Unscripted Direct

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Unscripted Direct

Spencer Pahlke and Justin Bernstein

135 episodes

1 week ago

Click here to vote in the Fall 2025 Scripty Awards! Introduction (0:00:00). Spencer likens himself to a rockstar. Justin is humbled by a trampoline. The Break (0:05:22). Results from five competitions -- including Georgia's national championship in the 64-team All Star Bracket Challenge! Interview with star trial lawyer Tom Breen (0:08:46). How the Seattle trial lawyer got a big win despite some tough facts. Begging for Scripties (0:36:10). Jen Scharf, the director-turned-lobbyist, makes a co...

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All content for Unscripted Direct is the property of Spencer Pahlke and Justin Bernstein and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Click here to vote in the Fall 2025 Scripty Awards! Introduction (0:00:00). Spencer likens himself to a rockstar. Justin is humbled by a trampoline. The Break (0:05:22). Results from five competitions -- including Georgia's national championship in the 64-team All Star Bracket Challenge! Interview with star trial lawyer Tom Breen (0:08:46). How the Seattle trial lawyer got a big win despite some tough facts. Begging for Scripties (0:36:10). Jen Scharf, the director-turned-lobbyist, makes a co...

Show more...

Episodes (20/135)

Unscripted Direct

Episode 135 - Campaigning for Scripties

Click here to vote in the Fall 2025 Scripty Awards! Introduction (0:00:00). Spencer likens himself to a rockstar. Justin is humbled by a trampoline. The Break (0:05:22). Results from five competitions -- including Georgia's national championship in the 64-team All Star Bracket Challenge! Interview with star trial lawyer Tom Breen (0:08:46). How the Seattle trial lawyer got a big win despite some tough facts. Begging for Scripties (0:36:10). Jen Scharf, the director-turned-lobbyist, makes a co...

1 week ago

1 hour 23 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 134 - "Trial Lawyer Nation" (with star trial lawyer Michael Cowen)

Introduction (0:00:00). "Calm down, Donna Sue." The Break (0:12:24). Results from all five Premiere sites, Chicago Cup, Georgetown's White Collar, and Hofstra's Medical Legal. Which two schools are having historically good seasons? Michael Cowen (0:16:15). The star trial lawyer, and host of Trial Lawyer Nation, talks about why he left Big Law to become a plaintiff's lawyer, how he's won more than a billion dollars for his clients, and the biggest lesson he's learned from his podcast guests. A...

2 weeks ago

1 hour 23 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 133 - Halloween Costumes

Introduction (0:00:00). Halloween costumes, community service, and the return of the Online National Championship (click here to apply). National Criminal Trial Competition (0:12:15). John Bishop talks about the tournament they're building at Chapman. Tournament Spotlight: The Premiere (0:24:08). UT's Mike Golden and Nova's Joe Lester join us in their Halloween costumes! They discuss their ongoing couple's counseling, imagine a potential gambling scandal in mock trial, and deliver the closi...

3 weeks ago

1 hour 28 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 132 - Marian's Jules Epstein Impression

Introduction (0:00:00). Invincibility. The Break (0:03:49). Results from TOC, Davis MLK, and Buffalo-Niagara -- and special congrats to TSU's Tim Adams. Report from Tournament of Champions (0:07:20). Our correspondent (okay, it's just Justin) talks about the best things he saw, the worst things, the food, and the end of UCLA's streak. Most importantly, did Judge Roberts win the case balance wager? Or did he gamble away his seat on the TOC board? Main Interview: Marian Braccia (0:15:47). Profe...

4 weeks ago

1 hour 27 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 131 - "I Got Squeezed"

Introduction (0:00:00). Spencer teaches with his siblings, and Justin brags about his sibling. The Break (0:05:40). Results from Gold Cup, Syracuse, and St. John's. Tournament Spotlight: Tournament of Champions (0:07:28). Board member Judge Roberts and this year's host Robert Little talk about this year's TOC. Robert laughs at Judge talking about "paramours" and "getting squeezed," while Judge (arguably) decides to gamble his TOC board position in a predictions contest. Tournament...

1 month ago

1 hour 26 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 130 - Should NALAE start a trial competition?

