Zena, my wife, and I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in order for me to not have to keep traveling over 100,000 miles a year to perform.  We wanted settle down and build a life together and earn a good living.  We wanted to have a nice house, drive nice cars, and not have to worry about money.  We didn't care about being rich, but we sure wanted to be comfortable. To that end, I decided to enroll in the inaugural class of Lincoln Memorial University's new Duncan School of Law.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  

In May I graduated Summa Cum Laude, #2 in my class, and, in October, found out that I had passed the Tennessee Bar Exam.  I was sworn in as a bona fide practicing attorney in November.   I still couldn't find a job as an associate.  I took a job as a glorified law clerk earning less than $500 per week.  Things were tight, and I was embarrassed.  I had racked up over $130,000 in student loans and had no foreseeable way to pay them back.  My wife was earning more money managing a Men's Warehouse than I did as a licensed attorney. I knew something had to change. 

Come Hell or High Water, I was going to open my own law practice. I started doing pretty well on my own, and I met Jim Lafevor. We decided to open a firm together and LaFevor & Slaughter was born. Six months later, Jim had to retire unexpectedly due to medical reasons. Suddenly I was on my own. I decided to create an unconventional law firm that did things differently. It paid off. By the end of the year, Zena was able to quit her job and come work for me.

LaFevor & Slaughter began to take on a life of its own. Zena and I bought our third home, and moved to Davenport, Florida. I returned to Tennessee one week each month to try cases and make court appearances as necessary. I implemented technological solutions other firms were ignoring which allowed me to keep our clients happy, and lessen the amount of time I had to personally spend at the firm. LaFevor & Slaughter continued to succeed and scale with me running the practice entirely remotely.

LaFevor & Slaughter not only survived the global pandemic, but thrived. We had over 400 inquiries from potential new clients each month. We had a 97% collection rate, and we were on the first page of Google with well over 100 5-star reviews. We earned more money than we could shake a stick at. Still something was missing...I began contemplating my exit from LaFevor & Slaughter and decided I would be open to selling my firm.

After receiving multiple offers from prospective buyers in Canada and the United States, I accepted a seven figure offer to purchase LaFevor & Slaughter. It was a cash offer. There was no earn out, buy out, or other such silliness. In April the deal was finalized, and I was retired. I soon discovered that retirement and hospitals are where people go to die. I wasn't ready for that so....

The Small Firm Revolution was born! I decided that I want to be the kind of person I wish I could have found to help me when I got started all those years ago. First and foremost, a lawyer. Someone who had actually accomplished what I was hoping to achieve when I first started my law practice. The phrase, "Been there, Done that," came to mind. Because of my firm belief that both lawyers and the legal system would be better off with more small law firms, I have dedicated myself to the mission of helping more lawyers open and optimize their own law firms. I want to help at least 10 lawyers in each state open their own thriving law firms and earn their first $1M. Are you going to be one of them?