Rocky Cabagnot, Rick McDermott, and Danny Lyon join me to discuss our experiences growing up in the Catholic church.

Nute Thompson has followed a well-trodden path in his legal career, from law firm litigator to in-house general counsel. On thing sets him apart: Nute is 28 years old. I was pleased to speak with Nute about his accelerated career trajectory as well as the generational differences we observe in our profession. It was fun to reminisce about my own start as a young lawyer and hear Nute's insightful observations about the practice today.

I set out to talk to Rocky Cabagnot about his love of professional wrestling and fighting sports. He's a great follow on social media, keeping his network updated not just on the latest feuds in the WWE, but also in-depth analysis of the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers.

However, as we started talking, we got sidetracked into a discussion of the Charlotte School of Law, the once-proud institution where he taught as a full-time professor and I did a stint as an adjunct.

I am using a new program to edit the podcast these days and I still have not mastered it. It was useful in taking out a lot of the "umms" and "uhhs" but the result can sound a bit choppy at times. Please bear with me as I continue to learn to use new tools.

James Young is a fully bilingual (English-Spanish) mediator and arbitrator in Charlotte. His broad range of experience includes breach of contract, defamation, personal injury, workers compensation, and estate matters. He is a Certified Superior Court Mediator and has experience mediating a range of cases including guardianships and Medicaid planning, special needs estate planning, breach of contract, defamation, personal injury, workers compensation, and estate matters. He also has extensive arbitration experience in the areas of personal injury, landlord/tenant issues, and contractual disputes.

The one and only Greg Parent joins me once again to discuss the practice of mediation. In this conversation, we discuss the challenges and opportunities of working with lawyers and parties from all around the country and all around the world.

Just a quick hello directly from me to you to let you know what's going on with the podcast. Subjects include:

• Frequency of future episodes
• Bitcoin, streaming money, and the Fountain app
• Personal reflections upon turning 50

Josh Van Kampen represents individuals in disputes with their employers and former employers. As one of the best known and most successful employee representatives in North Carolina, Josh is the perfect guest to talk about mediation from the perspective of a plaintiff's employment lawyer.

Josh has developed an approach to mediation based on humanizing himself and his clients with the adverse party and attorney. We discussed how to prepare for mediation, deliver an effective opening statement, and work through the range of emotions experienced in mediation.

Greg Parent is one of the most sought-after mediators in Atlanta. His calendar is booked months in advance. This is due in part to Greg's personality, skill, and professional experience. He is one of the few mediators who has worked as an insurance adjuster in addition to representing both plaintiffs and defendants.

But Greg's success did not happen overnight, and it did not happen by accident. He is a tireless networker who takes a genuine interest in everyone he meets and makes a point of fostering those connections over time.

Growing a mediation practice is hard. Few of us have the capacity to network the way Greg does, but we can all learn from his experience. And the basic concept that efforts generates results applies in every field of business.

Jay Ward is a poet and spoken artist currently serving as the Poet Laureate of the City of Charlotte. He is the 2019 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and the author of two volumes of poetry, Sing Me A Lesser Wound and Composition.

Jay is part of a thriving and supportive spoken word scene in Charlotte comprising nationally recognized poets, including his co-hosts and guests on the Poet Up podcast.

Psst... don't tell anyone, but some lawyers do not particularly enjoy their jobs. As an insurance defense attorney experiencing the "Sunday saddies" as each new workweek, rolled around, John Miles decided to make a change into the then-burgeoning field of mediation.

In those days, the typical mediator was an older, white, male, former judge. Under John's leadership, Miles Mediation & Arbitration has grown from a one-man shop to the largest dispute resolution firm in the southeast, with a diverse panel of neutrals reflecting the clients they serve.

We talk about the business of mediation, what makes a good mediator, and how it has changed since John pioneered new ways of thinking about dispute resolution.