Between the Briefs

In the age of AI, firms built around billable hours need to have an uncomfortable conversation. 


In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Steven J. Shanker, Esq., Partner and Head of Corporate Law at Romano Law, to discuss why he believes AI could accelerate the end of hourly billing and what it takes to build a legal practice around judgment, efficiency, and ongoing client relationships instead.


What You'll Learn:

• How Romano Law offers flat-fee alternatives for both discrete legal projects and ongoing counsel relationships
• Why alternative fee arrangements can encourage clients to contact their lawyers before problems escalate
• How to scope and price legal work without relying exclusively on hourly billing
• Why efficient work habits matter even when a firm isn't billing by the hour
• Why worker classification depends on the actual working relationship, not merely the contract's label
• How direction and control can affect employee-versus-independent-contractor analysis
• Why misclassification claims can expose employers to taxes, damages, penalties, and attorney-fee liability
• Why Steven supports exploring an intermediate category for independent workers
• How Steven mentors junior lawyers through practical experience, efficiency, and courtroom exposure
  
  

At the center of the episode lies a big prediction: lawyers who refuse to experiment with alternatives to hourly billing may discover that their clients are perfectly willing to find firms that will.


Highlights:

• 00:44 Meet Steven Shanker: Corporate Law, Litigation, and Risk Prevention
• 01:47 How Steven Entered New York's Worker Classification Litigation
• 02:47 How Workers' Compensation Experience Shaped His Legal Specialty
• 03:38 What Determines Employee vs. Independent Contractor Status?
• 04:09 Why Direction and Control Matter More Than Contract Labels
• 07:14 Should Lawyers Be Doctors or Firefighters for Their Clients?
• 07:37 How Preventative Outside Counsel Can Reduce Litigation Risk
• 08:49 Why Employment Lawyers Need to Watch Classification Cases Nationwide
• 09:58 Does Steven Still Charge Clients by the Hour?
• 10:11 How Steven Prices Flat-Fee and Outside General Counsel Services
• 12:23 Is AI Finally Making the Billable Hour Obsolete?
• 12:50 Why Steven Thinks Clients Will Stop Paying for Manual Contract Reviews
• 14:08 What Businesses Get Wrong About Independent Contractor Agreements
• 14:22 Why a Signed Contractor Agreement May Not Protect an Employer
• 16:09 Does the Gig Economy Need a Third Worker Classification?
• 16:18 Steven's Case for an Independent Worker Category
• 17:09 Why Companies Accept Worker Misclassification Risk Despite Legal Advice
• 17:31 When Business Strategy Overrides a Lawyer's Risk Assessment
• 18:30 How Do Lawyers Sell Preventative Services Before a Lawsuit?
• 19:05 Turning Litigation Clients Into Ongoing General Counsel Relationships
• 21:02 How Should Firms Train Lawyers for Flat-Fee Work?
• 21:30 Teaching Junior Lawyers Efficiency Without Sacrificing Quality
• 23:23 When Does a Business Need Outside General Counsel?
• 23:35 Why Even Small Companies Can Benefit From Ongoing Legal Counsel
• 25:12 When Should Outside Counsel Give Way to an In-House GC?
• 25:24 How Interim General Counsel Relationships Work
• 26:57 What Lawyers Get Wrong About Managing Client Relationships
• 27:11 Setting Boundaries, Expectations, and Trust With Clients
• 28:53 What Should Lawyers Say About Client-Generated AI Contracts?
• 29:17 Why AI Legal Documents Still Need Professional Judgment
• 30:27 How Steven Balances Legal Practice, Mentorship, and Business Development
• 30:42 Why Steven Thinks Litigators Should Understand Both Sides
• 33:44 Is AI Creating a Skills Gap for Young Lawyers?
• 34:34 Why Courtroom Skills Still Require Real-World Practice
• 35:58 Steven's Hottest Take on the Legal Industry
• 36:06 Adapt Your Billing Model or Risk Losing Clients
• 37:08 Closing Thoughts
• 38:48 About Steno and Between the Briefs
  
  

Quotes:

• “I have been and now am on a mission to eliminate the billable hour.”
• “I despise the billable hour because amongst other things, it discourages the client from calling their attorney.”
• “You can't substitute legal judgment for a computer.”
• “The lawyers who are not already doing it now are gonna be left behind.”

