Your Profitable Law Firm

He Signed the Partner's Name 806 Times. | Stolen From Within

This is episode two of four in the October series, Stolen From Within. All four episodes this month are solo — no guests, just the numbers and the stories law firm owners need to hear before they happen to you.

Today's case: Jairo Tomas Santos, the office manager at a San Francisco law firm who worked there for 22 years before federal prosecutors say he spent the last seven of them stealing nearly $1.2 million. His method? He wrote 806 unauthorized checks, forged the senior partner's signature on every single one, and deposited them into his personal bank accounts. Then he manipulated the firm's general ledger to cover his tracks.

806 checks. That's roughly 10 a month, every month, for seven years. About $14,000 a month flowing out of the firm's operating account into this man's personal account.

And nobody caught it. Because nobody was comparing the bank statements to the books.

In this episode, Kelley walks through:

- What Santos did and how he concealed it for seven years

- A plain-language explanation of separation of duties (using a lemonade stand)

- The difference between preventative controls and detective controls

- Specific steps you can put in place in your firm this week — positive pay, bank statement review, audit trail monitoring, access revocation, and more

- The four red flags present in this case — and how any one of them, caught early, could have changed the outcome

- Why good internal controls protect your honest employees, not just your money

Santos pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. He was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison and ordered to pay back the full amount — nearly $1.2 million.

This series is called Stolen From Within, but unofficially it's Scary October. And the inspiration came from a conversation with Delisi Friday — if you're not connected with her on LinkedIn, go find her: https://www.linkedin.com/in/delisifriday/

Next week: the trust account. Three cases, three perpetrators, one warning that applies to all of them.

Stolen From Within — all four episodes:

Episode 1 (Oct 7): She Worked There for Six Years. She Stole $839,000. Nobody Noticed.

Episode 2 (Oct 14): He Signed the Partner's Name 806 Times.

Episode 3 (Oct 21): They All Had Access to the Trust Account. That Was the Problem.

Episode 4 (Oct 28): The Checks Were Right There. Nobody Was Looking.

Source: DOJ U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California press releases: August 8, 2023; November 20, 2023; March 14, 2024. All facts verified against primary sources.

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Check out my free resources here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/link-in-bio

Schedule a meeting with me: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/contact

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybrubaker/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profit.scale.thrive

#attorney #lawyer #lawfirm #lawfirmfraud #embezzlement #checkfraud #stolenfromwithin #CPA #CFO #FractionalCFO #LawFirmGrowth #podcast #spotifypodcast #applepodcasts

She Worked There for Six Years. She Stole $839,000. Nobody Noticed. | Stolen From Within

Welcome to Stolen From Within — a four-episode October series on Your Profitable Law Firm dedicated to real cases of financial fraud inside law firms. This series was inspired by a conversation with Delisi Friday (linkedin.com/in/delisifriday), whose work in the legal operations space pushed Kelley from thinking about this topic to actually dedicating a month to it.

Episode one walks through the case of a Pennsylvania bookkeeper who spent six years stealing $839,000 from the law firm that trusted her — through 71 unauthorized checks and 90 electronic transfers disguised as court filing fees — before a bounced check finally exposed her. Every fact in this episode comes from the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. The case was fully adjudicated in June 2025.

This episode covers: how the scheme ran in two phases across six years, what she used the money for, the red flags that should have caught it far earlier, and the three controls that would have stopped it in year one.

The message of this entire series: trust but verify.

Stolen From Within — all four episodes:

Episode 1 (Oct 7): She Worked There for Six Years. She Stole $839,000. Nobody Noticed.

Episode 2 (Oct 14): He Signed the Partner's Name 806 Times.

Episode 3 (Oct 21): They All Had Access to the Trust Account. That Was the Problem.

Episode 4 (Oct 28): The Checks Were Right There. Nobody Was Looking.

Source: Bucks County District Attorney's Office press release, June 27, 2025. 

