Mutrux [07:38]  There's like no follow-up system. That was a big thing that Gary Falkowitz talked about too. in a different way, put it a different a different way. Hiring agencies before you're ready was another one, right? and that's before your message is clear. And he really broke down how to make sure your message is clear, like really got into the basics, what which I thought was awesome. ignoring past clients, which is also really true, like not harvesting what you already have. And then also inconsistent messaging where like your website says one thing.

Tyson Mutrux [08:06]  Your LinkedIn says another, your other marketing says another thing. And that was a really I thought that was a really, really good point too. some other kind of like the fun, like fun times. there was there were lots of like during the conference, I wouldn't say lots of there were there were a couple times where there were definitely tears shed during some presentations. Mar Marnie Pearson. So Marnie, Marnie is someone that you would not

Tyson Mutrux [08:30]  Like I don't think that she would expect to be on stage where Marnie, and I this is not a critique, by the way, at all. Marnie is not the most polished speaker. And she would tell you this, right? But she is the most memorable, she had the most memorable presentation of the entire conference. And the reason why I'm telling you that, and the reason why I said it the like I didn't just start with the good part of it is because there's a lot of people that are sitting in the audience or that are listening to this podcast that think, I don't belong on that stage.

Tyson Mutrux [09:03]  And that is not true. And Marnie proved that, where you don't have to be the greatest speaker in the world to have a very, very powerful message. And there was she got she was the only one that got a standing ovation. And it was not to say the other presentations weren't fantastic, they were, but her her message was that powerful. Okay. So if you think that maybe you have something people would want to hear, you do. And every one of you do. So whenever we put the call to speakers out, please.

Tyson Mutrux [09:32]  Please, please, please. I said this on stage. I'm saying it again. Please apply to speak. Just because you do like, I want you to even even if you don't think you have something, do it anyways, right? Do it anyways. Because a lot of you have a more powerful message than what you think. Marty's was so great. It was so good. Steven Lefkoff was really fun too, because he talked about referrals from unusual sources. That was awesome. Marco Brown, I'm not gonna give away the goods on that one. Marco's was

Tyson Mutrux [10:00]  Whoa my gosh, that was amazing. Adam Williams, it was really cool watching Adam Williams, how like he has like grown into such an amazing speaker. And he talked about how April shock is optional and how you know working with the right accountant can make a really big difference. That was awesome. Travis Howard, so talked about hard and soft machines. That was phenomenal. He's got a book coming out, so I'll make sure we have him on to talk about that too.

Tyson Mutrux [10:25]  We ended day one with Gary Falkowitz. And if you've not heard Gary speak before, here's here's how here's how Ben Glass put it. Okay. And Ben Glass knows. Ben Glass knows this stuff. And I saw him, and I'm gonna paraphrase, he posted on Facebook. It was the best presentation on intake and conversion he has ever seen. And that is saying a lot. Okay. That alone is saying so much, so much.

Tyson Mutrux [10:47]  So I if you did not see Gary, if you've never seen Gary speak, you really are missing a lot. he was talking about he talked about the intake non-negotiables. really good. He also has he also has a voice AI that I I recommend. I just full disclosure, I don't use the his voice AI, but I know he does have it. So you might want to check it out. he's

Tyson Mutrux [11:09]  He's a pr he's the pro, right? He's it's called capture now.com and he really knows. He really knows what he's talking about. So let me let me pull up. I'm actually pulling up some of the slides. I'm not gonna show them here, but he it's one of those things where I'm gonna go through some of the things. So two ways firms screw up intake. So entitlement. that's one of So sounds like a headache, not worth my time. let's take the weekend to think about it, right?

Tyson Mutrux [11:36]  That's

Tyson Mutrux [11:36]  One way. And then failing to understand the claimant mindset. So the whole idea of instant gratification, the lack of friction, like kind of like Amazon, like different roadmaps, give reasons for your ask, like give them reasons for like why you ask for things, and then you want to educate them. and they only want to work with experts, like understanding that part of the mindset. and they also want to be truly understood. Like that was those are two of the the things he talked about when it comes to

Tyson Mutrux [12:04]  The way firms screw up intake. I'm not gonna give everything because he went through a lot. He covered up a bunch during his present his presentation. He and Ben had more time than than most when it comes to the presentations. Cause we do make these, we make it really difficult on on the presenters. We give them 20 minutes. That's what we give them. We don't give them anything else. And that really forces them to tailor their presentations to really give you the only the good stuff, which is really good.