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

An $800,000 dispute over a self-drafted contract sounds…completely avoidable. 


And, for a business litigator, the kind of frustrating case they could do without. 


In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Kai Jacobs, Partner at South Florida Business Law Group, to discuss how 33 years of practicing law have shaped his approach to litigation, client counseling, and preventative legal work. Plus, they break down what happens when clients bring AI-drafted agreements into a law firm, why Kai prefers pre-lawsuit mediation over arbitration, and how broken business relationships can make dispute resolution far more complicated than interpreting contract language.


What You'll Learn:

• Why litigation can be a burning house and preventative legal work is insurance
• How lawyers can use preventative agreements to reduce litigation risk and deliver greater value to clients
• How to counsel clients who want to cut corners on contracts and legal documentation
• What an $800,000 dispute reveals about the consequences of inadequate legal documentation
• Why attorneys should establish clear ownership records and decision-making structures from day one
• How 50/50 partnerships can create deadlocks without clear decision-making rules
• Why Kai recommends pre-lawsuit mediation clauses over relying on arbitration
• Why reviewing AI-generated contracts can create more legal work than drafting agreements from scratch
• Why legal judgment and understanding the client matter more than a polished AI draft
• Why broken trust is often the real issue behind business litigation
• How to separate being right from reaching an effective resolution
• What Kai learned about leadership, mindset, and business ownership after starting his own firm
  
  

Turns out, the best litigation strategy might be preventing the case altogether. Tune in for Kai’s compelling argument that lawyers should become better business advisers, not simply better litigators.


Highlights:

• 00:00 Meet Kai Jacobs: 33 Years in Business Litigation
• 01:17 Why Kai Started His Own Law Firm After Two Decades
• 03:51 How Can Lawyers Convince Clients to Invest in Prevention?
• 04:23 Litigation Is a House Fire. Contracts Are Insurance.
• 06:12 What Running a Law Firm Taught Kai About Business
• 08:03 The Contract Mistakes Litigators See Again and Again
• 08:17 How a DIY Contract Led to an $800K Dispute
• 09:52 Is Practicing Law in Miami Really That Different?
• 10:13 How Kai Helps Miami Businesses Compete Beyond South Florida
• 12:19 Can ChatGPT Actually Draft a Reliable Business Contract?
• 13:15 Why AI-Generated Contracts Can Cost Clients MORE
• 16:38 What Happens When a Lawyer Tests ChatGPT's Contracts?
• 17:17 Why AI Contracts Still Miss Critical Legal Details
• 19:23 When Should Attorneys Get Involved in LLC Formation?
• 19:53 The 50/50 Partnership Mistake That Causes Ownership Disputes
• 24:18 Why Business Lawsuits Are Often Really About Broken Trust
• 24:57 Being Right vs. Being Effective: Which One Actually Wins?
• 27:00 How to Keep Emotions Out of Business Disputes
• 27:55 Should Lawyers Prepare Every Case for an Appeal?
• 28:14 Why Kai Focuses on Solving Problems Before Appealing
• 29:48 What Law Schools Get Wrong About Business Law
• 30:33 Why Corporate Law Needs More Real-World Teaching
• 32:21 Why Commercial Litigators Should Rethink Arbitration Clauses
• 32:40 Why Kai Prefers Mediation Over Arbitration
• 35:48 What If Your Client Is Actually in the Wrong?
• 36:12 Why Good Lawyers Sometimes Tell Clients Bad News
• 38:08 The Hardest Lesson Kai Learned Starting His Own Firm
• 38:23 Why Personal Growth Comes Before Business Growth
• 40:13 What Law Firm Ownership Taught Kai About Himself
• 41:39 Kai's Hottest Take on the Legal Industry
• 41:46 Will AI Replace Lawyers? Kai Says Think Again
• 44:09 Closing Thoughts