Sign up for my free 90-day challenge designed to improve your law firm with one baby step every day for 90 days: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/profitstrong-90

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Check out my free resources here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/link-in-bio

Schedule a meeting with me: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/contact

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybrubaker/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profit.scale.thrive

#attorney #lawyer #lawfirm #lawfirmfraud #embezzlement #trustbutverify #stolenfromwithin #CPA #CFO #FractionalCFO #LawFirmGrowth #podcast #spotifypodcast #applepodcasts

Why Most Small Business Owners Never Understand Their Numbers (And What to Do About It) | Danielle Hayden

Danielle Hayden is a CPA, former corporate CFO, and the CEO of Kickstart Accounting Inc., where her team of nearly 50 serves thousands of small business owners through bookkeeping, CFO services, and tax preparation. She also hosts the CEO Numbers Network podcast. In this episode, Danielle joins Kelley Brubaker to talk about why so many business owners avoid their finances, what childhood money stories have to do with how you run your business today,

real difference between bookkeeping and accounting and why most owners blur the two, what clean books actually look like and why they matter beyond tax season, and how to start paying yourself what you are actually worth.

Connect with Danielle:

Website: https://www.kickstartaccountinginc.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-hayden-kickstartaccounting/

Instagram: @kickstartacct

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CEONumbersNetwork

Podcast: CEO Numbers Network

Email: [email protected]

Sign up for my free 90-day challenge designed to improve your law firm with one baby step every day for 90 days: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/profitstrong-90

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the-leaks-10-ways-lawyers-waste-money-and-simple-fixes OR buy the Kindle or paperback

format here: https://www.amazon.com/Plugging-Leaks-Lawyers-Waste-Simple- ebook/dp/B0FHGCPB6P

Check out my free resources here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/link-in-bio

Schedule a meeting with me: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/contact

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybrubaker/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profit.scale.thrive

#attorney #lawyer #profit #scale #thrive #howtogrowalawfirm #CPA #CFO #FractionalCFO

#LawFirm #fyp #spotifypodcast #applepodcasts #googlepodcasts #podcast #LawFirmGrowth

#LawFirmProfits #Bookkeeping #SmallBusinessFinance

Why Law Firms Are Flying Blind on KPIs and What to Do About It | Sachin Bakhai

Sachin Bakhai is the CEO and founder of LawKPIs, a platform that integrates with Clio and MyCase to deliver AI-powered KPI dashboards built specifically for law firms. In this episode, Sachin joins Kelley Brubaker to talk about why most law firm owners are making critical business decisions without reliable data, which KPIs actually matter versus which ones are just noise, how to set targets that reflect your firm's specific financial model, and what happens when law firm owners finally see their numbers clearly for the first time. They also cover the overlap between financial clarity and operational performance, and how dashboards built on practice management software data can replace the spreadsheet chaos most firms are living with right now.

Free resource for Your Profitable Law Firm listeners:

Law Firm: Profit and Performance Playbook (free download): https://go.lawkpis.com/profit-performance-playbook/

Schedule a discovery call with LawKPIs:

Use Kelley's referral link for 10% off: https://referrals.lawkpis.com/r/profitscal-yladp0

LawKPIs dashboards by platform:

Clio: https://www.lawkpis.com/clio-dashboards/

MyCase: https://www.lawkpis.com/mycase-dashboards/

Connect with Sachin:

Website: https://www.lawkpis.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sbakhai/

Sign up for my free 90-day challenge designed to improve your law firm with one baby step every day for 90 days: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/profitstrong-90

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Sign up now: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/newsletter-sign-up

Grab my newest book for free (PDF format) here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/plugging-the-leaks-10-ways-lawyers-waste-money-and-simple-fixes OR buy the Kindle or paperback format here: https://www.amazon.com/Plugging-Leaks-Lawyers-Waste-Simple-ebook/dp/B0FHGCPB6P

Check out my free resources here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/link-in-bio

Schedule a meeting with me: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/contact

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybrubaker/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profit.scale.thrive

#attorney #lawyer #profit #scale #thrive #howtogrowalawfirm #CPA #CFO #FractionalCFO #LawFirm #fyp #spotifypodcast #applepodcasts #googlepodcasts #podcast #LawFirmGrowth #LawFirmProfits #LawFirmKPIs #LegalTech

