The Advocate Next Door®

Jamie Hagerbaumer, an associate at The Brattle Group, shares how expert witnesses support arbitration and litigation teams by independently analyzing evidence to value damages, often bridging claims that range from zero to billions. She explains how economics, finance, and modeling intersect with integrity and credibility, including the importance of saying no when the data doesn’t support a position. Jamie discusses collaborating with legal teams through discovery and case timelines, working on multi‑expert teams, and real‑world valuation examples from mining and investor‑state disputes. She also reflects on her career path, the growing role of technology and AI in expert work, and efforts to expand opportunities for women in expert witness roles.

STORY

0:00:28 Introduction

0:02:21 What Experts Do

0:03:48 Integrity and Independence

0:04:60 Jamie's Career Path

0:07:24 From Antitrust to Investor State

0:08:55 Mining Case Valuations

0:12:52 Timelines and Team Backgrounds

0:14:10 Site Visits and AI Tools

0:16:23 Expert Work Accuracy

0:16:31 Skills for Economic Consulting

0:17:50 Student Roadmap and Research

0:18:55 Learning on the Job

0:20:00 Discovery and Evidence Requests

0:20:50 Independence and Integrity

0:23:27 Industries and Shifting Markets

0:24:43 Dynamics Between Opposing Experts

0:25:15 Challenges

0:26:18 Work Life Balance

0:27:14 Opportunities for Women

0:32:48 Internships and Networking

0:33:40 Finding and Hiring Experts

0:34:15 Closing Thoughts

BIOGRAPHY

Jamie Hagerbaumer is an Associate at The Brattle Group. She has extensive experience providing valuation and damages analyses in complex litigation and arbitration disputes involving investment treaties, commercial contracts, and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on oil and gas, mining, and energy. Ms. Hagerbaumer has supported experts in state, federal, and international courts as well as in arbitrations before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). Her clients include Fortune 500 companies, law firms, federal government agencies, and international government agencies.

LINKS

The Brattle Group: https://www.brattle.com/experts/jamie-hagerbaumer/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-hagerbaumer/

Esha Kamboj, an attorney-advisor from the U.S. Department of Commerce, discusses her role advising policymakers in the Asia-Pacific region to develop legal frameworks that attract U.S. investments for infrastructure projects. Esha explains her background in international arbitration and how she now focuses on assisting foreign governments to amend laws and practices to make these regions conducive for U.S. investments.

She shares the importance of face-to-face diplomacy, cultural awareness, and her personal experiences transitioning from big law to the Department of Commerce. Esha also emphasizes the need for diversity in international law and offers advice for law students considering careers in this field. The episode concludes with insights into the intricacies of travel and maintaining work-life balance.

STORY

00:00 Mic Check

01:16 Guest Reveal

01:52 US Department of Commerce

04:41 Challenges and Partners

06:08 Private Sector Feedback

07:50 Arbitration Reform

08:53 Backlash and Treaty Basics

11:18 Origins and Global Curiosity

13:00 Family Travel Food Wins

14:24 Law School To Biglaw Shift

16:43 Commerce Life Work Balance

18:00 Diplomacy Needs Face Time

18:58 Culture Norms Trust Building

21:27 Cultural Diplomacy Skills

23:50 Surviving Jet Lag

24:04 Summer Associate Choices

25:18 Breaking Into Arbitration

26:25 First Gen Law Journey

28:24 What Big Law Means

29:18 Unwinding After Travel

30:42 Mentoring and Diversity

32:47 Commerce Career Paths

34:38 Asia Travel Favorites

36:55 Long Haul Flight Hacks

38:27 Wrap Up

BIOGRAPHY

Esha Kamboj is a Senior Attorney with the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) in the Office of the General Counsel of the United States Department of Commerce. Ms. Kamboj assists policymakers and regulators in the Asia-Pacific region to develop transparent policy frameworks that attract high quality investments for complex infrastructure projects, including by promoting fair procurement practices and robust alternative dispute resolution policies.

Before joining CLDP, Ms. Kamboj was a Senior Associate in the international arbitration practice group at the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright in New York, New York and Washington, D.C., where she focused her legal practice on complex cross-border disputes including commercial and investor-state arbitration, arbitration-related litigation such as the enforcement of arbitration awards and agreements, and commercial litigation in both state and federal U.S. courts.