Quotes:

• "Litigation is the house burning down. The agreements and the documentation lawyers give you, by and large, are there to protect you."
• "Being right costs something very different than being effective."
• "Personal growth precedes professional growth."
• "AI is not coming for your job. Do I think it will replace lawyers that don't use AI? Yes."
• 
  

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Real trial work starts long before anyone stands in front of a jury.


In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Gerardo “Jerry” Alcazar, trial lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright, for a practical and candid conversation on high-stakes litigation, trial preparation, team leadership, client management, courtroom presence, and the future of associate development in the tricky age of AI.


What You'll Learn:

• Why high-stakes trials are won through preparation, not courtroom performance
• How Jerry learned trial skills in Big Law without endless trial opportunities
• Why lawyers need to be ready for the moment a case goes sideways
• How coaching travel baseball shaped Jerry’s approach to managing trial teams
• Why team leaders need to understand people’s strengths, pressure points, and life context
• Why AI can help lawyers become more efficient, but may also short-circuit development
• How young lawyers can use AI creatively without outsourcing judgment
• Why courtroom style has to be honest, truthful, and authentic
• What Jerry looks for before taking on a new client
• Why trial law is much more grind than glamour
• Why associate development may be one of the biggest law firm challenges of the next few decades
  
  

The big question you’ll have at the end of this episode is: “Was the lawyer grind actually helpful all this time?”

Highlights:

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:07 Meet Gerardo “Jerry” Alcazar
• 01:21 From Milwaukee’s South Side to Trial Law
• 02:36 How Big Law Lawyers Learn Trial Skills Without Many Trials
• 02:51 Why War Stories Are Essentially Trial Lawyer Training
• 04:30 What Real Trial Prep Looks Like
• 04:45 The Trial Prep Rule: Everybody Needs to Know Everything
• 05:52 Why Trials Go Sideways and How Lawyers Survive It
• 06:17 The Courtroom Skill Nobody Talks About: Staying Calm
• 08:04 How Jerry Delegates Work on High-Stakes Cases
• 08:23 What Coaching Baseball Taught Jerry About Managing Lawyers
• 11:23 Why Soft Skills Matter Under Trial Pressure
• 12:20 How Jerry Spots the Right People for the Right Case
• 15:45 What AI Is Changing About Junior Lawyer Development
• 16:18 The Problem With AI Giving Associates “Great-Sounding” Answers
• 17:51 Can AI Skills Actually Transfer Into the Courtroom?
• 18:23 How Jerry Wants Young Lawyers to Use AI Creatively
• 22:45 Is AI Short-Circuiting the Lawyer Grind?
• 23:33 The Missing Experience Young Lawyers May Not Get Back
• 26:25 How Jerry Describes His Courtroom Style
• 26:42 Why Jurors Can Spot a Fake Courtroom Persona
• 29:30 Jerry’s Pet Peeves With Opposing Counsel
• 29:55 Why Litigation Is a Combat Sport, Not a Personal Attack
• 32:14 The Client Questions That Matter Before Taking a Case
• 32:37 Why Clients Need to Be Accessible, Realistic, and Engaged
• 35:29 The Non-Legal Jobs That Built Jerry’s Trial Instincts
• 35:58 What Chicken Farms, Scrap Yards, and Hard Work Taught Him
• 38:25 Why Trial Lawyers Need to Talk to Anyone in the Jury Box
• 40:16 What Movies Get Wrong About Trial Lawyers
• 40:37 Trial Law Is a Grind, Not a Performance Reel
• 43:30 Jerry’s Hot Take on the Legal Industry
• 43:40 AI May Break the Old Associate Training Model
• 46:34 Closing Thoughts

Quotes:

• “The expectation is that something will go sideways, and you’ve got to be ready to deal with it.”
• “Everybody’s got to know what the plan is, what the approach is, what the themes are.”
• “You’ve got to make people feel something.”
• “The successful law firms that continue to grow into the next two, three decades are the ones that have figured out associate development in the age of AI.”

