Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: For me, it, it was a life changing moment. I, I talk about it as being the best thing that's ever happened to me because it allowed me to experience what clients experience.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: Hey, what's up everyone? We're recording another episode of the managing partners podcast. I'm excited to have you guys here. Today I'm joined by a new friend and he is just like me. We are here to help, you know, lawyers and law firms help more people and focus on what they do best. You know, over the years I've just really gotten in deeper and understanding how much lawyers do help people and that's what drives us, my team and you know, we is deeper than we just do marketing or whatever. So. And Jason here is just that he is someone who is a lawyer himself, but he helps lawyers and he helps lawyers focus on more of what they need to be focused on. And so I'm excited for him to share his knowledge today and his background, his story. But I was just on Jason's podcast, I appreciate that great experience and so wanted to reciprocate, have him on the show. And again, he's got an awesome story, amazing story, and it really helps firms around the country and we'll get into that too. So, Jason, welcome to the show.
[00:01:20] Speaker A: Thank you. Very happy to be here today.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks for having me. I, I'm glad you came on the show to share. And Jason Lazarus again, best selling author, founder, CEO of Synergy, which we'll get into what Synergy is and what they do as well as other things as well. You're in special needs law firm, I believe so. He, he's, he's, he's just super involved and doing a lot of good things. So Jason, you know, obviously always kick off the show with, you know, kind of letting us tell your, your story, your background and what brought you to, to where you are today servicing law firms.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: Well, you know, it really boils down to a desire to help people and something that as I've built Synergy and in my law practice too, I've focused on this opportunity and privilege that we get to be a part of the resolution process of personal injury cases, primarily through health care lien resolution.
I'm actually dressed a bit like a lawyer today because I actually was in court today through my law firm where I represent Medicaid recipients here in the state of Florida before the division of administrative hearings to get liens reduced here in Florida if it's a Medicaid lien.
And you know, the client that I was representing today had second and third degree burns over 50% of their body from a, a gasoline explosion. And you know, those are the types of cases where it was a hundred thousand dollar policy limits case, massive pain and suffering, non economic damages case. And those are cases where, you know, it's, it's so important that they have someone that will fight for them to get the lien reduced because it's the difference between netting out 20, 30 grand out of the hundred grand or more like 50, 60 grand.
So, you know, those things that I get the opportunity in my law practice here in Florida, but Synergy does on a national scale. I, I'm so proud of our mission and how we save millions, hundreds of millions of dollars each year for people that are typically very seriously injured and need that money to care for themselves and for the personal injury law firms we serve, it takes something off of their plate and they get to leverage this team of experts that we've assembled here at Synergy who are incredible people that believe in the mission and want to make sure ultimately every dollar is saved and secured for the injured party for their future, because that's what the mission's all about.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: Yeah, I love that. And, and also too, I mean, so the team over at Synergy, I mean, you guys, what, 80, 80 plus folks?
[00:04:14] Speaker A: Closer to a hundred. Yeah, we've got to a hundred.
[00:04:17] Speaker C: He must have hired like 20 people.
[00:04:18] Speaker B: Since I talked to him last. That's good.
Well, say he's, he's not a small operation. He's up in PI firms around the country and so they're, they're not small time over there. And I wanted to kind of throw out too. Jason is an injury victim. He's experienced his own injuries. I don't know if you want to kind of talk about that and kind of how that's probably shaped some of your, your drive and mission there.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. In 2016, I got struck by a car while cycling. I was a very avid cyclist and was training time just because I was racing and went out for a group ride that I always did every Tuesday and Thursday morning. And as I was riding to meet the group, I struck by a car and learned firsthand what, you know, people that have been injured go through from waking up in a, in a hospital not knowing what in the heck had happened to me, to, you know, going through every aspect of personal injury case, going to mediation, my case did not go to trial, settled mediation, and then going through the whole process of resolving my own lien that was asserted against my personal injury recovery. So, you know, for me it, it was a life changing moment. I, I talk about it as being the best thing that's ever happened to me because it allowed me to experience what clients experience and was a good reset for life in general. You know, when, when you wind up in the ICU for 10 days and on a ventilator and can't speak, you, you spend a lot of time in your own head because you can't talk.
