This interview is with Andino Reynal, Attorney at Law at The Reynal Law Firm.

 

Andino Reynal, Attorney at Law, The Reynal Law Firm

Andino, can you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background in law?

I began my legal career clerking for a federal judge in Houston, Texas, named Melinda Harmon. At the time, she was presiding over the civil cases stemming from the Enron debacle. After working for her, I went to Baker Botts LLP, where I practiced commercial litigation and international arbitration. In 2008, I was appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder to serve as a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Texas. I was a member of the Organized Crime Strike Force. While at the United States Attorney’s Office, I successfully tried white-collar cases, public corruption cases, and major drug-trafficking cases. I left the United States Attorney’s Office in 2012 to enter private practice. Since then, I have been invited back into public service to act as a special prosecutor for Harris County and a member of the U.S. Magistrate Judge Selection/Review Committee.

Could you walk us through your journey to becoming an expert in your specific area of law? What key decisions or experiences shaped your path?

Certainly, my time in the U.S. Attorney’s Office had a big impact on my professional development. But representing human beings standing up to the government has shaped my professional outlook more than anything else. Some of the key cases I worked on include U.S. v. Jeffrey Shulse (E.D.N.Y.) (securities-fraud case dismissed) and U.S. v. Sylvia Perez Ceballos (not guilty of money laundering and bank fraud).

 

You’ve spoken about the importance of networking and speaking engagements for generating leads. Can you share an anecdote about a time when one of these strategies led to a particularly interesting or challenging case?

I met one of my closest friends and collaborators because he was the CLE coordinator at the Mexican-American Bar Association. We met when he contacted me about doing a speech about human trafficking. We have worked together on countless cases since then.

 

Many lawyers struggle with tracking the ROI of offline marketing efforts. Besides tracking leads and using unique phone numbers, what’s one creative method you’ve used to measure the effectiveness of your networking or speaking engagements?

We create a unique landing page on our website for each networking event or speaking engagement. During these events, we direct attendees to these specific pages for a special offering, more information, or a uniquely-free consultation or case review. Each page has tracking, allowing us to monitor visits, engagement, and conversions. We then follow these leads through our CRM system, tracking which turn into cases and their outcomes. This approach lets us accurately measure each event’s effectiveness, calculate long-term ROI, and refine our marketing strategy based on which topics and venues yield the best results for our practice.

 

Let’s talk about client acquisition in the digital age. How has the rise of online legal resources and platforms changed the way you approach marketing and connecting with potential clients?

We leverage online legal resources and platforms to enhance our visibility and credibility. On Avvo and SuperLawyers, we maintain comprehensive profiles, regularly update our case results, and encourage satisfied clients to leave reviews. These platforms serve as third-party validations of our expertise. We’re active on Reddit’s legal subreddits, providing general legal information and participating in discussions, which helps position us as thought leaders. Our Substack newsletter delivers in-depth analysis of current legal trends, keeping subscribers engaged and demonstrating our ongoing commitment to legal education. LinkedIn has become a powerful tool for professional networking and sharing our firm’s achievements and insights. We regularly post articles and engage with other legal professionals, expanding our reach within the industry. As for SEO, we’ve invested in optimizing our website content, focusing on local search terms relevant to our practice areas. This includes creating informative blog posts, location-specific landing pages, and ensuring our site structure is search-engine friendly. By diversifying our online presence across these platforms, we’ve significantly increased our digital client acquisition opportunities.

 

What’s the biggest misconception you think people have about the legal profession, based on what they see in movies or on TV?

The biggest misconception people have about the legal profession, stemming from movies and TV, is that it’s all dramatic courtroom battles and last-minute, case-winning revelations. In reality, the vast majority of our work happens outside the courtroom. We spend countless hours researching, writing briefs, negotiating with opposing counsel, and preparing our cases. It’s not about clever one-liners or surprise witnesses; it’s about thorough preparation, strategic thinking, and often, finding creative ways to resolve disputes without going to trial. The media rarely shows the long nights poring over documents, the complex legal strategies we develop, or the emotional support we provide to our clients throughout their legal journey. While courtroom skills are important, being a successful attorney is more about diligence, attention to detail, and the ability to navigate complex legal systems on behalf of our clients.

 

If you could give one piece of advice to a young lawyer just starting their career, what would it be and why?

Take your time and ask lots of questions. We all get things wrong, and we all make mistakes. The key is to be forthright when it happens. There is very little that cannot be fixed.

 

Thinking about the future of law, what emerging trends or technologies do you believe will have the biggest impact on the legal profession in the next 5-10 years?

I believe one of the most impactful, yet often-overlooked trends in the legal profession will be the rise of “micro-specializations” driven by rapid technological advancements and societal changes. In the next 5-10 years, we’ll likely see attorneys carving out highly-specific niches that don’t even exist today. For instance, we might have lawyers specializing in drone delivery regulations, AI ethics compliance, or digital afterlife management. As technology blurs the lines between industries, we’ll need legal experts who can navigate intersections of law, tech, and emerging social norms. This shift will require learning in new ways and quick adaptation. Law schools might offer hyper-focused tracks combining legal education with specialized technical knowledge. For firms like ours, it could mean restructuring to create agile, multidisciplinary teams that can quickly respond to new legal challenges. This trend towards micro-specialization could democratize the legal market, allowing smaller firms and individual practitioners to compete by becoming go-to experts in emerging niches. It will also change how we market our services and build our reputations, with expertise in these novel areas becoming a key differentiator.

 

For those who are interested in learning more about legal topics or even pursuing a career in law, what resources or advice would you recommend?

I would read the autobiography of Gerry Spence and the biographies of Edward Bennett Williams and David Boies.

 

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

It has been a pleasure. If anyone would like to contact me, I respond to all my e-mails. My e-mail address is areynal@frlaw.us.