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

 AI can give you an answer in seconds but that doesn’t mean it’s the right answer.


In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Patrick Baker, law professor at University of Tennessee at Martin and Founder of Baker Law Firm, for a practical conversation on legal education, AI, critical thinking, law school reform and what it really means to think like a lawyer.


Plus, Patrick’s hottest take: AI is built to please you and lawyers would do well to remember that AI is built to please you and lawyers should remember that shouldn't be the priority


What You'll Learn:

• Why Patrick believes a JD teaches critical thinking beyond traditional legal practice
• Why AI can weaken legal thinking when students use it before building the basics
• How Patrick separates AI use between introductory and advanced law classes
• Why students need tools to verify AI output instead of blindly trusting it
• Why real wills, trusts, contracts and court documents help students understand the law
• Why IRAC isn’t just a writing structure, but a way lawyers think
• How rural practice changes the lawyer’s role in the community
• Why law schools may need more regular assessments instead of one final exam for everything
• Why AI’s biggest legal danger is that it sounds confident even when it is wrong

AI can help lawyers and students move faster, but only if they already know how to think, question, verify and tell the difference between a useful answer and a dangerous one. 


Highlights:

01:01 Introduction

02:02 Patrick’s Path From Teaching to Law

04:29 Does AI Weaken Critical Thinking?

06:20 Patrick’s Rules for AI in the Classroom

07:44 What Law Students Miss About Business

10:15 Practicing Law in Rural America

14:12 Finding Purpose Through Guardian Ad Litem Work

16:35 Bringing Real-World Cases Into the Classroom

18:40 Patrick’s Soft Socratic Teaching Style

20:51 What Law School Needs to Change

22:09 Should Law Schools Teach More AI?

23:05 What Makes a Better Professor?

24:49 How Farm Work Shaped Patrick’s Career

27:27 Farming for Mental Health

27:54 How Law School Teaches Critical Thinking

28:32 IRAC as a Way of Thinking

30:50 Knowing Your Audience in Rural Practice

35:16 Why Local Expertise Matters

35:49 Who Should Actually Go to Law School?

38:22 Does the Bar Exam Still Work?

39:30 Should the Bar Exam Be More Practical?

41:56 Why There Have Always Been “Too Many Lawyers”

42:21 Patrick’s Hot Take: AI in Law

44:59 Closing Thoughts


Quotes:

• “Having a law degree is probably, in my opinion, the best graduate degree on the market because it just teaches you how to think” 

• “You still have to have the critical thinking skills to discern whether or not it’s correct.”

• “If I misidentify the problem, I am not going to get the result that I want.”

• “It’s not my job to tell you what you want to hear. It’s my job to tell you objectively where things stand.”

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Brian Amero became a naturalized American citizen in 2001. By 2007, he was an elected Superior Court judge in Georgia. Over nearly two decades on the bench, he set out to find better answers than incarceration for problems that jail was never going to solve.

In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Brian, a former Chief Superior Court Judge in Georgia and now Litigation Counsel at Bennett International Group, for a candid conversation about criminal justice reform, mental illness in local jails, access to justice and what a judge can do beyond the ruling. Brian explains why he brought drug courts to Henry County, how he built a parental accountability program that replaced automatic jail time for child support nonpayment with a path to steady work, and how that program eventually reached every judicial district in Georgia.

