BSPE Legal Marketing (2026)

06/03/2026

Sean M. Jones, founding attorney at Jones Trial Attorneys, has thought carefully about what he's optimizing for in his practice — and it isn't maximum revenue.

"Even if I can make 10 times more money just pushing a button, I'd have no desire."

What does keep him engaged is complexity. He notes that no two drug trafficking cases are the same, even when they fall under identical sections of the penal code. The nuance, the novelty, the process of working through a difficult situation — that's what he finds rewarding about the work.

"It's like untangling a puzzle and it makes it fun for me."

🌐 https://www.jonestrialattorneys.com/ 🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

05/03/2026

Sean M. Jones, founding attorney at Jones Trial Attorneys, made a deliberate choice early in his career: depth over volume.

He describes watching a colleague process traffic tickets one after another — checking whether the officer appeared, asking for dismissal if not, requesting a reduced fine if so. Efficient, but not what he wanted to build.

"You're not using your skills as an attorney. You're just churning through like a robot."

Jones has focused instead on complex criminal cases where he genuinely gets to know the client, their family, and the full context of their situation. The tradeoff is handling fewer cases. The payoff is work that draws on the full range of his capabilities.

🌐 https://www.jonestrialattorneys.com/ 🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

04/03/2026

Sean M. Jones, founding attorney at Jones Trial Attorneys, didn't stumble into criminal defense. He's been heading there since first grade.

His father is a career criminal trial attorney. When Sean was sick and couldn't go to school, he'd be sent to the courtroom instead. At the same time, his mother loved the TV show Matlock — and Sean watched it too, recognizing that what he saw on screen was exactly what his dad did in real life.

"It was the only thing I ever wanted to do. I did a project in first grade about when I grow up and I want to be a criminal defense attorney."

🌐 https://www.jonestrialattorneys.com/ 🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

03/03/2026

Sean M. Jones, founding attorney at Jones Trial Attorneys, explains one of the quirks of building a criminal defense practice: clients almost never post public reviews.

"Nobody wants to go online and talk about how they committed a crime and I helped them out."

So how does he generate referrals? By getting genuinely involved. Jones helps clients find jobs, address family issues, and gather letters from employers — anything that strengthens their situation and their case. In doing so, he naturally becomes known to their extended network.

"It's not a deliberate effort to create referrals, but I think it does have that downstream effect."

🌐 https://www.jonestrialattorneys.com/ 🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

02/03/2026

Sean M. Jones, founding attorney at Jones Trial Attorneys, addresses a question many clients have: why is he so friendly with the DA?

His answer comes down to long-term thinking. Being combative in one case can undermine his ability to make deals in every other case. And beyond the immediate work, reputation in a legal community is something built over an entire career — not something to gamble on a single case.

"Your reputation takes your whole life to build but can be destroyed quickly. As an entrepreneur, there's nothing more valuable than your name and brand in the community."

He also notes that for attorneys relying on referrals, generosity and goodwill tend to come back in ways you can't always predict.

🌐 https://www.jonestrialattorneys.com/ 🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

26/02/2026

Sean M. Jones raises a case that cuts to the heart of AI accountability in the criminal justice system.

In Illinois, a man with low-level risk indicators across the board received a maxed prison sentence — because his COMPAS score flagged him as high-risk for re-offense. COMPAS is an AI-driven assessment tool used by courts to inform sentencing decisions.

When his defense attorneys appealed and sought to examine the algorithm behind that score, the case went to the Supreme Court. The ruling: the proprietary system could not be disclosed. Examining it would compromise the tool. The appeal was denied.

As Sean notes, that person is believed to still be in prison today — based on an AI recommendation that no human was permitted to dissect.

It's a concrete example of what's at stake when algorithmic decision-making enters the courtroom without meaningful transparency or accountability.

🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

🌐 jonestrialattorneys.com

25/02/2026

Sean M. Jones, founding attorney at Jones Trial Attorneys, shares a different take on how criminal defense actually works.