And you know, it's, it's a good reset. But you know, for me it obviously sharpened the focus on the mission of helping people that have been injured because it was so difficult for me going through that whole process and I knew what to expect. It's not, you know, it's not like I didn't know. I, I'd experienced it not myself, but through my professional life. And so, you know, that's, that actually led me to write a second book which called Litigation of Life, which is really for people that have been injured, almost like what to expect when settling. Because you know, for me it was an opportunity to, to give a little back in, in that way to help people that are going through that. And I still use that with clients when we need to educate about different aspects of the things that we're experts in when it comes to a personal injury settlement. But you know, ultimately it's, it's just an eye opening experience. And had a, had a recent episode of my podcast where I interviewed a fellow trial lawyer who had eerily struck by a car while cycling. Same.
And just the talk track was very similar. You know, it made him better lawyer to better understand what his clients go through.
[00:07:16] Speaker B: Yeah, no, it's, that's, you know, quite unique I guess is one way to put it. And I feel like, I've feel like I met another lawyer maybe. I had a lawyer on the show a couple years back that had been in an injury case themselves and yeah, totally different mind shift and um, that, that'll wake you up and change your, your mood real quick. So interestingly enough, since we're on here talking about it, my business partner who's down the hall got struck while cycling by a car. Luckily just the mirror hit him. He, you know, wrecked his bike, broke in half, all that good stuff. Never had any like surgeries or major injuries. But I know it shaped him up real quick and changed his perspective on a lot of things. So luckily it wasn't hurt. But. But yeah, same similar situation there.
[00:08:01] Speaker A: So yeah, unfortunately it's very common and I, I don't know, I guess I was lucky for A long time. Cause I started riding and racing when I was early teens, so. And had raced all the way up until I went to college, had raced over in Europe and went to the nationals as a junior. And so I had. Had been, you know, doing it a very long time and all the way through my, my 40s and then gotten back into racing. But, you know, I, I know so many people who have been, you know, unfortunately hit by cars and, or just, I mean, serious injuries or actually had a very good friend of mine who I was a cycling companion die three weeks ago, just not, not hit by a car, but in a cycling related accident out of freak accident. Went over the handlebars, broke his neck and died instantly. I mean, it's, you know, unfortunately like anything like that, there's, there's a lot of risk associated with it. But today with cars and people on cell phones, it's, it's really. I'm, I'm, I no longer go out on the roads like I used to. I, I'm more on trails and places that it's hopefully a little bit safer. I mean, still, you have to interact with cars and there's just danger associated with that, you know?
[00:09:14] Speaker B: Yeah, well, that's, yeah. The cell phones and the hues you see around. Yeah. You know, PI firms listening, I'm sure they see a lot of, of those kinds of cases. So back to, to synergy I want to focus on, you know, so the PI firms listen, law firms listen. You know, I guess step us a little bit through, like some of the things you take off their plate. I would, you know, when they're thinking about this, you know, what does it come through their mind? Do all firms know that this service exists? Like, what does that look like?