The conversation then turns to what Brian calls a human rights problem in our own backyards: people with severe and persistent mental illness who are incarcerated far too frequently. Brian walks through how a minor incident can turn into months behind bars while a defendant waits for a competency evaluation and restoration, why public defenders and prosecutors often overlook the civil-side resources that could help, and why he believes the civil and criminal systems need to be woven together. He and the hosts also discuss how to give judges, prosecutors and public defenders a reason to take this work on, why leadership at the top matters, and how a divided public can show up in the jury box.

And then there is Brian's hottest take: too many people are getting out of jury service, and the people trying hardest to avoid it are often the ones the system needs most.


What You'll Learn:

• How Brian's path from naturalized citizen to elected Superior Court judge shaped how he approached the job
• Why drug courts work as "courts of second chances" by addressing the underlying addiction instead of incarcerating people for it
• How the parental accountability program replaced jail time for child support nonpayment with case management, work requirements and a steady flow of support
• How a local program expanded to every judicial district in Georgia through conversations, budget requests and willing partners
• Why exercising prosecutorial discretion and exercising judicial discretion are not that different, according to Brian
• How a low-level incident can lead to months of incarceration for a person with severe mental illness before a competency evaluation even begins
• Why public defenders and prosecutors should be trained in mental health issues and the civil-side resources available to their clients
• Why Brian believes civil and criminal services should be woven together to manage mental illness in the justice system
• Why incentives, stipends and team-based approaches could help get judges, prosecutors and public defenders involved
• Why Brian thinks fixing this problem needs leadership at the state and national level, and better storytelling to make the public care
• How a politically divided community can show up in the jury box
• Why Brian thinks too many people are getting out of jury service
  
  

The big takeaway: Judges, lawyers and communities can build a more humane system, but it takes leadership, resources and people willing to give a little extra time to something that matters.


Quotes:

1.      “Everybody in that system loses.”

2.      “Judges want to do the right thing. They really want to engage in reforms that make their communities better.”

3.      “This is like Kafka’s The Trial.”

4.      “I consider this to be a human rights problem right in our own backyards.”

5.      “Everybody wants to feel like they’re a part of something that they can be proud of.”

6.      “Set everything aside, go do your civic duty.”



Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

AI is not a strategy. 


Sure, it’s a powerful tool but still, only one piece of the puzzle.


In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with John Koss, Chief Innovation and AI Officer at Mintz, for a practical conversation on legal AI, innovation strategy, knowledge management, law firm data, legal education, vendor relationships and what it actually takes to make new technology useful inside a law firm.


What You’ll Learn:

• Why John sees innovation as much broader than AI
• How people, process, and technology shape real law firm change
• How Mintz measures early ROI on AI tools through adoption, usage, and engagement
• Why usage is only the baseline, not the full ROI story
• How experimentation becomes a repeatable “Mintz way” of doing legal work
• Why chasing every new AI tool creates scattered results
• Why AI adoption has become easier than earlier legal tech shifts like technology-assisted review
• What law schools should and should not be expected to teach about AI
• Why mentorship and judgment still need to be taught inside firms
• Why a single source of truth for firm data is foundational but deeply unglamorous work
• What legal tech vendors need to understand before pitching law firms
• Why nobody has the future of legal AI fully figured out yet
  
  

The big takeaway: AI strategy is not about panic-buying tools. It is about knowing your problems, choosing your path, building the workflow, and bringing people with you.


Highlights:
00:00 Introduction00:51 John’s Path From Litigation to Legal Tech02:52 What a Chief Innovation and AI Officer Actually Does03:03 Why Innovation Is Bigger Than AI04:24 Moving From Legal Work to Business Strategy06:01 Measuring AI Adoption and ROI06:37 Why Usage Is Only the Starting Point08:34 Turning Experimentation Into Repeatable Workflows09:45 The Biggest Challenge in AI Adoption09:59 Why John Avoids Calling Firm Missteps “Mistakes”12:52 Getting Buy-In From Lawyers13:46 Why AI Adoption Is Easier Than Earlier Legal Tech Shifts17:52 How Law Schools Are Responding to AI18:19 What Law Schools Should Teach About Legal AI22:01 The Risk of Over-Automating Legal Learning23:03 Teaching Judgment in the Age of AI27:49 Building a Single Source of Truth28:09 Why Firm Data Strategy Is Foundational31:14 What Legal Tech Vendors Get Right and Wrong31:53 Why Customer Success Matters After the Sale36:23 John’s Hot Take: Nobody Has This Fully Figured Out38:32 Closing Thoughts
Quotes:

1. “Innovation to me is much broader than just AI.”
2. “Technology’s one of those three legs of the stool.”
3. “How do we take experimentation and turn it into something that’s kind of a repeatable workflow or use case?”
4. “We’re not a bunch of dummies.”
5. “We are really all in this together.”

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Maxwell Weiss has investigated everything from stolen historical artifacts and match fixing to counterfeit medicines, privacy violations and questionable health plans. Now, he is working at the intersection of plaintiff-side litigation and AI-powered case discovery. 

In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Maxwell Weiss, a partner at Don Bivens and Litigation Counsel at Darrow AI, to unpack how lawyers can find the facts that actually matter, investigate complex wrongdoing and use technology to uncover cases that traditional methods may never reach. Maxwell explains the 80/20 rule he applies to litigation, why brevity matters in legal writing, what federal judges taught him about courtroom advocacy and why the best lawyers often sound more like they are having a conversation than delivering a performance.

The conversation also gets into Darrow AI and how technology can monitor prices, identify potential privacy violations and analyze complicated health-plan structures at a scale that would be nearly impossible for lawyers to handle manually. Maxwell explains how those findings are turned into something lawyers can actually use: a clear case theory, the relevant law, precedent and an evidentiary roadmap.


And then there is Maxwell’s biggest concern about AI: junior lawyers may become so dependent on it that they skip the foundational work that teaches them judgment in the first place.


What You’ll Learn:

• How Maxwell applies the 80/20 rule to litigation strategy and focuses time on the facts that actually drive a case
• Why investigative work often requires lawyers to bring in private investigators, technical experts and other specialists
• What Maxwell learned from his federal clerkship about brevity, courtroom advocacy and communicating with judges
• Why strong advocacy looks more like a conversation than a rehearsed courtroom performance
• How class actions can create meaningful relief by stopping harmful conduct, not just recovering money
• How AI can surface potential privacy violations, misleading pricing practices and health-plan problems at a scale that would be difficult to investigate manually 
• Why translating AI findings into clear legal analysis is still a deeply human part of the process
• How lawyers identify and recruit strong named plaintiffs for class action cases
• Why Maxwell is concerned that AI could leave junior lawyers without the foundational skills needed for good legal judgment
  
  

The big takeaway: AI can expand the scale of legal investigation, but lawyers still need the judgment to turn what they find into a real case. 


Highlights:

00:00 Introduction
01:25 The Stolen Artifact Investigation
03:52 Maxwell’s Unusual Path Through Big Law and Federal Court
05:05 Investigating Counterfeit HIV Medicines
08:01 The 80/20 Rule for Litigation Strategy
09:10 How Lawyers Actually Investigate Complex Cases
11:19 The Ethics of Representing Clients
14:00 Why Brevity Matters in Legal Writing
15:30 What Federal Court Taught Maxwell About Advocacy
18:04 The Real Purpose of Class Actions
21:31 How Darrow AI Finds Hidden Legal Wrongdoing
24:46 The Problem With Dominated Health Plans
27:34 AI Cases That Would Never Be Found Manually
28:59 Will Lawyers Actually Adopt Legal AI?
30:42 What Happens When Both Sides Have AI?
31:47 Maxwell’s Next Big Litigation Target
35:17 Why Purpose Drives Maxwell’s Practice
36:45 Using Targeted Advertising to Find Plaintiffs
38:42 What Makes a Good Named Plaintiff?
41:27 The Emotional Side of Plaintiff Litigation
42:28 Maxwell’s Biggest Fear About AI and Junior Lawyers
43:47 Closing Thoughts

Quotes:

1. “The 80/20 rule is just so true.”
2. “The best advocates are having a conversation with the jury or the judge.”
3. “You don’t have to be absolutely perfectly polished.”
4. “I worry that junior lawyers will grow to rely on artificial intelligence so much that they’ll never get the basic skills.”

