Tommy Badeaux

Kevin Daisey (00:34)
All right. What's up everyone? Got Tommy on the show from out of Louisiana

Tommy, I got a question for you. my new startup lawyers out there that just went out and started their own firm that might be listening, what's a good tip you'd have for them?

Tommy Badeaux (00:44)
Okay.

So for somebody just going out on their own and starting, I guess my piece of advice would be just learn to say no. And I say that with the context of, you know, when you're fresh out, if you're going fresh out of law school and trying to go rogue and hang out your own shingle, or if you're leaving another firm, you know, you're gonna want clients, because you're gonna need income and you're gonna wanna build your reputation, your practice. And so your inclination is probably gonna be, look, I need to take anything that comes in the door. And so,

I kind fell into that trap myself when I came out of law school trying to, know, one of the first kind of claims I got was a divorce. so through elimination and some, some efforts, I kind of realized like, this isn't what I want to do. You know, the, the expenditures and the amount of time and just the fee structure wasn't something I was comfortable with. So, and, still to this day, you know, once you, you find your niche and so that would kind of piggyback into the say no, say no to the things that you're not interested in and don't just

chase clients to get checks, but you probably want to focus on what your practice areas are gonna be. So for me, I kind of narrowed it down to PI and criminal defense, but I'll dabble in a few other things, but the more established you get and the more clients you get and the longer you practice, you'll probably get random phone calls for all kinds of stuff. And so you just need to be comfortable to kind of nip things in the bud and maybe kind of tell people, before we set up a meeting or before you go into this long,

winded explanation, what exactly is your issue? Because if it's something that I can't help you with, I want to kind of set that boundary first off, but B, I want to know what the issue is, because now I could possibly refer you to somebody else who I know, know, maybe a friend from law school, maybe somebody you've met through a podcast or just, you know, any kind of group. And so I think that's just the best piece of advice I could give is just learn to say no and don't take on things that you'll end up, you know, harming your career over.

Kevin Daisey (02:39)
Now, good advice. That's, that's, I think when we start out, you know, it's, do you want to say yes? And you want to take on things and. You know, you're excited just to be able to pay some bills and get going. So, but it's a trap you can fall into, and get stuck in and, and yeah, good advice there. So, well, Tommy, want you to, you know, introduce yourself, obviously tell us a little bit more about your, background, your story and, how you became.

Tommy Badeaux (02:49)
Yeah.

Kevin Daisey (03:02)
to be on your own and running your own firm down there in Louisiana.

Tommy Badeaux (03:05)
So small background Tommy Bado. I am from a small town called cutoff, Louisiana. It's It's not even technically a town. I think if you google it, it's it Wikipedia say it's a census designated place I have no idea what that means But essentially it makes up It's in Lafourche parish. It makes up an area called South Lafourche. It's like five six small CDPs that feed into One high school was called South Lafourche. So I went there graduated

Went to undergrad at University of Louisiana, which is located in Lafayette. And then from there, applied to law school in Loyola, moved to New Orleans, I believe, took a year off after I graduated, went to New Orleans in 2007. Went through my first year of law school, didn't really know if it's what I wanted to do once I got there. So had some issues with that, of thought I was going to quit, took another year off and then went back, started throughout.

law school finished that. And upon graduating, job market was pretty terrible. I didn't clerk or anything. I worked my way through law school, so I didn't have any jobs coming out. Did the whole interview process, went through a couple of PI firms and thought that was gonna be the route I went. And then finally, couldn't get a job because there was no experience on my end. So was kind of a catch-22. You can't get a job if you don't have experience. can't get experience if you don't have a job.

So I said, you know what, screw it. I bartended all through college, all through law school. said, I'll keep bartending and just try to hang my own shingle out. And that kind of led me into taking anything and everything that came in the door, did some contract negotiations, utilized my notary stamp till no end, just being a notary. But then I got a call from a couple of friends of mine who were in a car wreck. They had hired this big law firm out of New Orleans and weren't happy with it.

really early on, think after the first month. so got my first car wreck case. And so it just happened to be a couple. So was two and that's kind of how we got from there. So started out on my own. Yeah. 2015 was when I opened my office, did it for two years was, was trending correctly. You know, it was going up and, really enjoying it. And what happened is I found out that I had recently got married. So in 2016 and then found out my wife was pregnant in 2017.

Kevin Daisey (05:00)
That's awesome.

Tommy Badeaux (05:17)
And so what initially happened is one of my mentors at who kind of did similar career paths was working. He was working with another lawyer. had like a quote unquote partnership and he went out on his own and another prominent lawyer in the area asked him to go be an associate. He said, look, it's probably not the right time for me, but I got a guy for you. So I went interview there and realized, you know, maybe being on my own and supporting a family wasn't the way to go with no benefits, no insurance, stuff like that. So.

kind of tuck my tail between my legs and went being associate for a couple years and you know, learn some things, things that helped me out in my practice, learn a lot of things I didn't want to do in my practice and how to handle things and cases and intakes. so essentially wind it down, you know, my own solo. And in the midst of doing that, it kind of realized, wow, you know, maybe I was doing a little bit better than I expected. I don't know why I did that.

