I had Scott Distasio on my podcast, The Legal Xchange, the other day, and there were several takeaways I found particularly valuable for attorneys who are trying to grow, adapt, and thrive in today’s legal environment.
Scott’s career spans 35 years. He started as a defense lawyer representing hospitals and nursing homes, then took the leap into plaintiff’s work, and eventually built his own firm from the ground up. What struck me most wasn’t just the longevity of his career, but his willingness to reinvent himself multiple times in order to stay relevant and aligned with what he truly wanted.
That in itself is a lesson. As attorneys, we can sometimes get locked into one identity or one practice area and assume that’s our lane forever. Scott’s journey is proof that it’s possible to pivot, even when it feels risky, and that reinvention can lead to greater fulfillment and success.
Running a law firm is not the same as practicing law
One of the strongest themes that came out of our conversation is that law school prepares you to be a lawyer, but it doesn’t prepare you to run a business. Scott admitted that when he opened his doors, he had no idea how he would get cases or keep the lights on. Over time, he had to learn how to market, hire, and build systems.
This resonated with me because I see so many lawyers assume that if they’re good at practicing law, clients will naturally appear. It doesn’t work that way. You have to deliberately carve out time to work on the business, not just in the business. If you don’t, you’ll always feel reactive instead of in control.
Marketing has changed, and keeps changing
Scott grew up in the age of Yellow Pages, billboards, and TV ads. That was once the formula for getting cases. But by 2008, the internet had taken over, and by 2020, even websites alone weren’t enough. Now, people are increasingly turning to AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini to ask, “Who’s the best personal injury lawyer near me?”
That shift is massive. And while the technology is imperfect, the reality is clients are already using it to make decisions. Scott made a point that I believe every lawyer should hear: it’s not enough to have a website. You need to show up everywhere, search, social, video, and yes, even in AI results.
For me, the big takeaway is that marketing is no longer about a single “magic bullet.” It’s about layers. A website and SEO for compounding authority. Social media for reach and familiarity. Strong referral relationships for trust. And client experience so that past clients spread the word. None of those on their own are enough, but together, they create resilience.
The cautious embrace of AI
We also dove into AI, and I loved Scott’s perspective. He breaks it into two categories: marketing and practice. On the marketing side, your online presence now feeds into AI answers—so you need to make sure you’re publishing quality content that machines can surface. On the practice side, tools can accelerate research and summaries, but they hallucinate and still require human oversight.
Scott has tested AI for medical chronologies in simple auto cases, and he’s experimenting with Filevine’s AI tools, but he refuses to outsource intake or legal judgment to a bot. That balance is key. AI is a support tool, not a substitute for lawyering.
My own reflection here is that AI should be approached like a new associate: helpful if trained and supervised, dangerous if left alone. The firms that win with AI won’t be the ones who go all-in blindly, but the ones who adopt carefully with a strong verification process.
The hiring challenge
Another point that hit home was staffing. Scott’s biggest pain point, like many firms today, is finding and keeping talented support staff. Expectations around work have changed, and fewer people are choosing legal support careers. This is a universal challenge.
What I take from this is that hiring has to be treated like business development. You can’t just hope the right people apply. You have to build a bench, recruit continuously, and create a workplace where growth and training are part of the culture.
Preparing for the future of PI
Finally, we touched on autonomous vehicles and safety technology. Scott pointed out that fewer crashes already mean fewer auto cases, and that trend will only grow. Add in the complexity of product liability when software is in the driver’s seat, and PI lawyers will face a different world in the coming decade.
His advice, and one I echo, is diversification. Don’t rely solely on auto cases. Look at adjacent areas like nursing home abuse or medical malpractice, where your skills can transfer. Build balance into your caseload before you’re forced to by market conditions.
My biggest takeaway
What I admire most about Scott is his posture: principled, but adaptable. He hasn’t abandoned fundamentals like relationships, accountability, and client care, but he’s also testing new tools and adjusting to new realities. That combination, conviction and adaptability, is exactly what it takes to run a successful practice today.
If you’re an attorney reading this, my challenge to you is to take just one lesson from Scott’s journey and apply it to your own. Maybe it’s finally treating your firm like a business, diversifying your case mix, or leaning into AI carefully but deliberately. Whatever it is, don’t just stay comfortable. The lawyers who thrive over the next decade will be the ones willing to evolve while staying true to their core mission.
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