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1300+Episode 3 of the Build Your Firm podcast is now live, and this week we sit down with a veteran trial attorney who has spent decades building a firm around people.
Meet Our Guest: Mark Lazarus
Mark Lazarus is an attorney at the Russell & Lazarus Law Firm. He has worked alongside his partner, Chris Russell, for about 25 years, and he brings a long track record in both case management and trial work.
Host Jeff Fayngor and Mark compare notes on what it really takes to run a plaintiff’s firm. The two cover hiring, team culture, case selection, trial preparation, and the technology that keeps a modern practice moving.
What’s in Store on This Episode of “Build Your Firm”
Jeff and Mark cover a lot of ground, including:
- Focusing on your strengths: Why Mark hands off accounting and HR to team members who excel at them, so he can focus on marketing and case management
- Hiring for drive: How early work experience, like babysitting or mowing lawns, can signal a self-starter
- Testing for fit: How DISC communication styles, the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, and even IQ testing help each firm build stronger teams
- Making tough personnel calls: When to let someone go, why accountability must apply to everyone, and why a business works more like a sports team than a family
- Growing without a giant budget: Why Mark relies on tracked ROI, grassroots relationships, and a long-running radio partnership instead of eight-figure ad spend
- Putting clients first: Stories of referring a client away from a case that would not help her, and finding a missed policy that turned a $15,000 case into hundreds of thousands
- Structuring teams and trials: Separate pre-litigation and litigation departments, auto and non-auto case teams, and pairing two attorneys on a shared caseload
- Preparing for trial: Focus groups, the value of voir dire and opening statements, and learning trial skills from attorneys you admire
- Using AI responsibly: Why closed AI tools matter, what clients should know before putting case details into a chatbot, and how attorneys can use AI to analyze deposition transcripts
- Building community: The role of Justice Society in connecting Orange County attorneys
Along the way, expect book recommendations, a few funny courtroom stories, and honest talk about the parts of law practice they never taught in law school.
Whether you own a firm, work at one, or are thinking about starting your own, this episode offers practical lessons on hiring, accountability, and trial preparation. If you are an injured person looking for representation, it also shows what a client-first approach looks like.
How to Listen
The Build Your Firm podcast is available on YouTube. Subscribe and follow along so you never miss an episode.
Missed the earlier episodes? Catch up with Episode 2: Who Is Attorney Jeff? and Episode 1: Stop Practicing, Start Owning with Joe Nazarian.
Episode 3 premiered on June 22, 2026.