Kevin Daisey (05:52)
you

Tommy Badeaux (06:04)
But stayed there for four years all through COVID. And then finally in 2021 just went back out of my own. so, know, Law Offices of Badeaux has been since May, it's in May, it's going to be four years back out of my own, but kind of predominantly as a solo lawyer throughout my journey.

Kevin Daisey (06:20)
Yeah, that's

interesting path. You know what I mean? That's, is cool. mean, you know, everyone's got a different story and it's, um, but I think it's, it was probably wise. You know, you, you're on your own from the beginning. You know I mean? So you didn't really see like how people do things, processes and all those things. So to go back and get some experience and then, and then have the realization that, okay, I need, I need to do my own thing again. That's, I don't think I've heard that path before, which is, which is.

Tommy Badeaux (06:24)
Yeah.

Yeah,

it's the road that's traveled. So usually it's people get a job right out of law school at the big firms or they go work at the defense firm. That's kind of the roadmap in our area, in personal injury. You either go work for the big TV firms, which down here, there's a few big players and they've got 60, 80, 90 lawyers, whatever it may be. So you go there, you sit at your cubicle, you bring business in and you realize, why am making somebody else money? Or...

Kevin Daisey (06:47)
Pretty cool though. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Tommy Badeaux (07:13)
The other cliche thing and I always find this funny is the guys that say, Oh, I did defense work for years. And then I ultimately felt bad for plenty. No, you didn't. Like you just, you saw what you were doing. You realized you were on, you you were, you were the black hat and, and taken up for corporate greed. And then you'd wanted to go make some money on your own. So it's just with me, I always knew I wanted to be on my own. I always knew like I wanted my name on a building. And, so now that I'm doing it, you know, maybe I don't want my name on a huge building downtown. That's, that's not my career path, but

Obviously, I wanted to at least say, hey, I gave it an attempt. I worked for myself. I really don't want to work for anybody else. just think my style tends not to play well with others, as you'll probably see on some of my social media things. I like to be different. I like to do things a different way. so, yeah, my professional attire is not what most people would consider professional, but this is me. And that's kind of how I present myself.

Kevin Daisey (08:03)
And I love it. And that's why, you know, that's why you're on the show and kind of talking to you here and yeah, everyone, if you're listening, or if you're watching, yeah, go check out some of his stuff. mean, it's totally different than what you'll see out there. Website color schemes for his brand. you know, how he dresses and carries himself big in the sneakers. but he's got his own style, his own brand, he's being himself. And I think, you know, that's these days for me, that's.

Tommy Badeaux (08:21)
Yeah.

Kevin Daisey (08:28)
The best lawyers out there have that different brand. stand out. They're doing something different, but it's, it's, it's not made up. It's, it's just who they are. I met Kevin Kennedy. I don't know if you know him. He's the dude with like all the rings. he's on TikTok and he's, he's just the older guy.

Tommy Badeaux (08:41)
He's got like,

yeah, I think is that the guy with like the throne and he wears the the better call Saul style suits all the pastels and all. Yeah.

Kevin Daisey (08:49)
Yeah. And he's, think it's,

uh, he's from Tennessee, but if you meet the guy, he is that guy, through and through, you know what mean? Like, he's not just trying to be like, that's just him. And so, you know, but that, that works and he's, know, so I just like the different style and how you go against, uh, the norm that's out there is pretty cool. Um, the other thing cool about what Tommy is, you know, uh, kind like my friend Lloyd, he knows Lloyd, uh, down there, bourgeois.

Yeah, really between some big markets and in a smaller town, but with big, huge firms that spend lots of money in and around his market. So how does a startup firm compete? Right? How do you stand out? How do you get clients? I think that's what a lot of, you know, startup firms that I talk to all the time, that's, that's our biggest concern. And a lot of them are sold or told, yeah, you can't. So good luck.

But I've seen plenty of them do it. So it's, it can work and you can do it. So Tommy, tell me, know, what has worked for you as far as, uh, you know, since you started backup, uh, or like even like today right now, like, uh, you know, you, I know you do some different tactics and guerrilla marketing and some of your social is just different. us a little bit about some of those things and, uh, what's worked well for you.