As a private practitioner, she represented foreign sovereigns and corporate clients across a diverse range of industries, including energy, infrastructure, insurance and reinsurance, banking and finance, securities, and pharmaceuticals.

Ms. Kamboj has also served as a lecturer on investor-state and commercial arbitration for Georgetown University Law Center and the International Law Institute in Washington, D.C. Ms. Kamboj received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame and received her bachelor’s degrees, summa cum laude, in Global Studies and French from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is fluent in Hindi and proficient in French.

LINKS

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esha-kamboj/

Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), U.S. Department of Commerce: https://cldp.doc.gov/about-cldp

Madison Tincha, a licensed couples and sex therapist discusses her path from journalism and sociology to clinical mental health counseling, including research on “situationships.” She shares how she has worked with clients hesitant about therapy, working with unexpected disclosures during sessions, and the importance of confidentiality and consultation. She describes modern dating’s “paradox of choice,” the fragility of connection, and how situationships involve ambiguity, emotional intensity, and intermittent reinforcement, often tied to attachment and self-esteem. She outlines sex therapy topics such as desire discrepancy, pelvic pain, erectile dysfunction, communication, kink, porn-related distress, and defining monogamy versus ethical non-monogamy through explicit agreements. She also discusses hosting “Met Through Friends” events and shares tips like leading with curiosity and prioritizing self-care.

STORY

00:00 Sound Check

01:21 Meet the Couples and Sex Therapist

02:12 Becoming a Sex Therapist

03:30 From Journalism to Therapy

05:29 Hesitant Clients and Trust

06:28 Couples Therapy Realities

08:54 Confidentiality Basics

09:20 Why Modern Dating Feels Hard

12:31 Situationships Explained

16:20 What Sex Therapy Covers

18:10 Talking About Sex Early

19:43 Sexual Incompatibility Signs

20:23 Early Talks and Boundaries

21:26 Kink Shame and Ruptures

22:28 Society, Religion, and Porn

24:12 Cheating and Commitment

25:11 Ethical Non Monogamy Agreements

27:30 Therapist Dating and Credibility

31:44 Dating Events In DC

33:05 Better Openers With Curiosity

34:34 Therapist Self Care Routines

37:40 Sex As Relationship Dealbreaker

38:57 Gen-Z Having Less Sex

39:53 How To Find Madison

40:21 Wrap Up

BIOGRAPHY

Madison Tincha, LPC, NCC is a licensed professional counselor specializing in sex therapy and integrative couples work. Her practice focuses on helping individuals and partners navigate challenges such as sexual trauma, erectile dysfunction, infidelity, desire discrepancies, and rebuilding intimacy and erotic connection. Madison creates a sex-positive, nonjudgmental therapeutic space where clients feel safe exploring all aspects of themselves and their relationships.

Her therapeutic approach is rooted in curiosity and depth. Drawing from psychodynamic therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), somatic practices, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Madison helps clients explore the inner patterns that shape their emotional and relational lives. Through this work, she encourages clients to slow down, look inward, and reconnect with the parts of themselves that often go unheard, fostering meaningful and lasting change.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Public Relations from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in Sociology from George Mason University, and a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marymount University. Her interdisciplinary background informs a holistic approach that considers individual psychology, relational dynamics, and broader sociocultural influences.

LINKS

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madison-tincha-lpc-ncc-76a830103/

Couples and Sex Therapy Website: https://thepeaktherapy.com/madison-tincha

Lucy Nuñez (aka "Lucy in Love"), blind dating matchmaker and content creator, joins the show. She explains how her “Twelve Dates of Christmas” project drew over 300 applicants and produced six second dates from the initial twelve first blind dates. She shares how she was motivated by her own frustrations with dating apps, dating culture, and heartbreak. Lucy describes screening for compatibility and creating more accountability and respect through true connections. What are the today’s dating stages? What makes a good first date? Who pays for the first date? Lucy brings great insight to our burning questions and shares her plans to help singles. Join us as she continues to advocate for hearts and finding healthier love.

*This episode is dedicated to the American Heart Association in collaboration with the Podcasthon (uniting podcaster for charity awareness).

