Latte With a Lawyer

Welcome to Latte with a Lawyer, the essential podcast for attorneys seeking wisdom from the giants of the legal field. In this episode, host Jonathan Brickman sits down with John Yanchunis, the seasoned litigator who leads the Class Action Department at Morgan & Morgan. With over 36 years dedicated to complex litigation, John shares the strategies and principles that have defined his career, offering a rare look into what it takes to stay at the top of one of law's most demanding practice areas for decades.

John pulls back the curtain on his formative years, detailing how his two-year clerkship with United States District Judge Carl O. Bue, Jr. in the Southern District of Texas provided the foundation for his entire career. He explains his deliberate pivot into class action lawsuits, a field he has now specialized in for nearly a quarter-century, and discusses the mindset required to lead a department that tackles some of the country's most significant cases. For any lawyer aspiring to build a lasting legacy in complex litigation, this conversation is an invaluable guide.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-yanchunis-736b1416/
FIRM Website: https://www.forthepeople.com/

Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/

Welcome back to Latte with a Lawyer—the essential podcast for attorneys navigating the complex corners of litigation. In this episode, Marcy B. Spitz, a partner at MASSIVE, demystifies the high-stakes world of ERISA and medical lien resolution. Marcy explains why subrogation is "not an optional practice" for personal injury firms, revealing the serious legal risks attorneys face if they fail to properly satisfy liens from insurers like Medicare and Medicaid. Drawing from her early career as an investigator for the Department of Labor's pension division, she provides a rare insider's perspective on how to protect both your client's settlement and your firm from costly post-settlement disputes.

But how do you actually fight a massive lien? Marcy breaks down her firm's process for scrutinizing claims, identifying and challenging unrelated charges—like treatments for pre-existing conditions—that insurers improperly bundle with injury-related expenses. She shares insights from her work on national mass torts, including the Roundup and Flint Water Crisis litigations, and explains how her 33-person remote firm uses proprietary software to manage thousands of cases. Marcy offers a masterclass in how to maximize plaintiff recoveries by legally and ethically reducing lien obligations, a critical skill for any PI practice.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcy-b-spitz-esq-949777a6/
FIRM Website: https://www.gomassive.com/

Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/

Welcome back to Latte with a Lawyer—the podcast for attorneys profiling the lawyers who dare to challenge the status quo. In this episode, host Jonathan Brickman sits down with Stephen Grebing, a partner at Wingert, Grebing, Brubaker & Juskie and the current San Diego chapter president of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Stephen shares the inside story of his most memorable case: suing the state of California and the governor during the pandemic to lift the ban on youth sports. He details how his team secured a TRO that started a domino effect, ultimately forcing the state to reopen sports and creating life-changing opportunities for student-athletes across California.

Stephen also pulls back the curtain on his diverse civil litigation practice, which has been an institution in San Diego since the 1960s. He discusses his firm's unique legacy, where most partners, including himself, started as law clerks and built their careers there. Stephen explains how he's carved out a surprising and lucrative new niche in boat and yacht lemon law on a contingency basis, a direct result of the pandemic purchasing boom. He also shares his insights as an active trial lawyer on the surprising effectiveness of remote Zoom testimony and why he believes it can be even more compelling to a jury than a live witness.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-grebing-b952b4a
FIRM Website: https://wingertlaw.com/

Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/

Welcome back to Latte with a Lawyer—the essential podcast for attorneys looking for a strategic edge. In this episode, Shawna Woods of the Atlanta Divorce Law Group shares her unlikely career journey from a planned life as an Air Force JAG officer to becoming a leading family law practitioner in Georgia. She reveals how a chance encounter with a lawyer named 'Bubba Head' completely derailed her military trajectory and set her on a new path. Shawna explains her passionate advocacy for prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, arguing they are powerful tools not for anticipating failure, but for building stronger marriages by tackling tough financial conversations head-on.

Shawna pulls back the curtain on her courtroom philosophy, treating a bench trial as a performance for a 'one-person audience'—the judge—and detailing the hyper-local strategies needed to win across Atlanta's diverse judicial landscape. She offers critical advice for entrepreneurs on using prenups to protect their small businesses from being dismantled in a divorce, a scenario where a court's decision can destroy a lifetime of work. From handling high-profile divorces for celebrities and athletes to the challenge of finding authentic New Mexican food in Georgia, Shawna provides a masterclass in passionate advocacy and the learned skill of separating personal emotion from legal strategy.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawna-woods-51a40811/
FIRM Website: https://atlantadivorcelawgroup.com/

Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/

Welcome back to Latte with a Lawyer—the dynamic podcast for attorneys who want to stay ahead of the curve. In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Boulden, a partner at Silicon Legal Strategy, to uncover how her mid-size firm consistently outmaneuvers legal giants like Cooley and Gundersen. Sarah reveals the client-centric playbook that allowed her firm to become first counsel to unicorns like Pinterest and Lyft, fuel its growth from five to 25 attorneys, and close over 360 venture deals a year. She explains why being "ultra-responsive" and an integral part of the startup's team—not just a high-priced, last-resort call—is the secret to dominating the competitive tech law landscape.