How Law Firm Owners Can Scale Without Becoming the Bottleneck | Matt Symes

Matt Symes is a transformation strategist, AI-first architect, and founder of Levership, where he has worked with more than 500 organizations and contributed to over $1 billion in profitable growth. In this episode, Matt joins Kelley Brubaker to talk about the constraint that stops most founder-led law firms from scaling: the owner. Matt breaks down his 10-80-10 framework for using AI without losing control, explains why not all revenue is good revenue, walks through how to identify what is actually breaking under scale versus what just feels urgent, and shares why the goal is to shift from operator to architect before growth demands it.

Connect with Matt:

Website: https://levership.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-symes-8328a765/

Sign up for my free 90-day challenge designed to improve your law firm with one baby step

every day for 90 days: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/profitstrong-90

Do you receive my newsletter? Sign up and enjoy access to free templates and checklists that support each podcast episode. Only those who are on the newsletter distribution list will receive this bonus content.

Sign up now: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/newsletter-sign-up

Grab my newest book for free (PDF format) here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/plugging-the-leaks-10-ways-lawyers-waste-money-and-simple-fixes OR buy the Kindle or paperback format here: https://www.amazon.com/Plugging-Leaks-Lawyers-Waste-Simple-ebook/dp/B0FHGCPB6P

Check out my free resources here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/link-in-bio

Schedule a meeting with me: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/contact

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybrubaker/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profit.scale.thrive

#attorney #lawyer #profit #scale #thrive #howtogrowalawfirm #CPA #CFO #FractionalCFO

#LawFirm #fyp #spotifypodcast #applepodcasts #googlepodcasts #podcast #LawFirmGrowth

#LawFirmProfits #LawFirmScaling #AI

The Hidden Friction Tax: How Operational Inefficiencies Are Costing Your Law Firm Money | Tricia Warren

Tricia Warren is the CEO and founder of TLW Integrated Solutions and the Operations Friction Fixer. She works with law firms and professional service businesses as a fractional COO to eliminate the operational drag that quietly costs money, burns out staff, and frustrates clients. In this episode, Tricia joins Kelley Brubaker to break down what the friction tax is, how to find it in your own firm, why most law firm owners mistake an operations problem for a people problem, and how to use standard operating procedures and automation to build a firm that does not depend entirely on the owner showing up every day.

Connect with Tricia:

Website: https://www.thefrictionfixer.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciawarrenmba/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOperationsFrictionFixer

Book - The Intelligent Firm: https://a.co/d/0dTVOxoL

Upcoming events featuring Tricia:

Take Charge! Conference — State Bar of Georgia, Atlanta

Session: The Intelligent Firm: From Overwhelmed to Optimized

Date: September 17-18, 2026

Register: https://www.gabarsolo.org

Future Crafters AI Symposium — Atlanta

Session: From Intention to Intelligence — Finance, Operations & Supply Chain

Date: September 17, 2026

Register: https://www.thefuturecrafters.org

Sign up for my free 90-day challenge designed to improve your law firm with one baby step every day for 90 days: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/profitstrong-90

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Grab my newest book for free (PDF format) here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/plugging-the-leaks-10-ways-lawyers-waste-money-and-simple-fixes OR buy the Kindle or paperback format here: https://www.amazon.com/Plugging-Leaks-Lawyers-Waste-Simple-ebook/dp/B0FHGCPB6P

Check out my free resources here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/link-in-bio

Schedule a meeting with me: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/contact

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybrubaker/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profit.scale.thrive

#attorney #lawyer #profit #scale #thrive #howtogrowalawfirm #CPA #CFO #FractionalCFO #LawFirm #fyp #spotifypodcast #applepodcasts #googlepodcasts #podcast #LawFirmGrowth #LawFirmProfits #LawFirmOperations #FractionalCOO

How Attorneys Can Build a Book of Business Without Feeling Like a Salesperson | Dena Lefkowitz

Dena Lefkowitz is an attorney turned executive coach who works with lawyers to build books of business on their own terms. In this episode, Dena joins Kelley Brubaker to talk about why most attorneys hate the idea of rainmaking, why that resistance is costing them more than they realize, and what a sustainable business development approach actually looks like for someone who went to law school specifically to practice law, not sell it. Dena walks through her Rainmaker Pyramid framework, the difference between transactional networking and genuine relationship building, why introverts can be exceptional rainmakers, and the mindset shift that separates attorneys who consistently grow their book of business from those who wait and hope.