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

75+ episodes. 1,200+ followers. A new look. A bottle of hot sauce. And a legal industry that is changing faster than most people can keep up with.

In this special episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, hosts Joe Stephens and Adrian Cea record live from ILTACON 2026 to reflect on the conversations, guests, hot takes and recurring themes that have shaped the show so far.

Join them as they revisit standout guests including Elaine Barsom, Colin Levy, Eric Friedman, Andrew Finkelstein, Matthew Pringle, Bob Simon, Katie DeBorde, and others, while also introducing the show’s new Hot Takes hot sauce.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why “go slow to go fast” keeps coming up in legal AI conversations
• Why AI is better understood as leverage, not a lawyer replacement
• How legal tech is changing firm structures, billing models, hiring, training and education
• Why law schools are still figuring out which AI skills actually matter
• Why empathy, relatability and storytelling remain major legal advantages
• How guest conversations have shaped Joe and Adrian’s view of the industry
• Why attorney-client privilege and consumer AI use are becoming urgent client-counseling issues
• Why judges and clerks keep coming back to the same advice: be brief
• How private equity, remote-first firms, and AI-driven models are shifting the business of law
• Why the rebrand marks a new chapter for Between the Briefs, not a reset

This episode is a milestone, a reintroduction and a reminder that the future of legal innovation will not be built by technology alone. It will be built by people who know how to use it well.

Quotes:

1. “We’ve hit over 75 episodes now. We’ve had some amazing guests.”
2. “It’s not about matching that pace. It’s actually about being methodical and thoughtful about how you adopt, when you adopt, how you change.”
3. “AI is there to assist, free up space, allow you to do the job that you spent a lot of time preparing to be brilliant at, which is exercise judgment.”
4. “You can use AI to optimize, change the way things are done, but you’re still working with people.”
5. “Sometimes you want to say a million things, but the best thing that you can say can live in three paragraphs or three pages instead of 10.”

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Personal injury law has a lot of big promises, big ads and big firms. Nicole Brenecki is more interested in what actually works.

In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Nicole, Founding Partner at Jodré Brenecki LLP, for a candid conversation on personal injury litigation, boutique firm strategy, client service, New York court delays, fraud scrutiny, AI and why efficiency matters more than size.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why firm size can become a marketing gimmick when service breaks down
• Why Nicole’s firm files suit on most cases immediately after intake
• How small firms can use speed and coordination as a competitive advantage
• Why New York’s fragmented court system makes client expectation-setting so important
• How multilingual advocacy helps clients better understand the legal process
• Why hiring for intelligence and instinct can matter more than resume polish
• How Nicole uses AI for narrow tasks without giving up the personal touch
• Why judges with overloaded dockets need clear, concise arguments
• Why legal professionals need to cut through inefficiency instead of building careers around it

The crux of this episode: Building a firm with zero capital into a small but sharp personal injury practice that handles hundreds of cases with speed and intention. 

Highlights:

