The Law Entrepreneur 451. From Estate Lawyer to Legal Tech CEO: Reinventing Trust Administration with Leah Del Percio
What if the biggest opportunity in your law practice isn’t about getting more clients, but doing more with the ones you already have?
In this episode, guest host Mike Smith—estate planning attorney and co-founder of Smith Barrett LLC—dives into a powerful conversation with Leah Del Percio, a former Big Law attorney turned tech founder.
With experience at DLA Piper, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan, Leah shares how the pain points of trust and estate work led her to launch Trustate, a platform designed to help law firms future-proof plans, streamline workflows, and elevate client service.
This isn’t just a conversation—it’s a blueprint for staying relevant, efficient, and indispensable in the modern legal landscape.
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Key Takeaways from Mike and Leah:
1. Cut Admin Time with Systematized Form Handling
Cut out hours spent chasing down bank forms or sitting on hold by creating a centralized, up-to-date library and standardizing your intake process.
Delegate form population so your team can move faster with less friction.
2. Treat Estate Planning Like Ongoing Care, Not a One-Time Prescription
Treat estate planning as a living process, not a one-off transaction.
Use flexible tools like trustee powers and schedule regular reviews to keep plans aligned with life and law changes.
3. Don’t Let Hidden Assets Derail an Estate
Integrate asset searches into your process to uncover accounts that clients may have overlooked or forgotten.
This reduces risk and helps avoid major surprises during administration.
4. Strengthen Document Drafting by Combining Quality with Consistency
Move beyond copy-paste methods to structured drafting systems that reduce errors and improve clarity.
Ensure your documents are consistent, logical, and tailored, not bloated templates.
5. Deliver Concierge-Level Service Without a Big Team
Break your processes into clear, repeatable workflows your team can follow without direct attorney input.
This lets you serve clients at a higher level while protecting your time and scaling more sustainably.
"Lawyers these days, if they just focus on the transactional aspect of planning—where it's just, you fill out your intake form... I design a plan based on that... and I produce a document—they're doing their clients a horrible disservice." — Leah Del Percio
Get in touch with Leah Del Percio:
Website: https://www.trustate.com/
Email: leah@trustate.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahdelpercio/
Free Workshop with Leah:
https://www.skool.com/mylegalacademy/classroom/ec6b644d?md=c18190deaa764aff8e2aa6f4b125e0fc
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