We also considered an another episode title: "That's a lot of licking." Introduction (0:00:00). Justin shares a possible life change. The Break (0:08:05). Winners from All Star Weekend Two -- the nationals field is set! NALAE Debate (0:09:00). After the NALAE Zoom call, we invited some community leaders -- Adam Shlahet, Katie Powers, Judge Jim Roberts, Robert Little, and Jared Rosenblatt -- to share their thoughts: Should NALAE host its own national competition? Is now the right t...

1 month ago

1 hour 26 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 129 - An Open Ended Question on Cross (with star trial lawyer Sean Claggett)

Introduction (0:00:00). A murder trial without due process. The Break (0:04:46). Results from All Star Weekend One and Stetson's National Pretrial. Suggested Plagiarism with Sean Claggett (0:09:18). Nevada's Trial Lawyer of the Year gives an unusual -- and powerful -- reason to ask an open-ended question on cross. Main Interview: Rene Shekmer (0:43:20). Campbell's advocacy director talks about her 32 years as an AUSA, her work for the IRS, and her three published novels about the CIA. M...

1 month ago

1 hour 11 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 128 - Mock, Drugs, & Rock 'N Roll

Introduction (0:00:00). Jeff Brooks joins us to discuss the year's least controversial controversy. The Break (0:10:06). Results from Denver's Summit Cup. Interview: Kansas's Adam Sokoloff (0:11:45). Before he coached the mock trial team and oversaw the school's Innocence Project, Adam managed bands, went back to school for a philosophy degree, ran marijuana dispensaries, made a living playing poker, and made "a lot of decisions that you wouldn't necessarily make again, but I'm not gonna say ...

1 month ago

1 hour 28 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 127 - America's Next Top Trial Lawyer

Introduction (0:00:00). Spencer keeps his job. Justin extols a new approach to scrimmaging. The Break (0:08:33). Results from four competitions -- and a wagering correction. America's Next Top Trial Lawyer (0:15:39). Sacramento County DA Thien Ho announces a new competition, with cash prizes. Main Interview: Emily Stover (0:29:48). The longtime coach -- and national champion alum -- from UC Law SF talks about teaching English in prisons, beertending, and the school's mock trial program. She a...

2 months ago

1 hour 10 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 126 - Job Interviews

Introduction (0:00:00). With Spencer abandoning his co-host, Justin interviews potential replacements. Suggested Plagiarism with Brett Schreiber (0:32:48). The lawyer who won a $243,000,000 verdict against Tesla reveals some secrets, including his approach to cases with third party liability issues. Tournament Spotlight: Battle of the Experts (1:08:57). Drexel's Phil Pasquarello talks about fatherhood, going full-time at the law school, and whether he knows how to write cases that aren't abou...

2 months ago

1 hour 18 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 125 - "He Cursed at a Child"

Introduction (0:00:00). Where is Spencer taking Justin for their 10th anniversary season? The Break (0:02:33). Results from the National Flash Trial Competition. Main Interview: Stephanie Sullivan (0:07:27). South Texas's director of trial advocacy talks about her famous father, her published poetry, and her addiction to replying-all. She also opens up about the role faith has played in her life, and how she has dealt with losing two children. Tournament Spotlight: First Chair (0:47:24). USD'...

2 months ago

1 hour 14 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 124 - "I Blame My Wife"

Introduction (0:00:00). Spencer prepares for his ten-year anniversary. Justin gets publicly insulted. The Break (0:07:45). Your first competition results from the new season. Main Interview: John Henry (0:08:57). Loyola's new trial advocacy director talks about his favorite war stories from 80 jury trials, how trial competitions have changed in the last 25 years, whether he was Mirandized by his own mother, how many boilermakers caused him to spin on his head in Syracuse, and why he blames hi...

2 months ago

1 hour 26 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 123 - How Many Cats is Too Many?

Catching Up (0:00:00). Travel, verdicts, paying off wagers, two words that unreasonably bother Spencer, alumni events, Spanish accents, and one host trying to cause an IP lawsuit for the other. Summer Recap (0:15:13). What were the five funniest moments in our community this summer? Top Gun: Chatting with the Champions (0:22:23). Ohio State's Sarah Paul joins with her second chair Clay Owens and her coach Kendall Beard. It's pretty heartwarming. New Season Storylines (0:46:23). Artifici...