Free resource for Your Profitable Law Firm listeners:

Rainmaking Self-Check — a free assessment to identify your rainmaking strengths and gaps: https://achievementbydesign.com/rainmaking-self/

Connect with Dena:

Website: https://achievementbydesign.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denalefkowitz/

Email: [email protected]

Book - Winning Your Own Court: A Guide for Successful Women Attorneys: https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Your-Own-Court-Successful-ebook/dp/B0CGN643MK/

Sign up for my free 90-day challenge designed to improve your law firm with one baby step every day for 90 days: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/profitstrong-90

Do you receive my newsletter? Sign up and enjoy access to free templates and checklists that support each podcast episode. Only those who are on the newsletter distribution list will receive this bonus content. Sign up now: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/newsletter-sign-up

Grab my newest book for free (PDF format) here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/plugging-the-leaks-10-ways-lawyers-waste-money-and-simple-fixes OR buy the Kindle or paperback format here: https://www.amazon.com/Plugging-Leaks-Lawyers-Waste-Simple-ebook/dp/B0FHGCPB6P

Check out my free resources here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/link-in-bio

Schedule a meeting with me: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/contact

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybrubaker/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profit.scale.thrive

#attorney #lawyer #profit #scale #thrive #howtogrowalawfirm #CPA #CFO #FractionalCFO #LawFirm #fyp #spotifypodcast #applepodcasts #googlepodcasts #podcast #LawFirmGrowth #LawFirmProfits #Rainmaking #BookOfBusiness #LegalMarketing

A CFO Reviews a Real Law Firm P&L… Here Is What She Found

NOTE FOR SPOTIFY LISTENERS: This episode includes a live screen share walkthrough of a real law firm profit and loss statement. To follow along with the visuals, watch the full video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/_RaUprFhhTA

Kelley Brubaker, CPA and fractional CFO for law firms, walks through a real anonymized profit and loss statement from a family law firm generating $3.7 million in annual revenue. No guest, no theory ... just Kelley and the actual numbers, pointing out what she sees, what she would ask, and what she would change. She covers the rule of thirds, how to read net income as a percentage of revenue, where client costs belong on a P&L, why payroll ratios matter more than the dollar amount, how S corp owners often miss a key health insurance deduction, and why advertising and marketing needs to be broken down by channel to be useful. This is the episode for any law firm owner who has ever looked at their P&L and felt like they were missing something.

Want Kelley to review your P&L on a future episode?

Send your P&L to: [email protected]

It is completely free. Kelley will anonymize all identifying information before anything goes public. You will receive a full walkthrough before the episode airs.

Sign up for my free 90-day challenge designed to improve your law firm with one baby step every day for 90 days: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/profitstrong-90

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Grab my newest book for free (PDF format) here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/plugging-the-leaks-10-ways-lawyers-waste-money-and-simple-fixes OR buy the Kindle or paperback format here: https://www.amazon.com/Plugging-Leaks-Lawyers-Waste-Simple-ebook/dp/B0FHGCPB6P

Check out my free resources here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/link-in-bio

Schedule a meeting with me: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/contact

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybrubaker/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profit.scale.thrive

#attorney #lawyer #profit #scale #thrive #howtogrowalawfirm #CPA #CFO #FractionalCFO #LawFirm #fyp #spotifypodcast #applepodcasts #googlepodcasts #podcast #LawFirmGrowth #LawFirmProfits #ProfitAndLoss #LawFirmFinance

Why Law Firms Lose Revenue Before a Single Ad Is Placed | Scott Berry

Scott Berry is the founder and president of MarketCrest, a law firm growth company specializing in immigration and family law. He joins Kelley Brubaker to make the case that most law firms don't have a lead problem, they have a client acquisition problem. In this episode, Scott breaks down the five revenue leaks killing law firm growth, why unanswered calls cost more than any marketing campaign, what elite intake actually looks like, how to use the math of your own pipeline to set growth targets without guessing, and the Rule of Nine follow-up system he developed to recapture clients who didn't hire on the spot.