Tommy Badeaux (09:59)
Yeah. So primarily, and this isn't to sound cookie cutter or whatever, this, you know, might be the most cliche answer, but you have to do good work for your clients, you know, above a number one, you know, getting them through the door is one thing, but them keeping you and, and, know, the biggest thing as, as a small lawyer or solo lawyer is you've got to get referrals, referrals and word of mouth or your lifeline. Because if, for instance, if those first two clients that were my friends, you know,

One of them is still probably my A number one referral source to this day. You he owns a business. He's got a lot of employees. When his employees get in wrecks, he's still referring me cases today. So it's a good trade off. know, he also has a heavy foot. So when he gets a speeding tickets, I'll go help him out for him. And, you know, it's, a, it's a great world, but that's, you got to do good work. Cause you want those clients to keep referring you to other people because you don't have that war chest. You're not spending six figures a month to compete with these big dogs on TV and you don't.

have all the billboards and you're not dieting, know, not dieting highway 90 going from here to Alabama, like some of the big players in New Orleans and all that. So you want to do good work first and foremost. Now, secondly, what you, what you try, what you want to try to do is there's ways to advertise that don't, don't involve the traditional media. you know, not radio, not TV, not billboards. but you could find a way to stand out in your own way. And that, that could trend from just.

helping out in, so for instance, if you have recreational sporting leagues, things like that, whether you want to volunteer your time as a coach, an easy way to do it is to sponsor these things. So for me, big thing is I sponsor any sports team from back home that reaches out to me, chances are I'm going to do something, whether it's my name on the back of a jersey, whether I'm hanging signs in their gymnasiums, you know, and that goes for local high schools. You know, I got my banners and...

boat schools I grew up in, they know to call me. my big thing is, you know, I know there's a lot of lawyers and there's a lot of local lawyers who do a lot of different things. But for me, I try to just, it's not being, I don't think mean or it's just like, Hey, if you're going to call me to do something, know, how many other lawyers are doing this and B, am I the only personal injury one? Because, you know, I like to stay in my lane and I like to say, Hey, if I'm going to be helping you out with this, you know, it's, it's tit for tat, but just helping out in your community. so whether it's

Kevin Daisey (12:04)
you

Tommy Badeaux (12:12)
Local sporting things, whether it's another big thing I like to do is I help out fishing rodeos. They got a bunch of different charities that throw those down in Grand Isle or other areas of South Lafourche and lower Louisiana. Just find a way to make yourself present in other ways that these big lawyers aren't. So while they're busy sponsoring the New Orleans Saints or the Pelicans and have their ad in the Superdome, know, I'm okay with having my banner in a local high school gymnasium. So just in

just in case somebody's at that game and knows somebody who got in a car wreck or God forbid they get in a car wreck on the way home, somebody might've saw my sign there and might just look up, well, instead of calling these lawyers who sponsor the saints who have no idea who I am, let me call Tommy who's gonna meet with me personally and handle my case. so that's the other thing is you want to make sure that you're doing things these big firms aren't. So they're gonna spend the money, they wanna be first of mine and the first one that people remember, but.

On the other hand, if you're going to compete in this market, you have to differentiate yourself. So for me, how I try to do it is I say, look, you know, one of my little slogans is I'm putting personal service back into personal injury. And so the big thing is I am a solo office. And even if I do get an associate or two down the line, I'm not just going to turn myself into a businessman. I'm going to have my hands on the files. going to be the face of the business. I have no problem still. And it's going to be a decade now. I'm doing this in May.

Kevin Daisey (13:17)
I that.

Tommy Badeaux (13:30)
I'm, I have no problems making house calls. So for the people who can't make their way up to, you know, right outside New Orleans, cause that's where I'm located. My headquarters are in Metairie, but for people who live one, two, three hours away, I'm going, I have no problem going meet them somewhere, you know, whether it's a coffee shop, whether it's in their home, if they're that badly injured, God forbid I have to go to the hospital. You know, obviously I don't like making those trips because that's, that's not good. You know, if I got to meet up with somebody in hospital. So.

Kevin Daisey (13:55)
Yeah.

Tommy Badeaux (13:55)
You know, we get those sticks or the ambulance chases and all that. But if somebody contacts me, Hey, you know, my aunt got hurt really bad. You know, my mom's in the hospital. She got rear ended. do you mind, you know, we've already had people contact us. We don't feel comfortable. What do we do? I have no problems still doing that, you know, and I don't, I don't foresee a time where I won't be doing that unless I'm just really older and, and, you know, not having the ability to do that. So make yourself accessible, find different avenues to put yourself out there and just.

You know, focus on, what you bring. Everybody's going to bring something to the table. That's a lot different. and so for me, it's just, I have a good understanding of a personal injury just because of my own experience, but just knowing, and like you said, gorilla marketing. So, you know, I have a couple of choice billboards and I'm just selective about where they're at. Like, I think I might've told you that and we talked, my one billboard that's

Kevin Daisey (14:41)
Yeah. We just thought about,

the towns you're from and where you already have people.

Tommy Badeaux (14:44)
Yeah, literally. it's there's

also happens to be a billboard in my, it's not in my parents yard, but it's literally on their street. And so when I got the bright idea, I'm like, for a while it was, Hey, you know, what are you doing? You know, people didn't really know that I was a lawyer or they would see it at a basketball game or something. I had opened up the program. Like, I didn't know Tommy was a lawyer. And so for the first six or seven years, it hasn't, it hasn't been as bad lately, but I just got tired of, I'm like, man, like

You should know what I do by now. Like I'm in your face. It's, everywhere. I'm my kid, you know, my name's under your kid's basketball jersey. How do you not put two and two together? So I said, here's my idea. I'm going to get a billboard. I'll go against the grain. You know, my crusade on billboard lawyers, but that way when people pass my parents' house where, know, they probably came at when we were little, that's what Tommy's doing. You know, let me call him. And, so just be, be choice, be selective about what you do, but just try to be more present and find what works for you and how it could market yourself better.

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Kevin Daisey (16:48)
those are interesting, you know, really cool, good tips. and, I was telling me and Tommy when we chatted before, it's kind of like, your power list, Grant Cardone, those are the people that talk about a power list, but like your power, you know, your referral group. So your friends, your family, that's your power list. It's like the folks, you know, very well personally. and that can expand out to, it can be hundreds of people.

But how many of them actually know what you do? Right? Have you called them all, talked to them all? And you'd be surprised that most think maybe have an idea, whatever, but you'd be surprised on how many people don't. So what if just your power base, I think it's called power base actually, knew what you did, every single one of them. And then they know their own hundred plus power base. And so just starting with making sure your folks, your friends know what you do.

And what Tommy's done is, you Hey, this is my hometown where everyone knows me. Bam. Let's make sure that they know what I do. and they, they know you, they, you know, they want to look out for you. They want to refer you if they can. So, I think the other great thing is. Yeah. The big firms aren't going to be sponsoring local high school sports and things like that. So that's, that's an opportunity, right? And the other thing you talked about is agility. So you're small.

You're agile. You get to work with them directly. You can go to their house and you can go meet with them somewhere else. The big firms aren't going to do that. So you got to find ways to be different, to stand out. And even if you do grow and scale, you can scale those things that you're talking about if that's what you choose to do. So that's what makes Tommy different than the big guys. And so, you know, when you're starting out, you got to find those ways that

You know, you can slip in and fit where you can and be different. And then you'll start to build a practice. So good tips. Love it. And so you yourself too, you were in a car accident. A car wreck. He likes the word wreck better. like that.

Tommy Badeaux (18:29)
Yeah. Hey, I like that. You've learned a little. Yeah. Look, and

that's, why I hate the term car accident. And, know, I've said it and it's because there are, there are no accidents. Every car wreck, there's some underlying issue that, that caused it, whether it's the person on their phone texting that rear ends you, whether it's somebody not paying attention to a light. And even if you want to go further that if it's truly an accident that a tire or a wheel flies off, well, chances are,

Somebody's liable for that whether it's the repair shop who changed the tire is that a manufacturer that didn't install the part properly There's always going to be in an instance or you know, another factor that contributes to the wreck. There are no just true Accidents and so that's why I hate the term because people use it and it downplays everything, you know Like people say if end of been or this and that but you know and and that's gonna probably go into a stereotype issue but there's literal medical documentation and studies that show at

Nine miles an hour you could suffer herniated disc if the impact is is Correct or prop, know, so I just hate when people just you know, you're just ambulance chaser You're just looking for car accidents and this and that people are always quick to say I'm sorry and feel bad for the person that hit them and they don't think about themselves And so that's why I always try to disassociate that so to me there's only car wrecks and so Yeah to answer your question. Yes, so I do have personal experience with with the car wreck of my own back in

2013, we were leaving, was bartending there in Essence Fest, a big event, and we were coming back home, me and a friend of mine, was a security guard. He was driving, we were heading back home, I wanna say probably five or six in the morning, obviously New Orleans, we work late. But heading back home, it probably about 10 minutes away from our house on the interstate, and we got rear-ended, a guy was doing 103. And so he hits us, we're in a SUV, we flip over multiple times.

Had my seatbelt on, somehow someway I got ejected from the vehicle out the back glass they think. Car rolled over me somehow, I'm like face first in the dirt by a tree. I don't really remember anything. I remember parts of it. I was on the phone with my now wife when this happened so she's kinda like freaking out. I don't kinda know where I'm at. I'm talking to her, my head's like all split open if you look really good in some of my pictures, it's still got a nasty scar. It's my Harry Potter scar as people call it. But.

Essentially, I'm still kind of talking to her telling her it's no big deal. Get rushed to the hospital. Long story short, I broke my neck, broke my arm, had bruised lungs and know, gashes and stuff all over my face. So had like, I think it was eight staples in my head and like 27 stitches all around. So still, you know, got the beauty marks to prove it. But going through that, obviously, that was my first car wreck that I could recall that I was that I was hurt in.

And so had to spend a couple of two days in the hospital and then didn't need surgery or anything. So I was lucky that way, but walked around with a neck brace. was supposed to originally be for, uh, four to six weeks, but it wasn't healing rights. And then I'm having to leave it like for 10. So that was pretty miserable. Uh, but it was just, it rendered me kind of useless. Like I had to move back in with my parents. Uh, they, they put me a recliner in the middle of their living room because I couldn't lay down. So I had to sleep sitting up.

My only saving grace, obviously, besides my mother taking care of me, my fiance who was coming back on the weekends just to kind of take care of me was Grand Theft Auto came out that time period. So that saved me because I was still on my PS4 playing Grand Theft Auto. But yeah, so learn from that. And during that process, my mother-in-law is actually a paralegal. She's been an office, well, she's an office manager now, but she's been a paralegal for 25 plus years.

So she kind of helped me navigate my own claim and was like, look, you know, usually we would get you to my boss or something like that, but it's, you know, it was a slam dunk claim. There was no commercial policy. was, it was all minimal. We had to stat in Louisiana. have like the lowest premiums, I think in the nation's 15,000 limits. So it was essentially two $15,000 policies. had to, you know, I had it and I tell people all the time and it's unfortunate, but at a worst case quarter of a million dollar injury with $30,000 in insurance coverage. So learn lessons about that.

Kevin Daisey (22:14)
Mm-hmm.

Tommy Badeaux (22:16)
firsthand the hard way. She helped me do the claim and then kind of in handling that and talk, you know, cause I did talk to my own adjusters after the months of the wreck and got everything kind of So they didn't have to pay any fees. That was great. But in doing that, you know, she kind of showed me the ropes and she was like, look, you know, you really have a good personality for this. Like, I don't know. All I wanted to do was a criminal lawyer. I guess I left that out in my background. Like coming up, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. I thought I was going to go high. I always wanted to be like high profile criminal lawyer.

like blue collar, I guess the stuff you might see on suits or things like that, better call saws. But I was like, you know, I want to represent somebody in the mafia. Like that was my big goal. Like, you know, be the guy on the news, like, hey, my client's not guilty, no comment. Next. know, are we travesty of justice? He's going to be set free. But so she was telling me like, hey, you know, you should really do this. And I just kind of blew it off. like, yeah, OK, whatever, Mr. Arlene, that's fine. But

went follow around a criminal lawyer after I passed the bar and all that and realized, hey, this is not what I want to do. Chasing around a check and going to all these arraignments and a lot of times you're dealing with people's families because they're locked up and then they can't afford to pay you. it's just, it never seemed to jive with what I wanted. It was going to be a long path to get to where I want it to be. And I was like, this might not be it. And so when the car wreck thing, those two car wreck clients signed up with me, yeah, it kind of.

brought back some of my, you know, it was easy for me to relate. Cause obviously while their injuries weren't as severe as mine, you know, I was like, well, look, if I can handle mine and I know how I felt, you know, how I felt in that hospital bed, handling your, your usual run of the mill soft tissue claim is going to be piece of cake or for somebody who needs a knee surgery or things like that, I'm well equipped to handle it all. And so, you know, doing that, I kind of went back to my mother-in-law and said, Hey, you know, maybe I do want to do this. Like, can you, can you give me some, can you give me some pointers? And you know,

And any lawyer could tell you this, the most seasoned one. you're paralegals are your lifelines. They essentially allow, I run the day to day in the business stuff, you know, my paralegal now, Monique, she's great. She's kind of similar to my mother-in-law. Like they're just old school paralegals. They've been practicing. They've been in the law longer than I've been a lawyer. So, you know, I turned to them a lot and hey, what did you think here? Hey, you ever had something come up? And you know, a good lawyer will admit his paralegal is his lifeline. So.

You know, my mother-in-law helped me greatly. And now I still kind of reach out to everyone smile. Like, Hey, you know, it could be something simple. Hey, you got a form for this. you recall like ever having this kind of issue and they'll just, they go from memory. So yeah, that's, that's kind of how I got into this world is, is my own personal. And, and that's why I think it helps me, you know, and I'm not saying I'm leaps and bounds better than anybody else, but if I combine what we were talking about earlier, my personal handling of somebody's file, you know,

Kevin Daisey (24:38)
That's awesome.

Tommy Badeaux (24:53)
I make that a point like when you sign up with us, you're not a number. I mean, God forbid, I don't even have enough, I haven't even had clients enough to start putting, know, I remember everybody by name. Yeah, sure, they'll have a reference number in our online system, but when you're calling, you say, Injury, mean, you know, my paralegal will give me a keyword and I'll know. Okay, yeah, that's this person with the herniation, the cervical herniation, she's treating here and yada yada. So the personal service combined with my own personal experience, I just think makes me.

Kevin Daisey (25:03)
Thank

Tommy Badeaux (25:20)
more than equipped. that's kind of what my marketing is kind of based on is look, you'll get bombarded with all the lawyers saying all the same things. And there's actually a study right now because Louisiana it's huge issue for the last couple years tort reform. think Georgia just underwent some like that. That was on a couple of podcasts that I've been looking at, but it's front and center. They just started legislation. They're going after billboard lawyers and somebody ran a study. I think it was like an hour of

Kevin Daisey (25:36)
Yep. Yep.

Tommy Badeaux (25:46)
local television like on the news there were 19 lawyer ads sometimes back to back to back to back. So of course, I'm going to take that and because it's true. I mean, they're all the same. It's the power five. It's all the big firms with the fancy billboards, the high rises, the 90 lawyers. They all say the same stuff, you know, and every once in while, they'll go after each other like, don't call him. He's not even from here or you can't, know, but some of them and they'll straight up admit like we don't practice law, we're businesses, but they're they're number one, they're recognized. Like when people think

car wreck, they thank them. So what I try to do is like, look, don't call them just because you know them, just because they got that fancy number in their catchy jingle, call somebody you know is going to help you. And in my, know, not only, know, is personally going to help you, but I've been there. You know, I could promise you that maybe somebody in their law firm has gotten a wreck and knows what it's like to be in a car wreck, but have they been in a hospital bed? Have they broken their neck? Have they dealt with realizing that, you know, their injury was worth more in the policy? I've been there.

So I've been on both sides of the coin. I've been injured. I've been through the trials. I've had, I've seen people, thankfully myself, you know, we haven't lost a trial. So I've seen the triumphs, but I've seen people get taken advantage of. I've seen how the process works. And that's what I just think, you know, it makes me equipped to, to represent my clients better.

Kevin Daisey (26:59)
Yeah I totally agree with that experience you have. But yeah, with Tommy's marketing too, if you look at social media, I think it's great going after the big firms, go right at them, use it against them. And that's the advantage you have. So back to like anyone that's listening that's trying to start their own firm, especially in PI, especially in a big market, you can do it. Is it going to be easy? No.

Is it going to be overnight? No, but but you have advantages that the big firms don't have and you got to leverage you got to leverage this.

Tommy Badeaux (27:21)
No.

Yeah. mean,

and it's just, I'm still getting comfortable. know, the first time I made a video, it was weird and it's still kind of weird having to do it. Cause and that's, guess it's, it's both plus and minuses on that. Cause the big firms, know, they have their marketing agencies. They've got their people coming in and the place I worked before, you know, he was one of the guys who advertise and he still kind of does. but it's, you get swallowed, you could get swallowed up in it. Like, so you, every once in you always make a joke. Like you'll see.

the power players are there and they're there no matter what. They're always gonna be there. But every once in while you'll see a new guy pop in and you're like, oh, he settled a big case. Now he's trying to compete with these guys. So it's never gonna mesh. You're never gonna get to that point. So I don't have an ad agency telling me what to do. I don't have a marketing, it's all me. And so do I think I'm the best thing since sliced bread? No, but I wanna do stuff different. And so I know that if I would try to go and hire one of these companies, they'd be like,

you can't do that or that doesn't make any sense or your ideas are too like, you can't afford to do the ideas you want. So with me doing my own stuff and doing guerrilla marketing, like it, gives me a unique point of view because I could go there and, and, you know, say things until the line. So I've always told people like, Hey, you want a commercial? And I tell people this all the time. Yeah, I would love to have maybe one or two commercials, but it would probably be my last couple because I would, I would strike a chord, I'd strike a nerve and, they'd probably say like, you can't do this, you know, cause

Louisiana lawyer advertising is so highly regulated. You got to get it approved by the Bar Association. So chances are when they would do it, people would see it and probably be like, no, you can't do that. And I'd poke the wrong bear and probably get a cease and desist. So I'm waiting for those days. Because to me, everybody's like, aren't you scared? Like you post this or you say this? I'm like, no, because I was like, if these guys know who I am, then I'm good. So it's, you know, I'll keep doing what I'm doing. Yeah, that's kind of where I'm

Kevin Daisey (29:11)
I'm the bear. I like it.

Tommy Badeaux (29:14)
But yeah, it's tough, it's not gonna come easy. You just gotta find what works. So am I gonna get up and do a dance on TikTok? No, I know there are some lawyers who do that. Am I gonna do every little trend that I see on Instagram? Probably not. But there's bits and pieces and stuff. So you could do it in different ways. And one thing that I have learned though is don't be cookie cutter because that's what made me start actually doing my videos is I've been seeing.

kind of the people trying to do it. And a lot of times what you'll see now is it goes back to like, we're talking about sneakers and the way I dress. Every once in a while, I'll go to like the functions with our associations and you'll see these old dogs, we call them the dinosaurs. They've been advertising forever and they've always been one way, but now you'll see these guys, all of a sudden they're not in suits and ties. They're in sports coats and jeans and I saw one 80 year old guy rocking Jordans the other day. I'm like, what are we doing here?

Okay, for me to do that, like even now I go to professional function. I'm like, man, am I toeing the line? Like I show up to a depositioner once in a and I'm, I'm in a Polo and Jordans and you know, defense counsel is looking at me like, what are you? I'm like, well, this is me. I've told my clients, this is how I'm going to dress. I'm making them feel comfortable. That's cool. But you see people trying to play parts that they aren't. So don't, you know, don't keep saying the same, Oh, well hire me because I've got 30 years experience and we've had over $5 million combined. Well, great.