[00:09:44] Speaker A: Well, well, I would say that the answer to that is a definitive no. We, we had several new people, which is why I was talking about, you know, our numbers that, that were on our all hands meeting today. And one of them was coming from Rawlings, which is a recovery contractor that works on behalf of the plans to recover personal injury cases. And he was talking about how few of the cases that he handled that they were pursuing recovery on behalf of the part of the plans against a personal injury firm were actually represented by experts, meaning most personal injury firms are doing this themselves. And the reason for that is because traditionally law firms have performed this function. But it really is no different than a law firm could do probate and estate work or could do guardianship or other niche areas of the law. But typically that's outsourced to other lawyers. Lien resolution just has not seen the kind of adoption yet. But I do think it's, it's certainly becoming more mainstream, particularly as more firms become focused on how their staff is spending their time. Because if you look at the amount of time spent on lean resolution in a personal injury practice, at the end of the case after fees have been secured, it's basically, you know, a drain on time and money, resources that aren't plentiful. And so, you know, when you've got a partner like us that's got deep expertise and experience, does this day in, day out can do it in a manner that ultimately takes things off the plate of paralegals and lawyers in the firm. And the cost of resolution is typically passed along as a client cost. It becomes a no brainer, particularly when you're talking about, you would have to have an incredibly deep team for a law firm to be able to understand Medicare, Medicaid, erisa, fiba, military, private, hospital. I mean, you're talking about a lot of different types of lien holders and all with their different rules and laws and statutes and formulas. And you know, for the typical law firm, that depth of expertise, they don't have it. We do because the majority of our team has come from the other side that we've hired from, who understand this and understand tax tactics to resolve these things in the most positive manner. So for the law firms, it really is a no brainer when they sit down and evaluate it and we can walk them through the economics of it. Because the economics of it are going to sell. Most firms if they're in tune with, you know, what their, their overhead is as it relates to this.
[00:12:42] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, obviously I'm not a law firm owner or lawyer at all, but that seems to make sense to me.
I can see, you know, them thinking, no, is it going to cost me more money and I got to hire this other firm to handle all these things for me. But is it, am I right to say that you're probably more successful at getting these resolved and more money out of these cases as well? Right?
[00:13:04] Speaker A: Yeah, typically our results are going to be better. And you know, I mean, it's analogous to what you guys do. I mean, if a law firm wanted to recreate the depth of knowledge and expertise that your team has, it costs them so much time and money, you're gonna, if they outsource this to you, you're able to get the best results and at the lowest price point. Because trying to recreate the depth of knowledge to get those kinds of results. It just, it's not going to be a fruitful endeavor. Especially when the law firm really, you know, their, their primary goal is to secure compensation for the injured, not become experts in lean resolution or marketing. Right. So you want the best people, the best equipped people to help you and help your injured client in our services get the best outcome. And that's exactly, you know, what law firms, you know, expect when they engage us.
[00:14:06] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:14:07] Speaker A: You can deliver on that. Yeah.
[00:14:09] Speaker B: I mean it's all about moving the case through the process and, and getting it dealt with. And time is, you know, you don't want to extend the timeline on that sounds like bringing you in would shorten that timeline and take, take time and effort off the team that could be working on the cases.
[00:14:25] Speaker A: So yeah, it's time on desk bottlenecks. I mean that's when, when you look at this particular area it is, it is always problematic for law firms and it's not always that you can speed it up, but if that's removed from the plate of paralegal who's got, you know, tasks that they can do that enhances the value of another case or moves another case to resolution versus sitting on hold with Medicare. As a law firm owner, what do you, what would you rather your paralegal be doing? I would think it would be, you know, enhancing value of your clients cases or moving cases towards resolution faster or helping you prep for trial. Not sitting on hold with Medicare for.
[00:15:10] Speaker B: The 15 something get more out of the team that you already have. That makes sense to me. So yeah, well, I guess can kind of like marketing like you said.
[00:15:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:15:19] Speaker B: If you wanted to hire my team, you'd have with the expertise you'd have to have. If it was the knowledge of my team. Yeah. They'd have to have, you know, six full time people that would cost, you know, couple hundred thousand dollars a year at minimum just to have and those people would probably be bored of death because they'd have one client to, to focus on. So yeah, yeah, I get what you're saying. So yeah, it makes sense. I mean so, so yeah, I guess, you know, for my attorneys out there listening, you know, familiarize yourself with this service and Jason's company, of course, synergy.
