Unlike some of our other guests, who went to law school and then found themselves in the insurance industry, Brandi Percy got her start working as a claim representative in insurance, and THEN went to law school.   Her career has taken her through various in-house positions, both in insurance and in the corporate world.    We had a great time discussing how her career has progressed, some notable claims that presented her with "teachable moments" over the years, how risk managers can use analytics to help narrow predictive outcomes, and also, how her prior career as a college basketball player held shape Brandi as a professional.   (And we also complained about being the parents of young children in the age of COVID, which could have been a whole separate episode...)

As I note in the intro of this episode, Jeremy is a guy who makes me feel like I'm not doing enough professionally.   He's a seasoned trial attorney based in Birmingham, Alabama, and also a podcaster, author (both fiction and non-fiction), and active social media marketer.  Jeremy and I met a few years back in conjunction with the DRI Law Practice Management Group, where we are both committee members.  

We had a great discussion about how Jeremy's career has evolved over the years, including his recent move to Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, and how he got involved in the various types of media he now utilizes.  He provides some valuable tips on finding and enhancing your professional brand, both within and without the legal world.

Mike Rabinowitz is no stranger to being in front of an audience, whether he is selecting a jury, or headlining at a New York City comedy club as a stand-up comic.   The similarities between selecting a civil jury and trying to entertain an audience as a comedian are striking, in that you have a captive audience, and you need to use the spoken word to engage them.   Mike is uniquely qualified to opine on those similarities, having been a trial attorney AND a standup for several years.  In fact, his experience as a trial attorney prompted him to try his hand at standup, which eventually resulted in Mike being a headlining comedian -- which is one of the most exclusive clubs there is.   He offers some great jury selection tips as well - worth a listen to all trial attorneys!

Ross Mallor of PM Legal is a true entrepreneur in the litigation arena in the northeast United States. After an education in computer science and initial plans to become an attorney, Ross's plans changed, and he took a role in his father's company, PM Investigations. Since that time, PM Investigations, now PM Legal, has grown from a 2-person investigation company into a 200+ employee company, which conducts investigations for both plaintiffs and defendants, handles service of process and court filings, and is also now affiliated with E-Law and Lexitas.

If your question is, "how did PM Legal grow so quickly and efficiently over the past 15-20 years?" -- this conversation is illuminating. Ross takes advantage of technological innovations, keeps an open mind about new opportunities, and most importantly, listens to his clients. Aside from that, Ross is a fantastic storyteller, and in this interview, relays some great stories about his business practices over the years, a few about conducting surveillance, and even one about playing poker with actor Kevin Pollack. (This story is worth the price of admission.) For more information, check out PM Legal.com.

In addition to being a mother of 4, Winter Wheeler is a former litigator who started her own mediation practice just before the onset of COVID.   It is evident from speaking to Winter that she has some unique insights and ideas about how to bring parties together for an effective mediation.   A lot of it comes down to preparing effectively, to establish trust with the parties.   She isn't afraid to build that trust days or even weeks before the mediation, to help make the actual mediation hearing that much more effective.  Her mediation practice has thrived, despite the pandemic, and she expects to be very busy going forward.   And for good reason!

Angela Levitan is an engineer, bio-mechanist and human factors expert who can provide analysis, consultation, and where appropriate, testimony to assist litigants at trial.   Simply stated, Angela can provide forensic support to the "common sense" arguments that we often consider during the claim investigation, to wit, "there's no way this accident happened the way the plaintiff says."   Angela can help confirm or refute our theories early in the game.  

Angela has provided expert analysis for us on many occasions, and if she cannot help your case for whatever reason, she'll tell you that -- which renders Angela's opinion utterly credible.   Our discussion focuses on Angela's general approach, and some of the interesting claims she has handled over the years.   We also discuss my theory that Hooper from Jaws is the quintessential expert consultant.   What am I talking about?   You'll have to listen!