Kevin Daisey (30:24)
Yeah, yeah.

Tommy Badeaux (30:33)
But you've been practicing 65 years. I would hope you had $5 million recovered. Let's focus on something different. So all that to say this, people like content from lawyers that isn't lawyer, not legal related. just, but don't, now the pizza review thing, that's overused. Everybody wants to do a pizza review and find something else. Eat a cheeseburger maybe, that's just my...

Kevin Daisey (30:45)
Yeah, agreed.

Tommy Badeaux (30:54)
That's my thing is try to find something different you could do that'll keep people interested that it's not always monotony. Hey, three things to do in a car wreck. This is what, know, switch it up a little bit. And that's kind of, that would be my advice for, starting small and just trying to, know, cause that's what it is. It's almost like a popularity contest and it's not a game. What we do is people's lives, but you have to get clients. And so you just have to make people at least know who you are and they're either going to, they're going to love you. They're going to hate you. They're going to laugh at you, know, but.

Somebody who laughs at you and thinks you're stupid, if they at least remember you, you're doing something.

Kevin Daisey (31:24)
Yeah, no one's gonna like you. Not one's a perfect fit. Neither one should be a client. So you just got to keep doing your thing and be yourself. And, uh, the people that are connected to you or drawn to you, they'll, they'll come your way. So yeah, a hundred percent. I think, you know, there's a lot of, uh, like Jefferson Fisher, um, he's down in Texas. He's got like, you know, 6 million followers or something like that. He doesn't talk about the wall at all. He just talks about communication with people. And so, yeah, they just know he's a lawyer through looking them up, but.

He doesn't talk about the law at all, but he's got a massive following. So, you know, that's worked well for him. So just like you, if you're known in your community, people know who you are. just being yourself and that's gonna, you know, draw clients to you. So, yeah, good information. definitely interesting, background and path. All of this super cool. And I think, you know, that's the thing about this podcast and

Tommy Badeaux (32:08)
You

Kevin Daisey (32:12)
And, you know, bringing on people to have different stories. They've done things differently. They're doing things differently like you are. and. Hope people can just pick up some ideas of their own. So if they're starting their own firm, or if you're listening, you have a firm that you've had for many years. I know lots of older lawyers right now that I'm talking to that used to be doing very well and now they're, they're not. And so they're trying to get back to where they were. Things change online marketing changes.

competitors are moving in to almost every market. So you got to do things differently. good lessons.

Tommy Badeaux (32:43)
Yeah. mean, you know, but

the bar, mean, and I know there's key areas all over the country, you know, so I know, I don't know how the lawyer population is there, but it here, especially New Orleans area, it's oversaturated. mean, I'll call it like it is. There's too many of us. So the dog eat dog world, and then not only that, so the competition is, but it's a transition, especially now, just the practice of law itself. So now you got AI and I laugh, but I mean, every once in

we get these articles of people getting popped for writing, they're citing cases that don't exist. So it's, and it, happens is it's kind of what you're saying. It's these, these older guys who have been practicing and don't know technology and they're trying to, incorporate this stuff and not using it right. And thinking that they could just say, Hey, write me a memo for this appeal. And they're going into court and they're getting destroyed. And judges like this case doesn't exist. So it's, it's, it's just, it's constantly evolving. It's the practice of law. And especially now it's people trying to stay afloat.

Kevin Daisey (33:14)
Mm-hmm.

Tommy Badeaux (33:38)
with people who used to compete with these high marketing firms and not doing it anymore. So they're just hemorrhaging money. But then also on our side of practice, you can't, and that's kind of what I said in a video the other day. That's great. You have 85 years of combined experience. Well, we're not driving Model Ts anymore. A car wreck in 2025, mean, isn't even, shit, it's not even the same since 2015, since I started.

Kevin Daisey (33:59)
.

Tommy Badeaux (34:04)
The medical treatment has changed. The billing has changed. The amount of hoops that insurance companies are making. When I started practicing, would be your medicals would reach a certain point and you get a refer for an MRI and boom, we're getting policy limits. Then a couple of years down the road, it's okay, well, now you got to get that MRI. Then it became, well, we see the MRI, but he's just old. How do we know he's really, you know? So then had to go to a spine, like it's just, keep moving the goalposts. And so...

You know, the limits used to be a lot lower back then. I don't know how people survive, but there used to be 10, now they're 15. I'm hoping we move them again. So it's, it's just constantly evolving and you have to learn how to evolve to this space, not only in the practice, but also in the marketing aspect. And you know, as of right now, and that's why I love social media. It's unregulated. And I mean, that's like, you don't have to get everything passed by. And I think it's because the people who regulate that don't know it's the wild west essentially, you know? And so.

That's why I like it though, because that's where your clients are. Your clients aren't watching the TV that they were back in the day. So me growing up, yes, all we had, you we weren't in New Orleans, but our local news stations were the New Orleans ones. So, you know, you had Channel 4, 6 and 8 and all you were seeing was Mars Bards ads or, know, whoever else was. And so now he's still there because obviously he's the head honcho. He's the first one who did it down here. And of course all the politicians hate him. That's who they're.