Rather than approaching cases as pure adversarial battles, Jones focuses on getting everyone — the judge, the DA, the defense, the victim, and the community — working toward the same goal.

"There's so little value in putting somebody in prison and taking them out of the workforce, taking them away from their family. I think that creates more victims."

His perspective: the best outcome isn't always a "win" in the traditional sense. It's the solution that genuinely serves everyone involved — including the client's long-term wellbeing.

🌐 https://www.jonestrialattorneys.com/ 🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

23/02/2026

Robert Abtahi, Founding Partner of Texas Defenders, explains why his firm never really closes.

When people ask "What time do you close?" his answer is: "We don't."

Criminal defense happens 24/7. Someone leaves a nightclub at 2 AM, gets arrested at 3 AM, and their friends and family are calling a lawyer at 3 AM. Texas Defenders has intake staff answering phones after hours for exactly that reason.

"I wake up at 4 or 5 AM, and if someone called at 2 or 3 in the morning, I call them back before my family is even awake. We have reviews where people say 'This person called me at 4 AM' and others think it's fake. No — that was me."

It comes down to having respect for people and what they're going through.

🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🌐 texasdefenders.com

20/02/2026

Robert Abtahi, Founding Partner of Texas Defenders, on one of the less obvious parts of criminal defense work.

He tells every client the same thing: "Hire us, we'll fix your problem — but you gotta stay out of trouble." The response is almost always confident: "I've never been in trouble before. It's my first time. I won't do it again."

But the stress and anxiety of having an open case changes things. People under that kind of pressure don't always make rational decisions — and a new incident while a case is pending can unravel everything they're working toward.

That's why he takes the counselor side of "attorney and counselor" seriously. Helping a client slow down, think clearly, and make sound decisions isn't just good advice — it's part of the work.

"You're trying to counsel them: take a deep breath, let's think clearly, let's think logically, let's think rationally. Doesn't always work — but you gotta try."

🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🌐 texasdefenders.com

17/02/2026

Robert Abtahi, Founding Partner of Texas Defenders, shares a marketing effort that cost real money — and produced nothing.

The idea: dismissed cases still show up on public record. Pull every dismissed case in Dallas County over the last five years. Mail those people information about expunctions. The list came to 10,000–15,000 people. They spent significant money on the campaign.

They didn't sign up a single expunction client.

The insight he took from it: people who still have a charge on their record either don't know they can clear it, don't care to, can't afford it — or they go back to the lawyer who got their case dismissed in the first place. The targeting was logical. The underlying assumption wasn't.

"That was a revelation."

It's a useful case study in the gap between a data-driven idea and an audience that's actually ready to act.

🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🌐 texasdefenders.com

12/02/2026

Robert Abtahi, Founding Partner of Texas Defenders, explains who actually needs a criminal defense attorney.

In states where medical ma*****na is legal, a THC pen is an everyday item. In Texas, it's a felony. People relocating to Texas often have no idea — and suddenly find themselves facing serious charges.

"These are not bad people. They just made bad choices or made a mistake."

His firm helps people navigate those situations: making sure everything was done right, that their rights weren't violated, and that they can keep their jobs and livelihoods intact. He notes there's a real stigma attached to needing criminal defense — and much of the work involves pushing back against that perception.

🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🌐 texasdefenders.com

11/02/2026

Robert Abtahi, Founding Partner of Texas Defenders, shares a perspective on what criminal defense attorneys actually do.

"If I could put you to sleep for 6 months and wake you up and your case is over you'd be great. But unfortunately you and I have to be awake during this process."

That's why he views the role differently — attorneys aren't just lawyers, they're counselors. The title says it all. A significant part of the job is keeping clients informed, accessible, and at ease during one of the most stressful periods of their lives.

In his words: "I've always seen us in the customer service business."

🎙 Watch the full conversation on the Law Firm Accelerator Podcast with Viktoria Altman — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🌐 texasdefenders.com

BSPE Legal Marketing