I was very honored when Ken Hardison asked me to speak at PILMMA’s AI for PI Expo. I had a great time at the event, and I’d love to share what I learned and which tools the attorneys should check out.

When Ken asked me to speak, I already knew how I would frame and focus my presentation. I knew that any AI event would feature plenty of vendors selling their AI solutions and plenty of law firms talking about how they use AI, but there probably wouldn’t be many speakers talking to marketers about how they can leverage AI.

Going into the presentation, my goal was to “give my audience practical ways to use AI to enhance their marketing.”

You can watch the first 5 minutes of the presentation in this article.

If you are interested in watching the full presentation, I have made it available to members of the Sharp Marketing Mastermind. Click the button below if you’d like to join and see all our resources!

Enjoying this insight? I post tactical legal marketing breakdowns like this regularly, including the tools, workflows, and real-firm examples you won’t find anywhere else.

Quick Recap of My AI for PI Expo Presentation

There are so many ways to dissect AI. We could talk about how to rank in AI search, or how to best leverage AI inside your law practice.

My talk primarily focused on how marketers (and anyone, really) can use AI to enhance themselves.

I only had 30 minutes to speak, so I had to limited time to make some key points.

* Humans have strengths and weaknesses; AI has strengths and weaknesses. If we want to use AI effectively, we must find the “sweet spot” where it fits into our workflows and enhances output.

* The best use of a marketer’s time is learning and growing their own skills (not just their “AI” skills). Everyone has access to or is using these tools, and AI only raises the floor, not the ceiling of good marketing. We can enhance the outputs we get from AI by upgrading ourselves.

* We can use AI in many automated processes. The example I used is how I leverage multiple AI tools to automatically generate project cards from my meeting transcripts. This enables me to be fully present in meetings and simply assign and delegate the pre-made tasks to my team.

* Modern AI is like Computer in the Enterprise (yes, I shoehorned a Star Trek reference into my presentation – plus some). It’s a system that records everything and can synthesize answers to complex questions, but the crew still makes the decisions and uses their skills.

That summary covers the first quarter of the presentation. If that list sounds intriguing, watch the full video and let me know what you think in the comments (yes, you can leave comments on my newsletter!)

What I Learned at the AI for PI Expo

I was a presenter on day 3, but for the first two days, I was an attendee. I spoke to the vendors, speakers, and many of the attendees. Honestly, there wasn’t enough time to connect with everyone, so I did my best to talk to as many people as I could each day.

I was speaking with Josh Schmerling about his AI tool (LawPro.AI), and I was a little awestruck. Their tool does things with demand letters and medical records that I really don’t understand because that’s not my lane, but what he showed me seemed incredibly useful.

I asked him, “What did law firm do in the 90’s?”

I asked another vendor a similar question when they showed me their AI solution, and curiously, both Josh and this other vendor had the same response.

“Not even the 90’s, what do law firms do today!?”

There’s a huge technology gap developing at law firms, and I don’t think the solos or small attorneys realize how much more advanced the tools are becoming.

In this episode of Sharp Strategies Sweet Success, I’m joined by Robert Hartmann, a California criminal defense attorney and soon-to-be author of Making It Rain: The Art of Building a Successful Law Firm. We unpack what most law schools and firms never teach: how to actually get clients.

Robert shares how getting laid off early in his career forced him to build a practice from scratch. Relationships, not advertising, kept it thriving for decades. We talk about why empathy is his number one marketing strategy, why young attorneys should stop fearing solo practice, and how AI is collapsing the old law firm hierarchy by eliminating the need for junior associates.

We also dig into the real barriers that stop lawyers from networking, and how to overcome them with consistent habits, low-pressure conversations, and small follow-ups that build trust over time. Robert explains why he believes in weekly and monthly networking groups, how he personalizes referrals, and why your best clients probably won’t come from billboards or SEO. They’ll come from people who know you.

If you’re tired of the grind, feeling stuck in someone else’s firm, or just want a clearer path to sustainable growth, this conversation will shift how you think about business development in 2026.

In our January Sharp Marketing Mastermind meeting, we focused on how law firms can improve performance and accountability across Google Ads and Local Service Ads. We were joined by Thomas Glasgow of 1122 Marketing, who shared deep insights into how Local Service Ads actually work and what Google prioritizes today. Together, we covered where firms commonly lose money and how better intake handling and tracking directly impact results.

In this meeting, we discussed:

* How Local Service Ads differ from traditional Google Ads and why call handling matters so much.

* Best practices for intake teams, including keeping LSA calls neutral and using lead feedback correctly.

* The importance of consistent Google review activity for LSA performance.

* How to audit Google Ads accounts, including search terms, negative keywords, and ad strength.

* What conversion goals should be tracked, and why phone calls should carry more weight than form fills.

* How to spot data issues between Google Ads, LSAs, and your CRM or lead tracking system.

* Common pitfalls with vendors, automation, and AI tools, and what to approach with caution.

A big thanks to everyone for attending and participating!

Here’s Thomas’s information for anyone who’d me interested in contacting him: Email: thomas@1122management.comWebsite: www.1122marketing.com

Schedule a meeting here

Below are the resources for our Sharp Marketing Mastermind members: