What really happens in the hot seat when everything goes wrong? In this episode, Ann sits down with Anthony "Tony" Castro, owner of Lit Trial Paralegal Services and one of South Florida's go-to trial tech specialists, to swap real trial stories and uncover the five tips every litigation paralegal needs in their back pocket.

Tony's path into the legal industry is anything but traditional. He started behind the counter at Starbucks, took a chance on a law firm runner position at 18, and worked his way up through paralegal assistant, paralegal, and litigation support specialist roles before launching his own business two years ago. Now he provides white-glove trial support to solo attorneys and small firms across Florida.

In this conversation, Ann and Tony share the kinds of stories you only hear from people who have actually been there. From war rooms that had to be rebuilt three times to a courtroom moment when nobody noticed the court reporter was missing for 45 minutes, this episode is part storytelling, part trial education, and 100 percent the kind of episode every litigation paralegal will want to bookmark.

In This Episode, You'll Hear:

• How Tony went from cleaning the Starbucks condiment bar to running his own trial support business
• Why a paralegal background makes for a better trial technician
• The hotel war room emergency that gives you one specific question before booking it
• The court reporter lesson every trial paralegal needs to hear (and how Tony solved it on the fly)
• How Tony became known as "Tony the Trial Tiger"
• Tony's 5 tips for thriving as a trial paralegal
• The favorite and least favorite parts of trial life for both Ann and Tony