Great Practice. Great Life. by Atticus

Recent Episodes

1. When Success Becomes a Trap for Law Firm Owners with Jennie Bretschneider | Ep 193

   Jul 20, 2026

   Jennie Bretschneider, an estate planning attorney, shares her transformational journey from working 80-hour weeks while earning $1M+ in revenue to building a scaled, team-driven practice. Three years after joining Atticus, she has doubled revenue, expanded her legal services, reduced her work hours, and reclaimed her health and family life—including reversing moderate-to-severe osteoporosis through strength training.

2. From Lawyer to Law Firm Owner: How to Make Big Decisions with Jordan Ostroff | Ep 192

   Jul 13, 2026

   Jordan Ostroff, former prosecutor turned law firm owner and now practice advisor at Atticus, discusses frameworks for making high-risk decisions with clarity and intentionality. The episode covers how to distinguish meaningful decisions from meaningless ones, how to test major commitments before fully committing, and why some difficult decisions are more reversible than they feel. Ostroff also announces his new podcast, 'From Esquire to Owner,' designed to help lawyers transition from being self-employed attorneys to true business owners.

3. The Mid-Year Goal Check Every Busy Lawyer Needs | Ep 191

   Jul 6, 2026

   Steve Riley hosts a mid-year goal check-in episode designed for busy lawyers to assess progress on their January goals and refocus for the remainder of the year. Riley uses metaphors—windshields clouded by "love bugs," Max the dog chasing squirrels, and Mike Tyson's famous quote about plans meeting reality—to explain how goals get derailed by distraction, dissipation, displacement, and drift. The episode provides practical strategies including identifying two core goals, scheduling protected focus time, and leveraging the Migrate Life Focus planner tool.

4. How to Get Lawyers Who Hate You to Send You Business | Ep. 190

   Jun 29, 2026

   Steve Riley, host of Great Practice Great Life, delivers a solo episode on a counterintuitive business development strategy: cultivating referral relationships with opposing counsel. Drawing from his own legal practice, Riley teaches three core strategies—the worthwhile adversary test, adopting a class act mindset, and acknowledging/expressing gratitude—that transformed his firm's profitability by systematically converting legal adversaries into referral sources.

5. AI Is Not Your Lawyer: Protecting Client Privilege with Kent Berk | Ep 189

   Jun 22, 2026

   Kent Berk, a litigator and AI thought leader, discusses the critical intersection of AI use and attorney-client privilege, prompted by the United States v. Hepner case where a client's use of free AI tools to prepare litigation materials waived privilege protections. The episode covers how lawyers must educate clients on safe AI use during legal representation, what to include in engagement agreements and firm policies, and how to advise clients productively without creating privilege risks or 'AI slop' that complicates cases.

6. What Are You Tolerating? How Attorneys Can Reduce Overwhelm with Mark Powers | Ep 188

   Jun 15, 2026

   Mark Powers, founder and president of Atticus, discusses the concept of "tolerations"—small and large things in our professional and personal lives that are inconsistent with our vision, standards, or values. Powers explains how tolerations differ from messes and frustrations, why they create a quiet mental load that contributes to overwhelm, and shares practical strategies for identifying and eliminating them, including a quarterly toleration sprint, delegation, and conscious acceptance.

7. Three Rules Every High-Performing Team Needs with Scott Pioli, Part 2 | Ep 187

   Jun 8, 2026

   Scott Pioli, former New England Patriots Vice President of Personnel and General Manager, discusses three foundational rules for building high-performing teams: Be on Time, Pay Attention, and Work Hard. Drawing on his experience drafting and developing championship rosters, Pioli explains how these simple disciplines manifest as respect, reliability, and accountability—core values that shaped Patriots culture. Through stories involving Tom Brady, Matthew Slater, and lessons from Bill Parcells and Al Davis, Pioli illustrates how 'just do your job' became a performance multiplier that reduced friction and elevated team performance across any profession, including law.

8. Why Work Ethic Isn't Enough with Scott Pioli, Part 1 | Ep 186

   Jun 1, 2026

   Scott Pioli, former NFL executive and VP of Player Personnel for the New England Patriots, discusses the critical distinction between work ethic and work habits with host Steve Riley. Pioli shares his experience building elite teams and explains how developing intentional work habits—including prioritization, preparation, and humility—allows high performers to achieve better outcomes than effort alone. The episode explores practical habits like color-coded organization systems, the importance of psychological testing in talent acquisition, and how to provide uncomfortably demanding feedback while maintaining respect and psychological safety.

9. The Leadership Shift That Helped Marc Schneider Build a 17-Lawyer Firm | Ep 185

   May 25, 2026

   Mark Schneider, founding attorney of Schneider Buchel LLP, discusses his journey building a 17-attorney law firm specialized in community association law (co-ops, HOAs, and condos) across New York State. He shares how he transitioned from a generalist practice to a focused niche, scaled from solo practitioner to managing over 1,000 community association clients, and shifted his mindset from technician-lawyer to business owner-CEO. Key topics include niche selection, market expansion strategy, leadership development, intake process optimization, accountability charts versus org charts, and his recently launched Community Association School of Management (CASM.net) educational platform.

10. From Burnout to Thriving Law Firm: What Angel Leal Did Differently | Ep 184

    May 18, 2026

    Angel Leal, founder of a national immigration law firm with 30 employees and 7 associates, shares his journey from severe burnout to thriving practice and personal health transformation. He discusses overcoming 'scorched earth' burnout through self-care (CrossFit, weight loss of 60 pounds), implementing systems and delegation with help from Atticus advisors, and navigating emerging challenges like AI-powered fraud targeting his clients and social media presence.