When is being "reasonable," patient and compromising in fact just a strategy of the other side to delay, frustrate and ultimately to avoid trial? We should be respectful. We should be professional. But at no point should we ever compromise the duty to our client for the sake of getting along. Samantha Cohn talks about the moral and ethical motivations behind her career shift to becoming a personal injury lawyer, her techniques for being assertive in the court room, and not rolling over to som...

Dog bite cases are rarely about just one victim—they’re about public safety, accountability, and preventing the next attack. "You have to show that this could happen to pretty much anyone. This could happen anytime, anywhere. You have to get the jury's mind ticking, and get them to see that it's not just that person who got bit on the face, it's anybody." Ashley Strandjord describes her approach to prosecuting dog attacks, and other personal injury cases, demonstrating their impact on i...

You've completed law school, taken the bar exam, have built a network of contacts and are ready to start practicing. And then, your entire law school's results are thrown out. You're faced with the choice: walk away completely for a new career, or go back to law school and do it all over again. "I graduated the first time, took the bar, and I had to ask myself then before I was even a licensed lawyer, will I do it all again?" Rodd Santomauro joins us to share his compelling story ...

If you want more high-value cases without giving more money to Google, this episode is for you. "Understanding referral generation is crucial for business growth, and a law practice must be a business first. " Today we look at the importance of referrals in law firms, focusing on who is responsible for generating these referrals and how to effectively manage this process. In keeping with this theme, please share this episode with your colleagues and network, to make sure that they can b...

If you want to learn how to live a full, sustainable life as a lawyer, this episode is for you. Matt Long breaks down how to build a healthy firm culture, communicate effectively, and avoid burnout as a lawyer. Please consider sharing this episode with someone who could benefit from it. Matt is the President of Bowen Ten Long & Bal in Richmond, Virginia. Over his 17+ year career, he has led with a simple philosophy: protect your people, communicate openly, and never let the profession c...

"It gives me so much purpose and meaning: we are helping educate people in a place where they don't know anything. And they need the help." Michele Lewane is runs the Injured Workers Law Firm in Richmond, VA, which since 2006 has been advocating to get the benefits injured workers deserve for their worker's compensation claims. Worker's compensation is a complex and bureaucratic field that requires tremendous expertise and preparation to navigate. Michele guides us through the intricate detai...

"What helps motivate us in part is institutional or organizational betrayal: where the bond between the institution and the person is strong, but there's a big power differential due to the size and strength of the institution." - Peter Everett Peter Everett and Barkley Horn from Blankenship & Keith joined us to talk about their firm's approach to personal injury law. They focus on catastrophic injury cases with a particular focus on representing survivors of violent crimes. Their cases c...

AI is not perfect yet, you still have to babysit it, but it's scary. Because two years ago I used AI and thought, "Well that was kind of like using a high school senior." Now when I'm using AI, it's like, "I'm using a second year associate." Penn Crawford joined us for a wide-ranging discussion. We talked about the realities of running a small, boutique law firm and what makes firms of this size effective for the people they represent. We also discussed the growing role of AI in legal practic...

"My thought when I go into a courtroom, and I feel this way throughout the trial, is I just am welcoming people into my house. I go in, I talk to my jury, I make eye contact with them, and I try to talk to them the way that I would talk to anybody: a clerk at the grocery store or you guys - us sitting in this room doing this podcast. " The way we interact with a jury, particularly in voir dire, sets the tone for the trial and can make or break the case. Courtney Winston is an expert at ...

"The community at the time was just furious with me for charging any of the counter-protestors with anything. And I was very sympathetic to the ideology of the counter-protestors, and was mortified by some of the viewpoints of the alt-right individuals. But I said, 'I have to prosecute conduct, not content,' and if you start picking sides, that's a scary thing." Joe Platania, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Charlottesville, joined us for a candid conversation about what it truly means to serv...

