What happens when a licensed marriage and family therapist who grew up in Los Angeles watching pastors, doctors, nurses, and high achievers give everything they had to the people around them while quietly neglecting themselves decides that the most important thing she can do is teach people how to refill before they run completely dry — and then extends that same mission to third graders who are still young enough to build those habits before they ever need to unlearn the bad ones?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Ash Reynolds, founder of Modern Day Wellness Group, about the difference between regular tiredness and actual burnout, why compassion fatigue is particularly insidious in caregiving and service professions because the people most affected love what they do and would never think to slow down, and why the client who looks like a shining star on the outside — thriving academically, active in student government, playing sports — can be the one most deeply struggling in private. Ash also explains why pastors who preach vulnerability from the pulpit are still people who need rest, and why community is supposed to hold them so they are not the only ones responsible for their own restoration.

They also discuss emotional regulation — what it actually means, why it affects everything from relationships to career trajectories to physical health, and how a 16-year-old's suicidal ideation gradually resolved as he learned to name what was happening inside him and trust that the people around him would lean in and listen — the Wellness for Kids program Ash co-created with Chelsea Ferguson that teaches third graders the stop technique, deep breathing, and the difference between bullying and tattling, including the moment yesterday when a little girl grabbed the microphone and told 50 students the right response to bullying is to fight back and the whole room cheered, and what Ash's five-year vision looks like — clinicians under her license, school districts running the program at scale, an app that makes emotional regulation tools available to every child regardless of whether their parents can afford therapy.

Ash Reynolds is a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Modern Day Wellness Group in Los Angeles, California.

Connect with Ash Reynolds:

moderndaywellness.org

Psychology Today: search Ashinee Reynolds

Wellness for Kids: wellness4kids.org

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Ash Reynolds

00:55 Growing up in LA watching ministry leaders, doctors, and nurses run on empty — and realizing burnout was the problem she was meant to solve

01:51 How do I know if it's burnout or just regular tiredness — the difference in that feeling of going through the motions

02:42 Compassion fatigue versus burnout — why they are similar and which one is more specific to service professions

03:08 If you love what you do, how can you still have compassion fatigue — the nurse who forgets to eat

03:54 What Ash actually does with her clients — one on one, the basics people forget when they are too busy

05:08 Why pastors and ministry leaders resist admitting they are struggling even when they preach vulnerability

05:52 Her current practice — one on one therapy, the Wellness for Kids launch, and the workshop she hosted yesterday

06:58 What emotional regulation actually means and why it matters

08:03 Wellness for Kids — the curriculum, what it covers, and why it was created

09:38 The program components — emotional regulation, bullying versus tattling, physical wellness, and mindfulness

10:09 Bullying versus tattling — why both words sound pejorative and what the distinction actually teaches kids

11:14 A success story from individual therapy — the 16-year-old who looked like a shining star and was quietly struggling with suicidal ideation

13:09 How he ended up in her care — referrals, and why word of mouth is the best marketing

14:00 Yesterday's Wellness for Kids workshop — the little girl who grabbed the microphone and told 50 students to fight back

15:44 How the Wellness for Kids program reaches schools and who pays for it — right now nobody does

17:11 Is the goal to turn Wellness for Kids into a business or keep it as a sidelight

17:51 What the five-year vision looks like — clinicians under her license, school districts, an app, and parent training

19:14 Her own story — Belize, St. Louis, Los Angeles, being told she would never get into Pepperdine, and why she believes mentors change everything

20:41 Where Modern Day Wellness Group is in five years — Wellness for Kids as a subsector, referrals into therapy, parent training layered in

21:44 The compassion fatigue workshop at Harvard — what surprised her about how the audience received it

22:42 Healing expands when we work together — what that phrase actually means in practice

#AshReynolds #ModernDayWellness #TrustcastShow #CompassionFatigue #EmotionalRegulation #WellnessForKids #BurnoutPrevention #TherapistLA #MFT #ChildWellness

What happens when a psychiatric social worker who spent 12 years inside the mental health system before going to law school teams up with a former Philadelphia DA prosecutor who took 60 jury trials to verdict, got nominated to the Chester County bench by two separate governors, and sat in every division of the Court of Common Pleas — and they both end up at one of the oldest law firms in Pennsylvania doing what they each love most?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with John McKenna and Lou Mincarelli of MacElree Harvey about the full landscape of what they do — from Orphan's Court will contests and guardianships for incapacitated adults to criminal defense and civil litigation — and why the collaborative arbitration model John pioneered is quietly changing how families and businesses resolve disputes in the Delaware Valley. Lou explains what collaborative arbitration actually is — a hybrid where parties still participate and present their case like in mediation, but the arbitrator can make a binding decision at the end if the parties cannot reach agreement themselves — and why knowing that the arbitrator can step in and decide actually tends to push parties toward resolution faster than either pure mediation or traditional arbitration alone.

They also discuss what actually happens inside a police interrogation room and why police are legally permitted to lie to suspects, why Miranda rights only kick in during custodial interrogation and not at the moment of arrest, what the one conversation families refuse to have that costs them the most in estate disputes — communicating the reasons behind their estate plan while they are still alive — what Lou's biggest pet peeve was in his courtroom when attorneys repeatedly broke the rules of civility, why 60 jury trials taught him that you can never take any particular set of facts for granted with a jury, and why the cost of preparing for trial is the thing clients almost never factor in when they refuse to consider mediation or arbitration.

John McKenna and Lou Mincarelli are partners at MacElree Harvey, one of Pennsylvania's oldest and most respected law firms, serving clients across Southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland.

Connect with John McKenna and Lou Mincarelli:

maceleeharvey.com

West Chester, Pennsylvania

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to John McKenna and Lou Mincarelli of MacElree Harvey

00:38 First impressions — the judge meets the psychiatric social worker turned litigator

01:44 Lou's background — crime victim advocate, Philadelphia DA, 60 jury trials, two appointments to the bench

03:20 What Lou practices at MacElree Harvey — criminal, civil, family court, and mediation

04:40 What Orphan's Court actually is and why it is unique to Pennsylvania

05:27 John's role — wills, trusts, guardianships, and court-appointed mediator in Orphan's Court

06:52 My parent just died and the will is completely different from what we were always told — what is the first move

07:41 How mediation works in will contest cases and why it is usually resolved in one day

08:48 Why both mediation and arbitration exist — uncertainty, cost, time, and the risk of losing a case you should have won

10:42 Caucusing — separating parties and doing the arm twisting in separate rooms

11:50 The arbitrator explaining the difference between mediation and arbitration

15:18 Collaborative arbitration explained — putting people back in the process with a binding backstop

17:23 Is collaborative arbitration unique to Pennsylvania or to John's practice

18:25 The key advantage of collaborative arbitration — parties know how the arbitrator is leaning in real time

20:18 How arbitration differs from a jury trial — the cost and time savings explained

22:15 I just got arrested — what are the first two things I should do before saying a single word

22:35 Why police are legally permitted to lie to suspects and how interrogation tactics actually work

24:47 The misconception about Miranda rights — they only apply during custodial interrogation

25:55 When to speak and when not to speak — including federal grand jury subpoenas

27:27 Lou took 60 jury trials to verdict — what do juries most consistently misunderstand

28:42 How model jury instructions work in Pennsylvania and why attorneys have to hammer the law home in plain language

29:42 Can a judge overrule a jury — when and how

31:02 What happens when something prejudicial slips into a trial and whether a mistrial is the answer

32:25 Rapid fire — John on Sunday mornings, Lou on prosecution versus defense

33:27 The one conversation families refuse to have that causes the most estate disasters

#JohnMcKenna #LouMincarelli #MacElreeHarvey #TrustcastShow #CollaborativeArbitration #OrphansCourt #WillContest #CriminalDefense #ChesterCountyLaw #PennsylvaniaLaw

What happens when a British kid who grew up watching his father build businesses from nothing comes to America for college, stumbles into a trial courtroom as a law school intern and knows within five minutes that's where he belongs, spends five years trying 200 jury trials including capital murder cases for Palm Beach County, walks away burned out, loses himself for a decade trying desperately not to be a lawyer, loses his father 11 months into a new practice, watches a family member get Baker acted two days after the burial, and then builds the firm that Florida families — and families from Oregon, Hawaii, New Jersey, and North Carolina — call at 2 a.m. when a loved one is disappearing into addiction?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Mark Astor, founder of the Mental Health Addiction Law Firm, about the Marchman Act, the Baker Act, and guardianship — the three Florida statutes that together give families legal authority to make the decision their loved one's hijacked brain cannot make — and why the disease itself is one of the reasons someone won't go to treatment, because the disease does not want its own antidote. Mark explains why a Baker Act detention has none of the due process protections of a criminal arrest despite the fact that the person being detained has done nothing wrong, why facilities with health insurance incentives are motivated to keep patients and document accordingly, and why he files more habeas petitions than any other attorney in Florida after watching those patterns up close.

They also discuss what happens when a family calls at noon on Monday and how a pod of an associate, paralegal, and law clerk gets a petition filed and an order sought before the end of that same business day, why the belief that you can't force someone into recovery misunderstands what the disease has done to the person you are looking at, the statistic that if someone stays in recovery for one year there is a 70% chance they stay for life, the family whose son was a market genius until marijuana sent him into psychosis and why it took eight months of Marchman Act and guardianship before he started turning the corner, and the adopted daughter whose father had marchman-acted her multiple times before she walked out of treatment, overdosed, and died — the call that still stays with him.

Mark Astor is the founder of the Mental Health Addiction Law Firm, based in Boca Raton, Florida.

Connect with Mark Astor:

mentalhealthaddictionlawfirm.com

Boca Raton, Florida

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Mark Astor

00:41 Starting at Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office in 1994 and knowing within five minutes this was the place

01:32 200 jury trials in five years — and burning out completely

02:48 A decade of misery, a failed marriage, an LLM, a presidential campaign, and failing the California bar exam twice

04:28 Meeting R. John Robbins and discovering the business side of running a law firm

06:10 Finding the people who needed his help — behavioral health — and why nobody was doing it

07:30 14 months before the first behavioral health case, building from a library with cheap coffee and Vistaprint cards

08:15 His father dying 11 months in — and then watching a family member get Baker acted two days after the burial

09:00 The mission of the firm — saving families whose loved ones are disappearing into addiction and mental illness

10:37 The three statutes — Marchman Act, Baker Act, and guardianship — and how they work together

12:15 Can we also work the other side — representing respondents and why Mark will take those cases

12:44 My son is in Florida rehab and just called saying he's walking out — what do I do in the next hour

13:47 How the Marchman Act works on an ex parte emergency basis — same day filing and orders within hours

14:00 Baker Act versus Marchman Act — the key distinction between substance use and mental health statutes

15:23 Guardianship — broader relief but why courts are reluctant to grant it ex parte

15:18 How the Baker Act works — the 72-hour detention, sovereign immunity, and the incentive to keep patients

17:06 Why Mark has filed more habeas petitions than any other lawyer in Florida — and what started it

18:24 Two Baker Act cases that show how it goes wrong — the mother-daughter misquote and the 80-year-old husband

20:30 Children getting Baker acted for social media posts and T-shirts after Marjorie Stoneman Douglas

21:54 What a significant period of detention actually means — up to six months and how facilities buy extra time

23:59 Who actually stays in these facilities — and the insurance connection Mark won't say plainly but will imply clearly

25:29 My daughter is 24 and using fentanyl and says she has no problem — when does a family have legal options

#MarkAstor #MentalHealthAddictionLawFirm #TrustcastShow #MarchmanAct #BakerAct #AddictionLaw #FamilyAddictionHelp #SubstanceUseDisorder #FloridaAddictionLaw #HabeasPetition

What happens when a five-year-old who watched her father help people in his Dallas law office decides she wants that same response from the world, becomes the youngest prosecutor ever assigned to crimes against children in Collin County at 27, spends two decades in courtrooms trying to protect kids, helps recover nearly $3 billion for Texas counties in the opioid epidemic, goes to Singapore to fight child trafficking with Interpol, and then comes home, becomes a survivor who finally told her own story, and wrote the book that distills everything she has learned into a step-by-step guide for the 57 million American women carrying this in silence?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with JoDee Neal, former prosecutor, author of Outcry Witness, and founder of Neal Now Legal, about what to do in the first 24 hours after a child discloses abuse, why the perpetrators control the evidence they leave behind and why child credibility is established through how the outcry takes place rather than physical proof, and why the legal system — as necessary as it is — cannot be the foundation of healing because you are giving your power away twice. JoDee explains what grooming actually looks like before any abuse occurs, why the child who goes silent afterward is not recanting but surviving, and why the bravest thing she has ever seen a human being do is say the truth about what happened to them in front of the person who did it.

They also discuss what makes institutions like churches, schools, and daycares legally liable when an employee harms a child — and the pattern JoDee keeps seeing where perpetrators resign rather than get arrested and then move district to district with clean background checks — the DARVO defense that corporations deploy when an employee comes forward, why the person generating income for the company almost never gets removed and the victim almost always does, what the beach ball analogy explains about why locking trauma away and surviving is not the same as living, and what her consulting practice now offers to both survivors and businesses who want to get ahead of the liability before it costs them millions.

JoDee Neal is a former prosecutor, author of Outcry Witness, and founder of Neal Now Legal, a consulting and legal practice based in Dallas, Texas.

Connect with JoDee Neal:

jodeeneal.com

neilnowlegal.com

Book: Outcry Witness — A Former Prosecutor's Guide to Healing and Justice After Sexual Violence

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to JoDee Neal

00:48 Growing up in her father's Dallas law office at age five — what she saw that made her certain

01:30 Youngest prosecutor ever assigned to crimes against children in Collin County at 27

02:18 A child just told me something happened — what do I do in the next 24 hours

02:56 I'm terrified my child won't be believed — how does child credibility actually get established

03:48 Reporting to CPS versus law enforcement — when to choose one and whether you should do both

04:39 The person who hurt my child is a family member — does going legal blow up the entire family

05:38 My child is acting totally normal now and won't talk about it — did I imagine it

05:59 What grooming actually looks like before the abuse starts — how perpetrators weaponize kindness

07:02 The statute of limitations for child sexual abuse in Texas and whether it is ever too late

07:50 Why the legal system cannot be the basis of your healing

08:19 Walking through what actually happens from first disclosure all the way to the courtroom

09:30 Best practices — the Children's Advocacy Center, the video recorded interview, and vertical prosecution

11:40 How do you avoid re-traumatizing a child through the entire process

12:45 Kids in court — bringing survivors to the courtroom in advance so fear of the unknown is removed

13:17 Why testifying in person has a healing property that closed circuit testimony does not

13:52 Cross-examination of a child — the constitutional tension that nobody has solved yet

15:49 Can you sue civilly without a criminal conviction — and what makes it worth the effort

16:50 What makes institutions legally liable — and what most churches, schools, and daycares are not doing

18:24 Perpetrators who resign rather than face arrest and move district to district with clean records

19:22 What systemic failure with pattern and practice of coverup looks like in discovery

20:34 Can a company report an allegation to the next employer without creating defamation liability

24:12 Outcry Witness — the book, the primary message, and what a reader takes away

25:29 The 45% of American women who have survived contact sexual violence — and what that number means for society

26:29 An adult who has carried this for 30 or 40 years — what does the book offer them

#JoDeeNeal #OutcryWitness #NealNowLegal #TrustcastShow #ChildSexualAbuse #SurvivorHealing #CrimesAgainstChildren #SexualViolence #WorkplaceHarassment #ChildProtection

What happens when a trauma therapist trained in EMDR, interpersonal neurobiology, and dialectical behavior therapy decides that the most important work he can do is not in a clinical setting but in a coaching practice built around a single observation — that the most capable, dependable, highest-functioning people around us are quietly carrying more strain than anyone can see, and that the maintenance tasks required to sustain a human being are the first things to go when performance becomes the only priority?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Drew Sewell, founder of Avora Coaching, about what invisible strain actually feels like from the inside — hollowness, irritability, disconnection, no patience, and eventually the darker versions that show up as substance use or thrill-seeking — and why telling a high performer to back off is exactly the wrong framing. Drew explains state shifting, the nervous system reset technique he developed from his EMDR and trauma therapy background that can be installed in a single session and accessed with one word, and why the goal is never to stop building but to stop burning through the fuel that makes building sustainable. He also explains why the people who are functioning perfectly on the outside and feel empty on the inside are exactly who he built this for.

They also discuss why vacation does not fix the problem — and why going on vacation with kids is not actually a vacation — what happens in the body and brain when someone has been carrying high pressure for too long and starts borrowing from relational and emotional functioning to keep cognitive performance going, how this work translates to legal proceedings where a witness or client whose nervous system blows a circuit at the wrong moment can tank a case that took years to build, the concept of the mind as a house and what it means to actually build usable capacity rather than outsourcing stress to alcohol or affairs or hobbies that just create more demands, and why nobody wants to work anymore is almost always a red flag that someone is building a skyscraper on a foundation meant for a house.

Drew Sewell is the founder of Avora Coaching, a performance and wellness coaching practice based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, serving high performers virtually nationwide.

Connect with Drew Sewell:

avoracoaching.com

Phone: 338-629-5044

Email: [email protected]

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Drew Sewell

00:41 Restoring what success has cost them — what that phrase actually means

01:26 What invisible strain feels like from the inside — hollowness, irritability, and the darker versions

02:04 High performers who are always exhausted — is sleep really the answer

02:48 The cross-country road trip analogy — stopping for gas is not backing off

03:20 State shifting explained — accessing a nervous system state with more energy and clarity in minutes

04:39 What a neural loop is and why high performers get stuck in them

05:58 How the state-shifting install actually works — the walking technique from EMDR adapted for coaching

07:08 Building the magic room — what memory-based state activation looks like in practice

08:11 How many times you have to do this to lock in the link — one time

08:44 When to rehearse it and how to strengthen the neural pathway with 30 seconds a day

09:40 Does state shifting come at the beginning of the coaching program

10:06 Virtual versus in-person, and what happens administratively before you start

11:01 The first session — installing the state, walking through future stress scenarios, and designing the system

12:26 How this impacts family life — coming home without resenting it

13:52 A story from practice — the high performer who starts fighting at home and drinking to take the edge off

16:39 Building usable capacity versus just feeling better — the difference

17:47 Going outside the house — affairs, alcohol, and hobbies that create more stress instead of solving any

18:28 If everything looks great on the outside but feels hollow on the inside — is that enough reason to reach out

19:28 The three-month program — six sessions, every other week, and why you have to build it yourself

20:16 Rapid fire — what Drew does to actually recover, one book that changed how he sees people, the question that always means something deeper

21:55 The red flag phrase — nobody wants to work anymore

22:47 State-based functioning explained for a non-clinician

23:30 What happens in the body and brain after carrying high pressure for too long

24:48 Why vacation does not fix it — and why changing your oil once a year is not a maintenance plan

25:50 What success actually looks like at the end of working with Drew

#DrewSewell #AvoraCoaching #TrustcastShow #HighPerformerBurnout #StateShifting #ExecutiveWellness #PerformanceCoaching #TraumaInformedCoaching #NervousSystemReset #BurnoutRecovery

What happens when a psychotherapist and women's life transition coach who has lived through her own relational trauma decides that the most powerful thing she can do with that pain is build a platform, write in thirteen anthologies, launch a nonprofit to help women leave toxic relationships, and spend her career helping other women recognize the difference between a partner who lost interest and a partner who was lying to their face for years?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Sonia Rodriguez, founder of Transition to Wellness, about why so many women override their own intuition even when something has felt off for a long time — often because they haven't found the physical evidence yet, or because they are being told they are crazy, jealous, or controlling by the very person they are trying to trust. Sonia explains the difference between heartbreak and betrayal trauma, why betrayal trauma is one of the most challenging forms of trauma anyone can experience because it causes you to question everything you believed was real, and why emotional pain shows up so profoundly in the body — in sleep, in appetite, in shoulder tension, in stomach issues — because the mind and body are not separate systems.

They also discuss why there is no timeline for healing and why rushing someone through it is the worst possible thing to do, what self abandonment actually looks like in someone who doesn't recognize it — constantly giving up what you need to stay in a relationship — how the concept of self leadership shifts that dynamic by building non-negotiables, why love bombing is the reason so many women end up asking what happened to the person they fell in love with, what attachment style theory explains about why people repeatedly choose the same kinds of partners, and what the one thing is that any woman can do today before she ever books a session to start shifting things.

Sonia Rodriguez is a psychotherapist, women's life transition coach, author, speaker, and founder of Transition to Wellness, serving women navigating relational trauma, toxic relationships, and major life transitions.

Connect with Sonia Rodriguez:

transition2wellness.com

Instagram: @transition.to.wellness

LinkedIn: Sonia Rodriguez

She Wins Women's Network: shewinsWomensnetwork.com

She Rises Studios: sherisestudio.com

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Sonia Rodriguez

00:34 Who Sonia is and what Transition to Wellness actually does

01:00 I feel like I'm going crazy — the anger, obsessive checking, and intrusive thoughts — is this a trauma response

01:20 The power of intuition and why something feels off before the evidence appears

02:20 Why women talk themselves out of what they already know — and the role gaslighting plays

03:19 Are women uniquely different from men in how they navigate these situations

03:57 The difference between heartbreak and betrayal trauma — and why betrayal is on another level entirely

05:40 My body is falling apart — why emotional betrayal shows up so physically

06:03 The mind-body connection — The Body Keeps the Score and releasing trauma from the body

06:59 People telling you to just get over it — and why there is no timeline for healing

07:20 Triggers that appear years later even when the healing work has been done

08:48 The first real clinical step forward — not take care of yourself, but the actual first step

09:37 What clinical therapy with integrative wellness and spiritual practices actually looks like

10:43 What a typical session looks like — anger, sadness, relief, and the small goals that matter

12:04 Thirteen anthologies on Amazon and a book coming out this year on turning pain into purpose

13:07 How her own relational trauma became the foundation of her coaching, nonprofit, and community work

14:07 Why some women seem to go from one toxic relationship to another — and how to break that cycle

14:58 Love bombing — what it is, how it hooks people, and why the glimmers keep them stuck

16:00 Attachment patterns rooted in childhood dynamics — and why you keep choosing the same partner

17:08 Attachment styles explained — anxious versus avoidant and why that pairing creates so much suffering

18:56 What if you fall in love with someone you shouldn't — and how to decide what you're willing to give up

19:18 Self abandonment — giving up what you need to stay in a relationship

20:37 You can't fix people — what you can do instead

21:50 From self abandonment to self leadership — recognizing your non-negotiables

23:38 Who her clients are — ages 13 to 68, primarily middle-aged women navigating life transitions

24:19 What betrayal trauma after 43 years of marriage would actually feel like

26:32 Is it possible to recover from anything — and yes couples do choose to repair and rebuild

#SoniaRodriguez #TransitionToWellness #TrustcastShow #BetrayalTrauma #WomensHealing #RelationalTrauma #AttachmentStyle #ToxicRelationships #SelfLeadership #WomensLifeCoach

What happens when a lawyer who spent 15 years defending builders against construction defect claims — learning exactly how insurance companies calculate risk, what motivates adjusters to settle, and what plaintiff firms do that make cases harder to resolve — wakes up one morning after pulling an all-nighter to write ten motions, taking a deposition, and driving straight to the courthouse without sleeping, only to get grilled by an insurance rep about a plan detail that didn't matter, and decides that maybe the homeowners with leaking balconies are actually the good guys?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Mike Kennedy, construction defect attorney at Berding Weil, about how an HOA knows whether water intrusion is a maintenance problem or a construction defect the builder has to pay for, what the 10-year statute of limitations in California actually means and how to find when your clock started, and why letting the builder come out and do repairs does not close your claim unless a new California bill passes that the building industry drafted to do exactly that. Mike explains the forensic investigation process — walking the property, homeowner questionnaires, destructive testing — and how a case that started with rusting fire pit igniters and canvas awnings in South Orange County turned into an eight-figure claim once the balcony leaks and slope movement were uncovered.

They also discuss what happens when the builder has gone out of business and the only path to recovery runs through the subcontractors, why filing with the HOA's own insurance is almost never the right answer and can make the affordability crisis worse, how the contingency fee structure means HOAs typically spend nothing out of pocket, the war story about settling a $700,000 case for $300,000 and somehow getting in trouble with the insurance company for it, and what his internal reaction is the moment a defense lawyer opens with a lowball number — he skips the counter and goes straight to trial.

Mike Kennedy is a construction defect attorney at Berding Weil representing HOAs and building owners in California.

Connect with Mike Kennedy:

LinkedIn: Mike Kennedy

California State Bar searchable at calbar.ca.gov

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Mike Kennedy

00:34 The moment he realized he was on the wrong side — the all-nighter, the deposition, and the insurance rep

01:45 Waking up and deciding the property owners are the good guys

02:22 Growing up in Mission Viejo watching the builders cover everything and developing a vague resentment

03:52 First job out of law school on the defense side — student loans and the first best offer

04:16 An HOA president just found water intrusion in three units — how do you know if it's a defect or maintenance

05:43 The 10-year statute of limitations — and how to find when your clock actually started

06:25 City inspection sign-offs — does city approval mean anything in a defect claim

07:39 The builder already did some repairs — does that close the claim

08:17 The pending California legislation the building industry drafted to cut off claims after repairs

09:38 Becoming an involuntary lobbyist — working with trade groups in Sacramento on HOA legislation

10:44 How 15 years on the defense side gives insight into what motivates insurance carriers to settle

11:50 The war story — settling a $700,000 case for $300,000 and getting in trouble for it

14:30 How HOAs find a construction defect attorney — usually through the community manager

15:05 The forensic investigation process — site walk, homeowner questionnaire, destructive testing

16:45 The case that started with fire pit igniters and canvas awnings and became eight figures

18:20 What to do when emergency repairs are needed but the builder has the right to repair

20:08 When the builder calls and says don't worry we'll fix it — should you let them

21:52 Should the HOA file with their own insurance — and why that almost never makes sense

23:08 What happens when the builder has gone under and has no active policy

24:55 How much is this going to cost us — the contingency fee model explained

26:15 How to stretch the settlement across priorities and sometimes have money left over

27:05 The South Orange County eight-figure case from start to finish

30:02 Town halls every 90 days, coffee and donuts on Saturday mornings, and what you can and cannot say in public

31:15 When does a construction defect case go to trial versus arbitration

32:36 The four-week jury trial defending the repair contractor — and the defense verdict

33:36 Why juries key on something completely unrelated and how experienced trial lawyers account for that

#MikeKennedy #BerdingWeil #ConstructionDefect #TrustcastShow #HOALaw #CaliforniaHOA #BuildingDefect #ConstructionLaw #HOAAttorney #HomebuildersLiability

What happens when a Queens DA prosecutor who spent six years putting felony offenders away in domestic violence and special victims cases discovers that everything she learned about expert witnesses, burden of proof, and preparing witnesses for hostile questioning translates perfectly into defending physicians — and then teams up with a partner who grew up inside a medical family, watched her physician father do expert work on malpractice cases, came out of Hofstra already thinking in anatomy and science, and built her specialty around seeing every case as a chess match where you are always thinking about the appellate record before the trial even begins?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Jennifer Higgins and Melissa Goldberg, partners co-leading the Medical Malpractice Defense Division at Abrams Fensterman, about what is actually going through a physician's mind the morning they open a summons, why talking to a colleague who has also been sued is one of the most legally dangerous things a doctor can do, and why the belief that the truth will simply come out at trial is one of the costliest assumptions in the field. Jennifer walks through the Perry Mason moment she actually experienced — forcing the plaintiff's expert to admit that the book he edited was authoritative, then hammering him on the specific chapter her client had followed to the letter, until he announced he didn't care about the book and sent his water cup flying — and explains how she used pasta to help a jury understand the difference between an arteriovenous malformation in the lung versus elsewhere in the body.

