By Mike H. Bassett
After over three decades in the legal-trenches, Mike Bassett has learned to appreciate two things: good conversation & good coffee.
Legal Grounds is an ongoing series of interviews with t
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The podcast currently has 179 episodes available.
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Of the many many books I used to read to my sons, there are only a few that I could confidently recall, but a family favorite was (and remains) “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.”
No matter what age, it’s good to be reminded that some days are just going to suck, and in a lot of cases - just like Alexander - these reasons are completely out of control.
At the end of the book, Alexander is able to go to bed, reassured by his mother that everyone is allowed to have bad days.
But whereas Alexander isn’t going to have to face the same problems the next day, as attorneys we’re often faced with the same set of problems day after day, case after case. To be fair, it’s our job to solve problems, but when we’re unable to separate our self-worth from work-product we’re setting ourselves for a ride on the Doom-Loop.
Matt Cianflone returns to the show this week to discuss his latest article, “Shattering the Doom Loop”, which explores the causes, symptoms, warning signs, and solutions for pulling out of a professional and personal nose-dives alike.
We talk about how quickly the line from adversary to enemy can become blurred by miscommunication, why the ways we think about ‘winning’ a case have become distorted, and how distanced-self-talk can help ground us in our lowest moments.
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Jokes about lawyers and technology are one of those things that tend to write themselves, but in my conversation this week with Karl Seelbach I walked away thinking about how the days of being a tech-averse profession may very well be coming to an end.
A seasoned litigator, Karl is also the founder of SKRIBE AI, a software platform for capturing and analyzing legal testimony as an alternative to the traditional court reporting service.
As someone who has taken more depositions than they could count, what Karl and his team are doing piqued my interest and I wanted to chat with him about how they’re navigating new legal frontiers while also acknowledging the potential for disruption.
We talk about everything from how low cost depositions can increase access the justice to what AI REALLY can and can’t do.
It was one of the most wide-ranging conversations we had so far on A.I., so give it a listen and enjoy the show.
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When it comes to watching any sort of legal drama, be it television or film, most - if not all - of the scenes that take place inside the courtroom focus on either the lawyers, the judge, or the witness.
But when it comes to the jury, we tend to only see them during opening or closing remarks, and even then they almost always act more as a set-piece than a character.
Now occasionally you get the shot of a jury reacting to the most sensational part of a case, but for the most part they tend to fade into the background - both literally and figuratively.
But as my guest today is wise to point out, when it comes to actually trying a case the jury is perhaps the most scrutinized corner of any courtroom, which is why the best lawyers learn to build a relationship with them.
Similar to how a stage actor builds a rapport with their audience, as attorneys we too have to recognize that even when we’re not speaking we can still be the center of someone’s attention.
Anne Redcross Beehler is a litigation attorney who represents corporate and individual clients in a wide range of matters across California and New York.
With both civil and criminal experience under her belt, over the past decade Anne’s practice has increasingly focused on the real estate industry where she has represented tenants, landlords, and everyone in between
Anne is also a regular contributor to LAW360 and the Orange County Lawyer, and she has worked for the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and clerked for the NY State Court of Appeals.
This week she sits down to talk about bullying in the law, why sometimes being underestimated can be your best asset, and why My Cousin Vinny is the top legal film of all time.
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SHOWNOTES
Information on ALIGHT
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While I know there isn’t any science to back it up, somewhere in my 30’s I remember hearing the “Fact” that if you could do something for 30 days straight then - BOOM - it’s a habit.
A sort of accelerated version of ‘practice makes perfect’.
In reality, it’s often the spaces, people, and organizations we find ourselves immersed in that slowly but inevitably shape how we interact with the world.
But as my guest this week reminds listeners, when leaders experience major transitions, we need to remember that a lot of what we’ve learned no longer works.
Joe Bogdan is the outgoing Chief of Enlisted Force Development for the United States Air Force, and founder of Waypoint Front Solutions.
After 24 years of service he is retiring in September of 2024, but true to form, this transition is one Joe has been planning for a long time.
This week he sits down with Mike to discuss what it looks like to have to give up some of the leadership-tools you’ve perfected for ones you never had to consider, why we need to see the small transitions is practice for the larger ones, and the danger of losing ourselves to our accomplishments.
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One of the questions we ask every potential new hire at our firm is when your laundry comes out of the dryer, how long does it take you to put it away?
There is no right or wrong answer to the question, but the responses - I hope - give me a sense of how someone will process new work when it comes their way. This gives not just me, but the whole team the benefit of knowing how to train and integrate this person into the way we do things.
But perhaps more importantly, it's taught ME that there are a lot of different ways people choose to work towards the same goal. Some of the best lawyers I've worked with had offices that gave me anxiety - but there was a method to their madness, and the job got done.
And even though my guest this week is known as The Clutter Whisperer, she would be the first to tell you that what I saw as chaos, those attorneys saw as a necessity to do their jobs well.
Star Hansen is a Certified Professional Organizer and the author of the best-selling and bluntly titled book, “Why the F***Am I Still Not Organized”.