Sarah Boulden pulls back the curtain on the entire startup lifecycle, from advising two founders in a garage to navigating nine-figure exits. She provides a real-time market read on the current venture capital climate, breaking down the rise of down rounds, the new pressure for a three-year runway, and how "vulture" M&A deals are shaping the landscape. Sharing her own journey from a family of lawyers to choosing a law school specifically for its entrepreneurial focus, Sarah offers a masterclass in building a practice that serves as a true strategic advisor, guiding clients through everything from their first hire to a half-billion-dollar acquisition.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahboulden/
FIRM Website: https://www.siliconlegal.com/

Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/

Welcome back to Latte with a Lawyer—the dynamic podcast for attorneys exploring the powerful stories that shape legal careers. In this episode, Preston Edwards of Dummit Fradin shares his unconventional path to the law, from freight brokering to commercial real estate. He gives a stunningly candid account of the moment that redefined his life: as a real estate executive, he was forced to evict a young woman whose parents had just died from COVID, only to be struck down by a near-fatal case of the virus himself the very next day. Preston reveals how he interpreted this as a “sign from the universe,” pushing him to abandon corporate work and dedicate his career to criminal defense.

Now, Preston channels that purpose into his practice, where he believes the most essential skill for a defense attorney is “audacity.” He pulls back the curtain on a high-stakes case he’s currently litigating, challenging a 1995 law being used against his client who was convicted in 1993, arguing it's an unconstitutional ex post facto application. Preston also discusses his nuanced view of the adversarial system as a single unit, not a battle of enemies, and explains why he believes a balance between prosecution and defense is critical to avoiding the chaos he’s seen in cities like Philadelphia and his own childhood home in Southern New Jersey.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prestonhedwards/
FIRM Website: https://www.dummitfradin.com/

Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/

Welcome back to Latte with a Lawyer—an essential podcast for lawyers navigating the profession's most demanding fields. In this episode, Michael Fried, a litigation partner at New York's Berkman Bottger Newman & Schein, takes us inside a grueling, month-long custody trial that pitted New York against Texas. Michael recounts the intensity of the case, which involved cross-examining witnesses over Skype back in 2014, and shares his journey from starting his career in a garage making $18,000 a year to becoming a leading matrimonial attorney for high-net-worth clients.

Beyond the courtroom drama, Michael explains why 'emotional intelligence' is the most critical tool in a family lawyer's arsenal, arguing that listening and empathy are more powerful than aggression. He breaks down the seismic shift in custody law from a presumption of maternal custody to a 50/50 starting point, and details his firm’s unique three-pronged approach offering litigation, mediation, and collaborative law to resolve disputes. Michael offers a masterclass in building a fulfilling and sustainable 25-year career in one of law's most emotionally charged practices.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-fried-b9a24264/
FIRM Website: https://www.berkbot.com/

Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/

Welcome back to Latte with a Lawyer—a leading podcast for attorneys exploring the global legal landscape. This episode features Ian Liao, a corporate lawyer with over 15 years of experience practicing in Taipei, Beijing, and Shanghai. Ian explains his unique position at the intersection of US-China commerce, leveraging his background as a Taiwan-born, US-raised attorney to navigate complex cross-border transactions. He details his firm's focus on East-to-West deal flow, from venture capital to M&A, and how he helps US companies secure strategic investments, like a recent $4 million deal for a medical device startup.

Ian pulls back the curtain on the massive supply chain realignment he's witnessing firsthand, as Chinese manufacturers for clients like Home Depot and Lowe's are now setting up shop directly in the US to mitigate tariff and logistical risks. He also discusses the litigation side of his practice, including a recent wave of cases where his firm helped Chinese suppliers collect on overdue payments from major US store chains during the pandemic. Ian shares his unconventional path to law, from discovering that many Fortune 500 CEOs held JDs to fast-tracking his degree through Baylor University's accelerated program, and how he now leads his firm's corporate practice from Irvine, California.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-liao-85b7b117a/
FIRM Website: https://yklaw.us/

Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/

Welcome to Latte with a Lawyer, the podcast for attorneys exploring the country's most unique legal niches. In this episode, Clayton Preece of Smith Hartvigsen pulls back the curtain on the high-stakes world of water law in Utah, the nation's second-most arid state. Clayton explains how water rights can be worth millions and operate under a 'use it or lose it' forfeiture system, making his litigation practice a constant battle to secure this precious commodity. He reveals the fascinating research involved, from digging through 19th-century mining records to using pioneer journal entries about ice skating to prove historical water use in court.

But Clayton's practice isn't confined to water disputes. He details his surprising pivot into lobbying, where he helped draft and pass a state bill giving cities a mechanism to reclaim abandoned homes contaminated by meth. Clayton also reflects on his path to this unique practice area and offers candid advice for lawyers, emphasizing the importance of understanding the often solitary nature of litigation and finding a practice that aligns with your personality. He explains why talking to an attorney sooner rather than later is critical, especially when your rights to a resource as vital as water are on the line.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clayton-preece-91b39b18/
FIRM Website: https://smithhartvigsen.com/

Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/

Welcome back to Latte with a Lawyer—a leading podcast for lawyers seeking an edge in their practice. This episode features Charlie Harris, a name partner at Seyferth Blumenthal & Harris, whose trial strategy was forged before he ever attended law school. Charlie shares the rare perspective he gained from serving on two juries as a young man, giving him an unfiltered look into the minds of the people who decide cases. He explains how this experience informs his unique methods for vetting arguments and how it shapes his trial-ready approach to his national employment and commercial litigation practice.

But Charlie's unique insights don't stop at the jury box. He details his journey from a 'solidly low lower middle class' background to becoming President of the Missouri Bar, and why he believes an underdog mindset is a 'tremendous advantage.' Charlie makes a powerful case for looking beyond grades when hiring, sharing how the most critical ideas on his biggest cases have come from paralegals and secretaries. He also reveals his passion as a professional musician who went from not knowing a musical scale to co-writing songs for a movie soundtrack, and explains the striking parallels he draws between composing music and constructing a winning legal case.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-harris-0b7a59b/
FIRM Website: https://sbhlaw.com/harris/

Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/