00:00 Introduction
01:05 Nicole’s Media Work and Legal Commentary
01:29 Preparing for Live TV Legal Analysis
03:28 Nicole’s International Legal Background
03:53 Comparing Statutory and Precedent-Based Legal Systems
05:45 Explaining the Legal Process to Multilingual Clients
07:09 How Personal Injury Litigation Has Changed
07:18 Why Nicole Files Suit on Most Cases Right Away
08:45 Keeping Up With New York’s Court Rules
11:03 Small Firm vs. Big Firm Client Service
11:36 Why Bigger Does Not Always Mean Better
14:48 Nicole’s Hiring Philosophy
14:58 Why Intelligence Beats Resume Obsession
16:44 The Skills Nicole Believes Are Hard to Teach
17:34 Developing Litigation Instinct
20:39 How Nicole Uses Technology in Her Firm
20:51 Why AI Is Useful, But Limited
23:31 Nicole’s Intake Process and Fraud Red Flags
23:57 Why Fraud Scrutiny Is Hitting Ethical Firms Too
29:21 Multilingual Advocacy and Client Expectations
29:43 Why Language Is a Tool for Trust
31:40 Underrated Litigation Skills
31:58 Why Brevity Matters in Court
35:58 Nicole’s Work in Music and New York Tracks
38:47 What Event Production Taught Her About Business
40:28 Nicole’s Long-Term Motivation
42:39 Nicole’s Hot Take: Legal Inefficiency Hurts Everyone
43:59 Closing Thoughts

Quotes:

1. “It’s just a marketing gimmick that you get more with a greater size. Very often you get less with a greater size because there’s just so many people and the work is so compartmentalized.”
2. “If you’re intelligent, you can learn anything.”
3. “Use AI as a tool and not as a replacement of you.”
4. “Stop going in circles for your own benefit. Try cutting through the inefficiency.”

Between The Briefs is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Paralegals are the people attorneys rely on when deadlines are tight, documents are moving fast and the work needs to get done right.

But they’re often treated as background support.

In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Christina Carter, Senior Manager of Firm-Wide Paralegal Management at Venable, for a practical conversation on paralegal leadership, legal operations, team culture, generational dynamics, AI adoption and what law firms often miss about the people who keep the work moving.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why paralegal management should be treated as strategic operations
• How Christina supports 80+ professionals across practice groups and career stages
• Why law firms need to recognize paralegal work before people burn out or leave
• How proactive staffing helps prevent retention problems before they start
• How onboarding should be shaped around the person, the practice group and the culture
• Why AI should be used as an assistant, not treated as the leader of the work
• How paralegals can use the “one step ahead” mindset to become indispensable
• Why treating people like humans is still the best management principle out there

Strong legal teams are not built only around attorneys. They are built around the people who anticipate needs, hold the work together and make everyone else look better.

Highlights:

00:00 Introduction
01:27 What Firm-Wide Paralegal Management Actually Means
01:39 Supporting 80+ Paralegal Professionals Across Venable
03:23 Why Christina Is the Gears of the Law Firm
04:26 Christina’s Path From Aspiring Attorney to Paralegal Leadership
04:51 Starting at Skadden and Learning Law Firms From the Inside
07:52 Why Paralegals Do Not Get Enough Credit
08:41 How Venable Recognizes Paralegal Contributions
11:40 When Law Firms Need a Paralegal Manager
11:55 Why Staffing Requires One-Step-Ahead Thinking
14:21 Managing Across Generations
14:51 How Community Bridges Generational Gaps
17:31 How Christina Onboards New Paralegals
17:55 Why Training Has to Be Individualized
20:38 Christina’s Management Principles
21:09 Treating People Like Humans, Not Headcount
24:17 How AI Is Changing Paralegal Work
24:39 Why Technology Should Be Your Assistant
27:38 Coaching Paralegals Through AI Anxiety
28:34 Why Human Judgment Still Matters
32:55 Advice for New Paralegals
33:25 The One-Step-Ahead Mindset
37:56 What Dance Taught Christina About Community
38:27 Why Relationships Matter in Legal Careers
40:54 Christina’s Hot Take: Legal is Having an Evolution Moment
43:35 Closing Thoughts

Quotes:

1. “My role is very much on a strategic level.”
2. “Treat every individual as an individual and see them as such.”
3. “Use that technology to be your assistant versus being the leader of the work that you do.”
4. “Not knowing about it, not learning about it, not becoming comfortable with it isn’t going to make it go away.”
5. “You really need to think about things from a one-step-ahead mindset.”

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