Since founding her own Professional Organizing Service in 2004, she has been on a mission to help people strip away the shame and negative stigma surrounding clutter in our modern lives.
We discuss how clutter is almost always speaking to a deeper narrative in our lives and how it can offer a more gentle lesson in tackling bigger issues.
And while we do talk about a couple of practical tools for keeping organized, as Star explains, dealing with clutter is way more than finding the perfect label maker.
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This week's episode is a conversation about what it takes to keep having tough conversations.
What was once the poster-child for corporate and social responsibility, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts are now either underfunded, swept away quietly, or, in some corners, vilified.
We've talked at length on this podcast about the power of diverse teams, but they don't happen by accident, and they certainly don't happen without a difficult conversation or two.
That’s why I felt lucky to be joined this week by Denise Hamilton, a nationally recognized Diversity & Inclusion leader, specializing in Ally training.
Denise is the author of the best-selling book, "Indivisible: How to Forge Our Differences into a Stronger Future" as well as the Founder and CEO of WatchHerWork, a digital learning platform for professional women.
In our conversation this week, we discussed why story is the gateway to empathy, explored what happens when we 'switch the nouns', and even managed to get in a few laughs.
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Fear of flying is one of the most common phobias in the U.S., but my guest today knew he wanted to spend his life in the air the moment his dad let him climb into a cockpit.
But, a fear of heights and claustrophobia are probably the last two things you’d want if your dream was to become a fighter-pilot.
And yet my guest today endured both while doing what he loved and teaching others to do the same.
Waldo Waldman flew F-16s as an instructor, and in combat, serving in the United States Air Force for more than two decades, and his story is proof that passion can be made greater than fear when communication and community are at the core of what you’re doing.
Now a NYT bestselling author and National Speakers Hall of Fame inductee, he sits down to share stories from his life and lessons from his book, Never Fly Solo, in this week's episode of Legal Grounds.
We discuss the myth of the Maverick - both in the air and in the board-room, the need for leaders to take the time to learn about their team, and why your backup plan really should have a backup plan.
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SHOWNOTES:
Waldo's NYT Bestseller - "Never Fly Solo"
Yourwingman.com
Contact Waldo at: [email protected]
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One of, if not THE most insidious aspects of depression is how it convinces you that reaching out for help is a fool's errand.
The stories we tell ourselves in those moments are often as dark as they are wrong, but thankfully very few of us will have to wrestle with these kinds of demons in full view of the public.
My guest today, however, did not have that luxury.
Susan Hawk has spent her career as a Dallas County Prosecutor, District Attorney and State District Court Judge who presided over and disposed of more than 25,000 felony cases.
In 2015 she became the first elected female District Attorney in Dallas County history, a position she had dreamed of since her time as a young prosecutor.
20 Months later she would step away from that role as her own struggles with mental health came to a breaking point.
Susan has since returned to private practice, specializing in representing defendants struggling with mental health issues, helping them find a path to the treatment they need instead of being warehoused in the penitentiary.
On today's episode she shares candidly about her own naivety when it came to being everything for everyone, what it was like to struggle in the spotlight, and why the journey towards healing is never over, it just gets easier.
Susan's vulnerability is truly inspiring and one I think all of us can learn from.
Enjoy the show.
SHOWNOTES
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Susan's Website
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If I had to boil down this week’s episode to one word it would be Control.
Like we talked about in last week’s episode, when it comes to mediators, too often the job is perceived as “controlling” two diametrically opposed parties; the idea being that in choosing what information to share and how to share it, mediators hold all the cards.
And while I think we debunked this notion fairly thoroughly, this week I talked with veteran Mediator turned Marketing Consultant, Natalie Armstrong-Motin, about how ADR professionals not only have a duty to dispel this myth, but that doing so is vital to growing one’s reputation and ultimately, business.
As the Founder and Managing Director of Marketing Resolution and the author of “The Essential Guide to Marketing Your ADR Practice”, Natalie is recognized as a pioneer and global leader in successful marketing strategies involving the resolution and legal industry.
Her company has designed and developed hundreds of campaigns for private practices, firms, educational institutions, authors, organizations and associations around the world.
From a humorous interaction with a Judge at a young age, to starting her first marketing newsletters on floppy discs, Natalie’s depth of knowledge made for a wonderful conversation with a light-hearted ending.
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The obligation that attorneys have to zealously represent their clients is, as my guest today puts it, “like walking a razor’s edge between perfection and disaster.”
For the first 15 years of his career it was a job that Jeff Kichaven excelled at, but as he himself admits in our conversation today, it is incredibly taxing.
After discovering his passion lay in the negotiations of his own cases, Jeff has since become one of the most sought after mediators in the country.
We discussed topics ranging from the misperceptions of mediators as advocates to the complicated nature of confidentiality versus deception.
I would consider this week's episode required listening for any attorney no matter which side of the bar you find yourself on.
Enjoy the show!
SHOWNOTES:
Articles authored by Jeff
Contact Jeff:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 888-425-2520
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