Check that out. And I again as a non lawyer, non, you know, firm owner, that sounds like a no brainer to me. It's something that's still, I'm not super, you know, dialed in with and familiar with but you know, it's, I know that time on desk and moving cases through is the lifeblood of a firm. So it makes sense to me or whatever.
[00:16:15] Speaker A: And as law firms really dig deeper on metrics and how to run their firm, you know, at the right profit margin and that's critical is, is looking at time on desk. And this is one area where you know that that is something that if you evaluate it and look at time spent by staff, it is going to be a business no brainer when you really evaluate that, that cost to the firm.
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[00:18:07] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I want to switch gears quickly because you are in, you know, you have multiple businesses and you're a lawyer yourself and you have different passions, but just more of an entrepreneurship, you know, switch up here. So you're running all these things, you're involved in all these things. Like what does that look like for you? I mean I, you enjoy all those things, I assume. And as an entrepreneur, you get bored. I like to do different things, start other companies and, and you know, you, we kind of create chaos for ourselves. But you know, I was like, yeah, but kind of, what's that like, what's your daily like, you know, with synergy versus your firm versus other things you have going on for those out there listening?
[00:18:49] Speaker A: Yeah, it, it can be or, or at least look disjointed. You know, I, in the midst of writing my third book, I've got a podcast like this like you talked about. I've got thought leadership, content that I create. I've got, you know, internal duties for Synergy. I've got a law practice like this morning. I'M in a hearing for a Medicaid recipient. You know, I still do work with clients individually on the government benefits planning side or just trying to figure out legally what's the best vehicles to protect the recovery. So yeah, it's, is for me it's all stuff that I'm passionate about and love doing. So it's, it's pretty easy to, you know, look at this and say it makes sense. For me, it's probably not for everybody. I mean I've come from a family of entrepreneurs and probably was destined to be kind of where I am just by virtue of the experiences I had. I, you know, when I got outta law school I, I practiced I med mal defense work and then did workers comp defense work, insurance defense work and then said I, I need to do something that's more business oriented and still serving that same population and got into settlement planning and, and that kind of led in the lean resolution. And so it's been an evolution for me of getting to a place where I can leverage my education background, my areas of expertise, you know, particularly in Medicare compliance, government benefits, healthcare, lien resolution. Those are all areas where, you know, I've developed a niche and my practice personally and you know, I find it rewarding because I get the opportunity to help people. Whether it's helping a law firm, you know, take something off their plate like the Medicaid lien I handled this morning or you know, assisting someone that's been injured with how do they keep their government benefits intact or the thought leadership, you know, writing a book that that's going to help lawyers or help someone that's injured. You know, like the books I've written, the money that those have generated goes to charity. I'm not doing that for, for my own personal gain. I'm doing it to help and hopefully help, you know, whether it's a trial lawyer identify an issue or injured party better understand what's going to happen next. That's my, you know, part of what for me drives all of this is that I actually get to be part of the solution. You know, there's not a lot of businesses where you can say, you know, definitively here's, here's an outcome like particularly dollars saved for an injured party that they need to care for themselves. That is an incredible opportunity that we have.
[00:21:44] Speaker B: That's awesome. No, I, I appreciate you explaining that. And, and honestly I, you know, I think it's awesome. I think, you know, for me or any lawyers listening, lawyers that probably listen to my show anyway, you know, we're drawn to those kinds of people. You know, people that they have different passions and they're pursuing those passions and you know, they run strong companies and relationships across the board. So that's just cool to see what you're doing and, and how it all ties together with your story and your background. And it's always cool to see people's story on how they navigate to kind of what they, they end up doing and through experience and, and things like that. So yes, just a cool story and, and background. So. And you're out there helping people, so that's great.
[00:22:29] Speaker A: So never a straight line path there for sure. Like I, if you had asked me, you know, when I, when I was in law school, would I end up here? I would have never, ever guessed it ever.