Tyson Mutrux [12:32]  There was something else. I guess before I get into some of the other presentations, I also say when it comes to presenters, so I'm gonna talk about presenters in a second, but we also did for the first time, we did our awards, the Max Law Con awards, which was awesome, really good. Like one of my favorite parts was just doing that part of it. we did at the very end, and it was just it was cool, man. It was just s giving people like we gave legit

Tyson Mutrux [13:00]  Awards, right? They weren't, they weren't like these like a ribbon. Yeah, we gave like legit awards and it was so cool. Maximum Lawyer of the Year went to Tiffany Weber, which was so cool. very, very, very much deserved. Bill Umansky, man. This was one of the ones where he his title was about essentially choosing between his COO and his wife. That was that was one that was really, really powerful.

Tyson Mutrux [13:22]  You missed out. I'll tell you if you did not hear Jeff Hampton, if you weren't there and didn't get Jeff Hampton and then Ryan Weber, Tiffany's husband. so Ryan Weber and Jeff Hampton, the combination of those two when it comes to comes to YouTube, YouTube and how to present your videos in the right way were just masterful. And it was really cool because Ryan brought on an attendee.

Tyson Mutrux [13:43]  And he at the very beginning had her record a video on the spot. Okay. Put her back in the audience, taught taught us all some things. He said, make you pay attention to this because I'm gonna pull you back on the on the stage. She comes back on stage, she delivers it again, and it sounded great. It sounded really, really good. So it was how it was showed like how quickly, if you just adopt some of these things, pay attention just a little bit to a 20-minute presentation, get back up on stage. And what she probably had 10 minutes between.

Tyson Mutrux [14:14]  When she got on stage the first time and the second time, and then she delivered them just a banger of a video. So cool. And then he played them back to back. That was absolutely awesome. one of my favorite ones, and one I've I don't know if I've ever seen anything like this, Adam Rawson. And he was talking about restructuring their firm and how the firm went through a lot of different things over the last year or two. But he played music to it. And when I say he nailed the feel of each.

Tyson Mutrux [14:44]  Of each one of those scenes. So each each slide kind of had a scene with a background and it had music to it. And there were like dramatic pauses and dramatic music and then upbeat music. It was he nailed it. It was one of the coolest presentations I've ever seen. It was just so freaking neat to see someone deliver that. That was it was so cool. And it's one of those ones where like I had some things I had to do.

Tyson Mutrux [15:09]  In the middle. And I didn't want to leave the room. So like I just like s hovered at the back because I did I had to deal with a couple of logistics issues. And I was like, I just had to wait. I was like, okay, I gotta wait. And then I will I'll deal with that afterwards because it was that good. It kept me engaged the entire time. So that was so freaking cool. So that was one that you missed out on. But the next one's gonna be in Vegas in June.

Tyson Mutrux [15:38]  So if I really hope you'll go, maxlawcon.com. MaxLawCon.com, you'll get your tickets to June, the June 2027. You the mastermind or the conference and/or both. You can go to both, absolutely. And if you're interested in being a guest in Vegas, the last time we were in Vegas, we had a really great studio. It was awesome. the studio there is fantastic. The one in Atlanta is really good too. But the one in Vegas, this would be the second time we've been to Vegas to record.

Tyson Mutrux [16:05]  That was the second time we'd been to Atlanta to record. Both have really good studios. So if you are interested, make sure you let me know. But definitely get on you, you're gonna want to get these tickets now, maxlawcon.com. They are they are the cheapest you're gonna f find them. And they will only go up from here. It also helps us plan a lot. So make sure you make sure you get those now because the more the earlier you get your tickets, the earlier we know how many people they're gonna be, so that we can plan accordingly. So and we can.

Tyson Mutrux [16:36]  Plan we can do a lot better when it comes to planning and making things better for you if you get your tickets now and it's gonna be cheaper for you. So it's a it's it's a it's a win win, right? So win win. MaxLawCon.com and we will see you in Vegas. Thanks everybody.