"The number one takeaway is trust yourself. Because we know our stuff. We are better than them. They are inundated with so much work, and they're doing the same old stuff. We're going to conferences and learning cutting edge technology. So believe in yourself." Tarun Rana of Rana Law Group in St. Louis, MO joined us for a conversation about learning, improving, and working alongside other trial lawyers. Tarun shared his approach to trial preparation, his insight on building a successful pract...

"So in listening to this, whomever wants Syria to be unified, maybe the solution is to listen to this petition, to consider it, and to work really, genuinely, on reaching a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis." - Firas Alchoufi In this special episode, international lawyer, arbitrator and humanitarian Firas Alchoufi joins us to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis that is impacting his home province of Suwayda, in the southern part of Syria. The recent regime change in that countr...

"This concept called the ethic of care: we've all heard this term 'care' before. And most of us who have had any type of training, a lot of times we are taught ethics from a formal or practical standpoint. But it doesn't always uplift the care side of things. So how do you do that? How do you adhere to the rules, the order, the law, and also balance that with the needs of all the people that we are talking about here?" Dr. Brad Lehman from Virginia Commonwealth University joins us for a fasci...

"Whether it's a $50,000 case or a $50 million case, it's ultimately helping people preserve their settlement funds, make sure that they are being smart financially, and protecting the financial security of their settlement." Jenny Sciadini is a Settlement Consultant who partners with attorneys and their clients to maximize the value of settlements while safeguarding government benefits and long-term financial stability. Driven by a passion for helping people, she ensures clients not only prot...

"I tell my prosecutors that being a public defender was one of the most important things for my career as a prosecutor, even though I only did it briefly. And it's a reason why I have a strong preference for hiring former public defenders and defense lawyers in my office." We sat down with Ramin Fatehi, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Norfolk, Virginia. From growing up in Iran to serving as a public defender in Richmond, Ramin now leads one of Virginia’s largest prosecutor’s offices. In our...

"You often think, if someone's going through a hard time, what is the way that you can help them? And here was something I had to offer. I felt like this is something I can do. This is something I can give to them." - Gray Broughton In this special episode, Nael interviews the team at Broughton Injury Law Firm, including founder Gray Broughton, attorney Zac Grubaugh, and our own Sharif Gray. We explore their career paths, the firm's origin and mission, and the importance of stepping out...

"I just owned the bad facts. I talked about them, I mentioned them to the jury. I'm making eye contact with the jury, they're making eye contact with me. And I just had this feeling like, 'I think we've got a good shot here.' It was like this osmosis going on." Personal Injury Lawyer Dillon Hobbs of Birmingham, Alabama joined us to discuss his trial experience, the nuances of truly understanding and communicating with clients, and how putting yourself in their shoes is in fact a skill to be d...

"Practice means you're doing intentional movements. Practicing typically indicates you have a coach giving you feedback, or somebody's giving you feedback. If you haven't been trained, how do you know what's appropriate?" Dan Ambrose, founder of Trial Lawyers University (TLU), joins us to share the story behind one of the most influential training series for trial lawyers in the country. In just five years, TLU has become a must-attend training for trial lawyers serious about improving in and...

"Having done so many focus groups, you get a good, fine-tuned ear for what is clear testimony and what is not. The goal of this method is for people to be as comfortable as they can, but then have confident, clear testimony that is very credible." Trial Consultant Elizabeth Larrick joins us today to discuss the importance and methodology of both witness preparation and focus groups. Elizabeth shares her journey from being a plaintiff's trial lawyer to running her own consulting firm. We...

"The middle of a trial is the only place I've ever been where the thought came over me, 'This is where you belong. Right here. In this chaos.' Having some control over a situation that most people feel is totally out of control. You're in the eye of the storm, and it's calm there." -John Merrick Personal Injury Lawyers John Merrick and Les Brock spent a combined 25 years defending insurance companies and other large corporations, before moving to defend individuals and their families in...