[00:22:38] Speaker B: Would he end up on the managing partners podcast? Never thought a million years.
[00:22:42] Speaker A: Right? Exactly.
[00:22:44] Speaker B: Well, I'm glad you're on here, Sharon. So it's a really cool story and helping a lot of people a lot of different ways. So you, you have three books. I want to make sure we, we wrap those off. So what was your first book?
[00:22:53] Speaker A: First book, Art of Settlement. And actually the second edition of that book is coming out sometime the end of this month is what I'm told by my publishers that basically I've just taken that and updated it, enhanced it and so really thrilled about the opportunity to release that second edition.
The second book was called Litigation to Life. So the first book was written for trial lawyers Central guide to issue spot understand if issues that are important for their clients. Litigation of Life was written for injured parties to better understand what they might expect when they're going through the process. Third book is don't have the title yet, but it's basically a treatise on healthcare lien resolution specifically written for trial lawyers to help guide them on different aspects of lien resolution from the ethics of all of it to why they might want to outsource to the details for liens that they don't outsource. You know, different, different types of liens and what are important salient points related to all that. So similar, similar, you know, to Art of Settlement, just more focused on the healthcare lien resolution and hopefully become an essential desktop guide for trial lawyers to have when they need a little more substance and information about healthcare. Lean resolution are trying to do it themselves, although I would still tell them. Probably want to call us.
[00:24:23] Speaker B: Just call Jason and his team. Well, that's amazing. Well, good luck and congrats on the books that you already have out. And third one you have coming out. What is the best way for my lawyer friends to connect with you? I know it's the partner with synergy.com, right?
[00:24:39] Speaker A: Yeah, that's. That's Synergy's website. And if they want to learn more about me and they can go to Jason D. Lazarus dot com. That website's got links to the books that I've written and a little bit of information about me. But ultimately, you know, really, it's, it's connecting through partnerwithsynergy.com or find me on LinkedIn and, you know, other ways. But too, if you want to contact me directly, it's Jason partner with Synergy.com and I always give out my cell phone, too. I'm. Feel free to text me or call me. 407-687-4165.
[00:25:17] Speaker B: Yeah, if you really, if you message me too, I'll do an intro by email or LinkedIn. I'm happy to do that for you. Also, if you go to Jason D. Lazarus dot com, his LinkedIn's linked to the footer there too, so you can just hop over there.
[00:25:31] Speaker A: And I am, right now we're offering free digital copies of the first edition of my book. So if anybody's listening to the podcast wants a copy of that book, feel free to email me, Jason partnerwithsynergy.com and we'll get a, we'll get a free copy of that sent to you.
[00:25:49] Speaker B: Absolutely. And then your podcast, Trial Lawyer View, I was just on that recently, so that'll be coming out later this year, I think, but appreciate you having me on. But check out the podcast. Awesome podcast. Has a, has a great following and great content there. So you can also check him out there. You can check out Jason all over the place.
[00:26:10] Speaker A: Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate it then. It was great having you and love the opportunity to talk to trial lawyers and people like you who have so much to give to the audience. I know, you know, I'm sure you, you experience this. You learn so much by hosting a podcast, and it's, it's very cool to get that opportunity.
[00:26:29] Speaker B: Oh, man, it's invaluable. You know, folks all the time are like, why lawyers and why marketing and why all this other stuff? But the podcast, for me, you know, I think it, I always tell people I started it just to meet lawyers. That was it. Um, and then it came, became like, you know, my clients are lawyers, so I learn from them, about them, their needs and, and what drives them and how they're growing their firms and what's important. And then, of course, referrals and connections and. But there's just so much I learned just that I can also apply to my own business. Like, so it's like a. You know, I can't even count all the. The. The positives that come out of it. So, yeah, it's been great. And I'm just, you know, I sit here talking to you about lean resolution or, you know, stuff about law firms. I'm not a lawyer, you know, so I, I can hang in there, but that's. I can get lost pretty quickly, too. So I try my best, but I've just learned so much about the industry and, and how it impacts people, to be honest with you. So it's been. It's been quite amazing. So.
