S3, E5: "It's Nothing But a Thing" — Jacob Malherbe on Building an AI-Powered Law Firm

AI is everywhere—but very few law firm owners have actually rebuilt their business around it. In this episode of The Relay, Gabriel Stiritz sits down with Jacob Malherbe, founder of Mass Tort Ad Agency and one of the earliest pioneers of Facebook advertising for plaintiff law firms, to explore what happens when AI moves beyond experimentation and becomes part of your daily operations. After reducing his agency from 20 employees to just five through AI-powered workflows, Jacob shares how he's built custom AI agents to monitor advertising performance, automate repetitive work, generate creative assets, and uncover entirely new ways for law firms to find clients. More importantly, he explains why AI isn't replacing lawyers—it's removing the repetitive work that keeps them from doing their best work. In this episode: How Jacob rebuilt his agency using AI-powered workflows Why AI should augment judgment—not replace it The difference between AI chatbots and AI agents How custom AI tools are changing legal marketing Practical ways law firm owners can begin using AI today Why every firm should start by solving one repetitive problem How AI can help firms grow while serving more clients Whether you're just beginning to explore AI or looking for practical ways to improve your firm's operations, this episode offers a real-world look at what AI implementation actually looks like inside a successful business.