STORY

00:00 Podcasthon and the American Heart Association

00:21 Pre Show Banter

01:24 Meet the Matchmaker

02:16 Why Dating Matters

03:37 12 Dates of Christmas

05:00 From Apps to Heartbreak

12:19 Dating Apps and the Race to Bottom

15:13 Blind Dates and Real Talk

17:05 Accountability in Matchmaking

18:59 The Complex Relationship Stages

25:49 Hookup Culture and Intentions

29:37 What Makes a Great First Date

34:15 Coffee Date Debate

36:00 When You Know, You Know

37:39 Romantic Monument Walks

38:38 Dealbreakers

40:15 Dating in DC

42:12 Women Making The First Move

46:35 Networking Or A Date

48:41 Who Pays???

55:02 Safety First (and Doing Your Research)

58:49 Consent And Touching Rules

01:01:55 District Cupid and Upcoming Events

01:06:26 How To Connect

BIOGRAPHY

Lucy Nuñez, known online as Lucy in Love, is a Washington, D.C.–based matchmaker and content creator behind "The Twelve Dates of Christmas" and "District Cupid", social projects connecting singles through curated blind dates and creative dating events. She also runs the social media street interview series “Live from the Trenches of the Dating Scene,” where she interviews people about modern dating, relationships, and single life. Through her events and content, Lucy explores the humor, chaos, and chemistry of how people meet in the modern age.

LINKS

TikTok: @lucyinluv

IG: @itslucyinluv

Live from LegalWeek 2026, we corner Laura Milstein from That Tech Pod (podcast) to share some raw thoughts closing up the event.

That Tech Pod is a major technology podcast about eDiscovery, cybersecurity, data privacy, tech innovations, with over 10,000 subscribers.

Laura Milstein LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-milstein-7bb91a13/

That Tech Pod: https://thattechpod.com/ and on all major podcast platforms.

We meet with Jacqueline Schafer, Founder and CEO of Clearbrief.ai, who shares insight about her award-winning platform for legal writing.

Clearbrief is an AI-powered legal technology plugin for Microsoft Word that helps lawyers instantly find, verify, and cite evidence while drafting documents. It streamlines litigation by automatically creating hyperlinks to exhibits, generating, timelines, and summarizing documents. It is used by law firms, courts, and in-house legal teams to check for factual accuracy and uncover weak points in opposing counsel's arguments.

Website: https://clearbrief.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackieschafer/

André Noël Chaker, Founder and CEO of Rhetorich.ai, sits down with us at LegalWeek 2026 to discuss a new platform to help advocates with oral presentation, cross-examination, and public speaking.

Summary

Today, as AI accelerates thinking, drafting, and analysis, voice becomes the ultimate differentiator. Judgment. Credibility. Authority. Trust. None of these are automated. Rhetorich AI was built at the intersection of rhetoric, behavioral science, and artificial intelligence. Its purpose is not to make people sound like machines but to help them sound more human, more precise, and more persuasive.

Rhetorich AI: www.rhetorich.ai

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andr%C3%A9-no%C3%ABl-chaker-b50a883/

We travel to New York City for ALM's LegalWeek, which is a major conference for the legal industry, technology vendors, and professional services.

Lawrence M. Ausubel, University of Maryland economics professor and founder of Power Auctions, explains why auction economics plays a critical role in modern markets and public policy. He takes listeners inside the design of complex, computer-based auctions used for U.S. Treasury securities, Google keyword advertising, electricity markets, and high-stakes simultaneous spectrum license auctions for agencies such as the FCC, where bidders must secure complementary licenses at efficient geographic scale.

Professor Ausubel also shares behind-the-scenes insights from record-breaking auctions, including the $81 billion U.S. spectrum auction in 2022, and discusses his work designing diamond auctions for Botswana’s government-owned Okavango Diamond Company. Along the way, he explores reserve prices, bidder defaults, dispute resolution through software audit logs, the role of game theory in market design, the disruption of 9/11 during his first auction, and how AI could fundamentally reshape sponsored search and digital advertising.