Connect with Scott:

Website: https://marketcrest.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mscottberry/

Book - The Law Firm Intake Playbook: https://a.co/d/0hdbIHg7

Free resources including lead-to-revenue calculator: https://marketcrest.com/media/free-marketing-resources/

Sign up for my free 90-day challenge designed to improve your law firm with one baby step every day for 90 days: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/profitstrong-90

Do you receive my newsletter? Sign up and enjoy access to free templates and checklists that support each podcast episode. Only those who are on the newsletter distribution list will receive this bonus content. Sign up now: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/newsletter-sign-up

Grab my newest book for free (PDF format) here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/plugging-the-leaks-10-ways-lawyers-waste-money-and-simple-fixes OR buy the Kindle or paperback format here: https://www.amazon.com/Plugging-Leaks-Lawyers-Waste-Simple-ebook/dp/B0FHGCPB6P

Check out my free resources here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/link-in-bio

Curious to learn how I can help you achieve overflowing profits, scaled growth, and thriving lives? Schedule a meeting with me: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/contact

Continue the discussion on social!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybrubaker/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profit.scale.thrive

#attorney #lawyer #profit #scale #thrive #howtogrowalawfirm #CPA #CFO #FractionalCFO #LawFirm #fyp #spotifypodcast #applepodcasts #googlepodcasts #podcast #LawFirmGrowth #LawFirmProfits #LawFirmMarketing #LawFirmIntake

How Law Firms Can Use AI for Intake, Client Communication, and Operations | Alejo Pijuan

Alejo Pijuan is a fractional AI officer who works with law firms on AI strategy and implementation through his company AmplifyVoice. In this episode, Alejo joins Kelley Brubaker to talk about why most law firms are losing clients to voicemail, how AI voice agents can handle intake without making callers feel like they are talking to a robot, and what attorney-client privilege actually means when AI is involved. Alejo also breaks down how the right AI approach changes depending on firm size, shares a powerful tip for using AI more accurately (ask it how confident it is and what it might have missed), and explains why the biggest AI mistakes come from people problems, not technology problems.

Connect with Alejo:

Free 30-minute consultation: https://cal.com/alejo-amplify-voice/30min-w-alejo 

Claude for legal quick start guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db6i06tTIAs 

"Is Claude For Legal Safe?" Webinar (aka Attorney-client privilege in AI webinar): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg7NWXUZzRM 

My LinkedIn profile if they want to get in touch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejopijuan/

Sign up for my free 90-day challenge designed to improve your law firm with one baby step every day for 90 days: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/profitstrong-90

Do you receive my newsletter? Sign up and enjoy access to free templates and checklists that support each podcast episode. Only those who are on the newsletter distribution list will receive this bonus content. Sign up now: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/newsletter-sign-up

Grab my newest book for free (PDF format) here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/plugging-the-leaks-10-ways-lawyers-waste-money-and-simple-fixes OR buy the Kindle or paperback format here: https://www.amazon.com/Plugging-Leaks-Lawyers-Waste-Simple-ebook/dp/B0FHGCPB6P

Check out my free resources here: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/link-in-bio

Curious to learn how I can help you achieve overflowing profits, scaled growth, and thriving lives? Schedule a meeting with me: https://www.profitscalethrive.com/contact

Continue the discussion on social!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybrubaker/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profit.scale.thrive

#attorney #lawyer #profit #scale #thrive #howtogrowalawfirm #CPA #CFO #FractionalCFO #LawFirm #fyp #spotifypodcast #applepodcasts #googlepodcasts #podcast #LawFirmGrowth #LawFirmProfits #AI #LegalTech #LawFirmAI