3 months ago

1 hour 29 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 122 - Summer Stories - Part 2

Introduction. (0:00:00). We're back (for a bit!) to interrupt your summer Mailbag. (0:1:21:21). Thanks to Robert L., other personally identifying information unavailable, for the excellent "question." Applying the Rules. (0:02:31). In our first episode recorded in a real, live, professional studio, Gabe Rivin is back to apply what he taught us in the last episode. To make sure we're all on the same page, we ask him to show us how we would tell the story of Wooden v. Saban as if he were ...

3 months ago

1 hour 12 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 121 - Summer Stories - Part 1

Introduction (0:00:00). Where are we? What are we doing here? We answer existential questions, and podcast. Story Fundamentals. (0:05:28). We're joined by Gabe Rivin, former showrunner for the Wondery's American Scandal and writer for publications including The Atlantic and The Paris Review. Spencer talks with Gabe about the raw materials that make a good story, they offend basically every fan of Star Wars, and we gain a new appreciation for Erin Brockovich. Debrief! (1:11:16). Justin somehow...

4 months ago

1 hour 19 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 120 - "Way to go, Winners!" (Scripty Awards, Silverback Gorillas, and more)

Introduction (0:00:00). Spencer cuts down a tree, and Justin gets sentimental (for three reasons). The Break (0:11:38). The EATS awards! And one errata. All Star is Back! (0:12:44). St. Mary's A.J. Bellido de Luna is back and briefer than ever. He announces the return of the All Star Bracket Challenge, reveals his poker secrets, and explains how his face ended up on t-shirts. Top Gun Preview (0:24:03). Baylor's Robert Little expresses how much a Scripty would mean to him, answers "anonym...

6 months ago

1 hour 17 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 119 - "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers"

Introduction (00:00). Apply for competitions and vote in the Scripties! The Break (06:11). Serious results from Amicus, ridiculous results from Amicus, and a new podcast achievement. Gavel Rankings (12:40). With the semester coming to a close, Gavel founder and head mathematician Jared Rosenblatt shares his calculations and major storylines from the 2024-25 season. He also lodges allegations of snoring and cheating. Shanin Specter: Defending the Rule of Law (25:04). The famed trial lawyer tal...

7 months ago

56 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 118 - "Ask Your Law Mom"

Introduction (00:00). Spencer and Justin are recovering. "Ask Your Law Mom" (02:30). Buffalo Law's Jen Scharf and Lisa Bauer have their own podcast! They do serious work -- offering advice about legal careers -- but we do our best to make this discussion entirely unserious: yoga, Wordle, student slang, headphone squabbles, and an "Ask Your Law Mom" trivia game that Spencer hosts ... and Justin crashes. Vexatious Litigants (31:29). Northwestern's Josh Jones and Baylor's Dan Tilly debate whethe...

7 months ago

58 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 117 - Chatting with the Champs

Introduction (0:00:00). Spencer goes to Disney World ... and he tries to change the world. US News Rankings -- for real this time! (0:9:48). What schools made a big jump? The Break (0:13:28). Results from both Big National Competitions, case balance numbers, and Students of the Week. Predictions Recap (0:18:07). Who's paying for Waffle House? Can judges fit in suitcases? And who's the first lawyer in Lone Star to actually win a mid-trial motion? Chat with the Champs, Part 1 (0:30:...

7 months ago

1 hour 26 minutes

Unscripted Direct

Episode 116 - "Otto is a Sentient Citrus" (Nationals Predictions with Judge Roberts and Brett Bayne)

Introduction (0:00:00). Discussion of the embargoed 2025-26 US News Rankings. The Break (0:02:34). Results from Ethics, South Texas, Chapman, and two military competitions. Nationals Predictions Contest (0:03:57). South Carolina's Brett Bayne and Cumberland's Judge Roberts -- and an unexpected guest -- predict results from AAJ Nationals and TYLA Nationals. You'll hear about mascots, Waffle House, worm taming, camel spitting, and many, many Southern idioms. Suggested Plagiarism: Bill Barton (0...

8 months ago

1 hour 13 minutes