Kevin Daisey (35:12)
Yep.

Tommy Badeaux (35:22)
And it's right now, it's great. I'm on Twitter and Mars Barts fighting with all the, the senators and the representatives about billboard lawyers. But you know, he's always going be there. He's, he's top of the totem pole, but it's just, it's a matter of, well, kids like me aren't watching local news anymore. They're on their phone. They're on TikTok. I mean, you know, I'm 40. I'm, I'm on Instagram. now, you know, I never used to want to be on and I swore it off, but I was like, okay, if, I'm watching this dude make an Instagram video for his law firm, like,

This is not, you I could do something at least more entertaining than that. And so that's what kind of got me started. So yeah, you have to shift your base and, and, know, one of the best stories I ever had is obviously besides sneakers and stuff like that is I'm a huge, I'm a video gamer. Me and my wife both are. I actually signed up a client who I had never met ever in my life, face to face. He was, we used to play call of duty together and he knew I was a lawyer from our, from our group chats.

and gotten a rec and he was six hours away, but still in Louisiana. said, dude, aren't you, aren't you an ambulance chaser? was like, I, I, I'm a personal injury lawyer. Yes. He goes, dude, I just got in a wreck. Like, I don't know what to do this. I said, are you serious? He goes, yeah. said, how about you take my email down and we'll and sign them up literally the next day. Never. You know, I mean that that's, and that's the beauty of our practices. And that's another thing is I'm embracing digital. You know, all my stuff is online. I got a web form. My clients fill out my contract is e-sign because you know, for I'm, I'm eligible to practice anywhere in the state.

Kevin Daisey (36:28)
That's awesome.

Tommy Badeaux (36:40)
I don't focus up north, I don't wanna go out of the state, but I mean if I do, I could get admitted and I have a couple cases now in Texas and Tennessee that I'm admitted to practice on those limited bases. for the most part, if you get into rec in Louisiana and you're from New Orleans and you move away, I still can represent you. And so that's another point is you gotta pivot to be able to say, I'm not making this person drive down six hours, nor as willing as I am to go make a house call.

Let's time to, you know, time equals money. I'm not going to drive six and a half hours there and back. So waste a whole day just to sign up a client when I could do it online. We could hop on, you know, we could hop on a zoom and if we need to do face to face thing, but for the most part it's here's, here's what I do. Here's how I do it. I could coordinate your treatment from back here. I could do anything. And sure enough, I got the client, we settled the claim. And now that guy's referring me client, you know, it's great. And all because of PlayStation. So.

Kevin Daisey (37:27)
That's awesome. That's, that's

awesome. Another way to get clients are there people. but yeah, agility, you're small. You can do those things, lean into it. I'll, you know, I'll perform the, the other guys that have been around, maybe not the big guys, but the, med size or the, ones that used to be performing and now they're not. So, things to take advantage of things to get ahead, things to win. So, well, Tommy, I appreciate you, coming on, the show and sharing your unique background and your story.

some of the things that you're doing. Hopefully people can learn from. And what's the best way for folks to connect with you or reach out?

Tommy Badeaux (37:59)
So probably the best way is our website. And because I only say that because it has all the information we need. So go on the website, it's either BottoLaw.com or BetterCallBotto.com. We have two phone lines that you can call or text. So if you're to the New Orleans area, 504-323-7777. If you're outlying, it's 985-303-7777. And I'm also very responsive to email. So you can email me at any time.

I do get a lot of engagement on social media, but like I tell everybody, look, we could start the process there. You could DM me, you could message my office page. And it kind of goes back to the whole beginning of this conversation. I'll flesh out your issue. If you're saying, hey, and like one of my big thing is, oh, I've got a legal question. Well, it doesn't everybody. So tell me what your legal question is in regards to, and I could get there. But yeah, you reach out to me in social media, we'll start the process there. Once I know it's something I could help you out with.

We'll touch base, whether phone or email or something like that. But yeah, I mean, I'm easily accessible, all social media, Facebook, Instagram are the two big ones, but I'm on ex Twitter as well. Yeah, you have to. You have the greatest computer you need in the palm of your hand and all your stuff is here. you're paralegals and cell phones are a lawyer's lifeline. So embrace it now, because it's not going anywhere.

Kevin Daisey (38:56)
We gotta be today.

That's right. Good, good tip. Well, Tommy, I appreciate it. stay on with me. everyone. Thank you so much for tuning in. Go out there, get it done. If you're in a small market law firm owner, you can get it done. You can, you know, if you're in a big market, a competitive market, I'm watching folks be successful. so just find out what makes you different and, how you can be different in the big firms and, and leverage that and you'd be surprised. So get after it.

and we'll see you all soon. Thanks for tuning in.

Tommy Badeaux (39:32)
Appreciate it. Thanks.