[00:27:27] Speaker A: Yeah, me too.
[00:27:28] Speaker B: And.
[00:27:28] Speaker A: And that's. That's what's just cool about getting to do these. Whether I'm talking to somebody else or having someone on my podcast, it really is an opportunity to have conversations that are meaningful. And as I said, we have the opportunity and privilege. We. We're involved in a, A, A marketplace that really helps people, which is not too many businesses get that, that it's.
[00:27:50] Speaker B: It's interesting.
I now some. I now I just got one. On the other day, I had a lady reached out to me with a. With an injury, thinking that I was a lawyer, and she was in California and was like, hey, I'm. I'm having a problem just getting a lawyer, like, to call me back or get in touch. And I know that's a problem across the board, but so I, I talked to her. It's like, you know, found out she had some surgeries and she had this injury and all this stuff. And I'm like, so I literally got a hold of two law firms that I know in California, and they both reached out to her immediately, and she text me back, like, this long, like, thank you. And, you know, so I was like, oh, that's pretty cool. So. But I'll have lawyers reach out to me and say, hey, Kevin, do you know a lawyer that does this in this state? I usually do. Friends, family. Kevin, I need a lawyer. Like, it happens all the time. A podcast guest will call, hey, I got a guy in my office. He's in Virginia. You're in Virginia, you know, so it's, you know, become a little bit of a resource there for. For referrals. I'm not a lawyer, so I can't give referral fees, but happy to refer anybody. So if you have a need, let me know. I'll find someone that can help you.
[00:28:56] Speaker A: Yeah, I do it all the time too. I get those. I get them through the Internet because I've got a lot of content and even the injured parties will find me. And I try to do what I can to try and get them to the right place.
[00:29:08] Speaker B: Yeah. Which is cool. That's been growing and I've been.
Every time I get someone letting me help, like, all right, who do I know? I can connect the dots and, and help them out. So the podcast has been. Been awesome for that. So, Jason, man, I appreciate you coming on to share your story and your passion and yeah, if you PI folks out there don't know this is a service, I would suggest connecting with Jason. Check out Synergy. And yeah, I've met with some of the members of his team and they're just rock solid. So I think he'd be good in good hands. So check them out and connect with them.
[00:29:41] Speaker A: No, I appreciate that. And one thing I forgot to mention, but we have pretty interesting client portal that allows clients 24. 7 access to resolution data so they can see in real time what's going on with the resolution of cases. So it's not just about the expertise we have. We've also created these digital ways of interacting with clients to make it easier for them to see what's going on and, you know, send us documents and whatnot. You know, it's, it's become so digital these days. Obviously, you know, with, with the way things are moving as fast as they are moving, that's something that's really important to have as part of the delivery of these services.
[00:30:18] Speaker B: Oh yeah. Communication and updates like that's, you know, one of the biggest complaints you'll see on any bar for a state, you know, bars communication and organization and know what's going on. And that's just a big problem across the board. So that's super important these days and all is moving fast. But again, as I talk to firms on the lower level of, of sophistication on a daily basis, you're surprised. Like a website that's 10, 15 years old and you know, they've never done marketing and you know, there, there's plenty out there that just have to wake up or they're. They're going to be left behind. So, you know, but you guys are on the cutting edge, so that's good. Well, cool. Jason, thanks so much for coming on and sharing and everyone, thanks for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed Jason's story. Very unique. And he's out there doing good things. So please connect with him, and we'll see you on the next episode.
[00:31:12] Speaker A: Appreciate the invite, everyone.
[00:31:13] Speaker B: We'll see you soon. Jason, stay on with me. See you on the other side.
