Podcasts and CLE. Two invitations I don’t need convincing on.

Available presentations for bar associations and defense groups

I offer practical presentations drawing on my experience as a Massachusetts criminal defense attorney, law firm owner, and AI consultant. Programs can be tailored to criminal defense groups or solo and small-firm audiences. Each program runs 50 minutes of instruction, with an optional 10-minute Q&A for a 60-minute session. Shorter versions — 20 to 30 minutes — work well for lunches, chamber meetings, or smaller groups; just ask.

1. Practical AI for Criminal Defense Lawyers: From Case Materials to a Working Draft

Format: 50 minutes of instruction; optional 10-minute Q&A.
Audience: Criminal defense attorneys, including solo practitioners, small firms, and appointed counsel. No technical background required.

AI can help lawyers organize information, prepare questions, and get past the blank page. Using fictional case materials, this program demonstrates how to turn a narrative into a working chronology, identify gaps and inconsistencies, develop an initial issue list, and prepare questions for client interviews or witness examination.

The presentation also addresses the review these tools require: checking output against the source material, independently verifying legal authorities, and considering confidentiality before entering information. The emphasis is on repeatable workflows that keep the lawyer responsible for the analysis and final work product.

Learning objectives. By the end of the program, participants will be able to:

• Use a structured AI workflow to turn fictional case materials into a chronology, issue list, and follow-up questions.
• Write prompts that distinguish documented facts, disputed accounts, and missing information.
• Apply a review checklist covering source accuracy, legal citations, confidentiality, and attorney judgment.

2. AI, Marketing, and Intake: Helping the Right Clients Find and Hire Your Firm

Format: 50 minutes of instruction; optional 10-minute Q&A.
Audience: Solo practitioners, small-firm owners, and attorneys responsible for marketing or intake. Examples emphasize criminal defense and can be adapted to other practices.

Potential clients need to understand what a firm does, why its experience matters, and how to take the next step. This program follows that path from discovering a lawyer to making contact and deciding whether to hire the firm.

Drawing on experience building and running a criminal defense practice, Russell demonstrates how AI can assist with website reviews, useful content drafts, intake questions, and follow-up communications. Participants learn how to identify practical improvements, evaluate marketing claims, and distinguish increased attention from inquiries that become paying clients. The program also addresses accuracy, client privacy, and attorney review of public-facing material.

Learning objectives. By the end of the program, participants will be able to:

• Identify obstacles in a prospective client’s path from finding the firm to contacting and hiring it.
• Use AI to draft or improve website content and intake communications, with attorney review for accuracy and applicable professional obligations.
• Build a short improvement plan using measures such as qualified inquiries, response times, consultations, and signed engagements.

3. I Built the Lead Machine Law Firms Buy From

Format: 50 minutes of instruction; optional 10-minute Q&A.

Audience: Criminal defense attorneys and firm owners evaluating marketing spend, referral relationships, or lead-generation vendors. No technical background required.

I co-owned a nationwide criminal defense lead-generation company and ran its technical team, while at the same time owning a defense firm that bought leads from companies just like it. This program is a from-both-sides look at how leads are actually generated, priced, and sold, and what that means for a firm deciding whether to rent attention or build its own.

Learning objectives. By the end of the program, participants will be able to:

• Explain how lead-generation and referral networks price and route a case, and where the incentives point.
• Evaluate a lead-gen or marketing vendor’s pitch using the questions a buyer with inside knowledge would ask.
• Compare the real cost of renting attention against building an owned audience, and decide which mix fits the firm.

Interested in booking a program?

Email Russell with your organization, preferred program, proposed dates, and whether you are planning a remote or in-person session. If you are still choosing a topic, tell me about your audience and we can shape the program together.

Ask about a presentation

Email: russ@russellmatsonlaw.com

Podcast appearances

I sat down with Jared Correia — a buddy of mine, who runs Red Cave Law Firm Consulting and hosts Legal Late Night — to talk about marketing a criminal defense practice, and where AI actually earns its keep in one instead of just sounding good in a sales deck.

Watch the episode: “Why Cookie-Cutter Workflows Fail Law Firms & AI Marketing Strategies” (Legal Late Night, Aug 2026). More from Jared on his YouTube channel.

The clip, related writing, and a link to the ebook →

If your show covers law practice management, legal marketing, or criminal defense, say the word. Twenty years running a defense practice and the last several figuring out how a small firm actually gets found — by people, and by the AI models people ask instead of Googling — means I show up with specifics, not talking points.

Where AI actually fits

People ask me to name the one tool they should buy, like there's a single right answer sitting somewhere. There isn't, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. This is the fastest-adopted technology in history — the honest answer changes every few months, sometimes every few weeks.

Underneath the churn there's a framework that doesn't move much: chat, agents, research, intake, marketing, and workflow in general. New tools show up almost daily. You don't have to chase the newest one — once something's good enough to do the job, you usually don't need a better one.

I wrote a short ebook on this in July. It was obsolete before I finished uploading it, and I still stand by most of what's in it. That's not a contradiction — that's just what honest AI commentary looks like right now.