STORY

00:00 Soundcheck

00:24 Introduction

02:29 Studying the Economics of Auctions

04:54 Scale and Simultaneous Bidding

06:16 Who Bids and How Big

09:18 How Larry Got Into Auctions

11:00 Diamonds and Botswana

15:40 Auction Goals and Pricing

18:06 When Auctions Go Wrong

22:18 Career Path and Legal Side

24:41 Game Theory and Disputes

31:38 Market Design Careers

33:34 Closing

BIOGRAPHY

Lawrence M. Ausubel is Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland. Professor Ausubel is regarded as a leading expert on auction theory and market design. He has also published widely on bargaining, industrial organization, financial markets and the credit card market. He is the author of a number of highly-cited academic articles on efficient auction design, one of which proposes a format that has become known as the “Ausubel auction”. He has been awarded 23+ U.S. patents relating to auction technology and he has several other patents pending.

He has also testified before the U.S. Congress and the National Bankruptcy Review Commission as an expert on credit card and bankruptcy issues, and in court as a leading expert on the economics of the credit card market. Professor Ausubel received his A.B. in Mathematics from Princeton University, his M.S. in Mathematics from Stanford University, his M.L.S. in Legal Studies from Stanford Law School, and his Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University.

Professor Ausubel is also founder and chairman of Power Auctions LLC, a leading international provider of software and design services for high-stakes auctions. Power Auctions was founded in 2003 as a provider of auction design, auction software, auction management services, auction strategy and intellectual property, all under one roof. It has an unparalleled track record in the design and implementation of over 250 high-stakes auctions across six continents and in advising bidders in many other high-stakes auctions.

LINKS

Website: https://ausubel.com

Jashaswi Ghosh, Counsel at Holon Law Partners, is a corporate transactional attorney in healthcare and life sciences, unpacks the distinction between life sciences (drug discovery and development through clinical trials, FDA approval, manufacturing, and distribution) and healthcare (providers, payment, platforms, and physician practices). He shares his cross-border journey from India to the U.S., insights on AI’s growing role in clinical trials and patient engagement, and practical advice for lawyers building business development and partnership pathways. The episode also explores his work with emerging biotech companies, involvement with the DC Tech & Venture Coalition, and reflections on balancing transactional practice with life in Washington, DC.

STORY

00:00 Sound Check

00:52 Meet Jash Ghosh

01:41 Life Sciences vs. Healthcare

03:14 Global & Regulatory Complexity: Sub-Practices and Cross-Border Work

05:05 E-Pharmacies & Telemedicine: How the Pandemic Accelerated Change

06:06 Holon Law Partners

09:45 AI in Healthcare: Clinical Trials, Post-Op Follow-Ups, and Reducing Burnout

13:13 The Journey from India to Stanford to Big Law in the U.S.

15:02 Early Influences: Family Medicine Roots

16:57 Practicing in India vs. the U.S.: FDA Interaction and Regulatory Differences

18:15 Big Law Culture Shift

22:45 DC Tech & Venture Coalition: Building Legal Support for Tech Startups

30:18 Work-Life Balance in Regulatory and Transactional Practice

31:39 Life in DC: Running Trails, Museums, and Weekend Routines

32:39 Final Thoughts

BIOGRAPHY

Jashaswi Ghosh is a corporate transactional attorney with a strong focus on the healthcare, life sciences and tech industries. He is currently a Limited Partner at Holon Law Partners LLP, where his practice centers on advising pharmaceutical, medical device, digital health, tech and food companies, as well as hospital systems, professional corporations, and private equity and venture capital firms, across a wide range of strategic and commercial transactions.

Jashaswi brings a distinctly business-oriented mindset to his legal practice and is deeply engaged in ecosystem building and business development. He serves as a Senior Executive Board Member of the DC Tech & Venture Coalition (DCTAV), a platform focused on strengthening the innovation economy at the intersection of technology, capital, and regulated industries, where he helps shape partnerships, programs, and cross-border collaboration initiatives. He also has a particular interest in U.S.–India business development, leveraging his network and experience to support collaborations between companies, investors, and law firms across both markets.

In addition, Jashaswi maintains strong ties to the startup and innovation ecosystem, including through Stanford University and the Graduate School of Business, and he actively advises early-stage companies. He also serves as an external advisor to leading innovation ecosystems at major healthcare systems, including Mayo Clinic, working at the intersection of healthcare delivery, technology, and venture innovation.

LINKS

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jashaswi-ghosh-187777216/

Holon Law: https://holonlaw.com/attorneys/jashaswi-ghosh/

Email: [email protected]

DC Tech and Venture Coalition: https://www.dctav.co