They also discuss the causation defense that Melissa used to win a rheumatic fever case at the appellate division after losing summary judgment — where even a correct diagnosis on the day of the visit could not have changed the patient's outcome — why the hospital or employer is not always on the physician's side, how the appellate record has to be built during trial before anyone knows whether an appeal will be needed, and why Abrams Fensterman's one-stop-shop model gives physicians something most malpractice defense firms simply cannot offer.

Jennifer Higgins and Melissa Goldberg are partners co-leading the Medical Malpractice Defense Division at Abrams Fensterman in Lake Success, New York.

Connect with Jennifer Higgins and Melissa Goldberg:

abramslaw.com

Phone: 516-328-2300

Lake Success, New York

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Jennifer Higgins and Melissa Goldberg

00:54 Jennifer's path — six years as a Queens DA in domestic violence and special victims, then pivoting to physician defense

02:11 What pulled her out of the DA's office — student loans, a love of complexity, and the courtroom

03:23 Working with DNA and medical experts as a prosecutor — and how that prepared her for retaining defense experts

03:53 Melissa's path — growing up in a medical family and going straight into healthcare defense

05:09 A doctor opens a summons on a Tuesday morning — what is happening inside that person's mind

05:41 The first call to the insurance carrier — notify immediately and request preferred counsel

06:43 Doctors who don't even know who the plaintiff is — how that happens and how the team handles it

07:50 Over 95% of physicians experience significant emotional distress when sued — what Jennifer sees across the table

08:13 Hand-holding through every step — phone calls on weekends and bringing the blood pressure down

09:30 When malpractice leads to OPMC licensing issues — working hand in hand with the full-service team

10:01 Jennifer as the litigator, Melissa as the strategist and appellate thinker — how the two roles work together

11:09 Seeing every case as a chess match — anticipating every move before making any decision

11:25 How often cases actually reach trial — and why preparing every case for trial is the standard anyway

11:48 The discovery process — medical records, depositions, and the path to resolution

12:43 Path A versus path B — thinking through long-term ramifications of every litigation decision

13:08 Building the appellate record during trial — why having appellate counsel in the room matters

14:06 Notifying the insurance carrier and what to say and what never to say on that first call

15:19 The cardinal rule — talk only to your carrier and your lawyer, nobody else

16:55 The physician deposition — talking too much is the single biggest mistake

17:43 How deposition differs from trial — open questions versus controlled cross-examination

18:39 Preparing physicians for deposition — you do not throw them to the wolves

19:32 Taking apart the plaintiff's medical expert — cross-examination and prior contradictory testimony

#JenniferHiggins #MelissaGoldberg #AbramsFensterman #MedicalMalpracticeDefense #TrustcastShow #PhysicianDefense #NewYorkMalpractice #StandardOfCare #HealthcareLaw #MalpracticeAttorney

What happens when a clinical child psychologist goes to Russia as a graduate student to study children in baby homes — places where zero to four-year-olds may see 60 to 100 different caregivers in their first two years and never the same caregiver on two consecutive days — observes firsthand what sensitivity and consistency do when they're introduced into that environment, and then brings that insight back to co-create a seven-session therapy that is now turning around parent-child relationships in foster care settings and private practices across the country?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Dr. Brandy Hauck, clinical child psychologist and CEO of Red Leaf Psychology in Sacramento, about what she saw in those baby homes that confirmed what most people intuitively know but almost no institution was willing to act on, and how the directors of the control homes responded when shown the data — they said they didn't believe it, and what they were doing was better. Brandy explains the three things always at play when a child is melting down and nothing works — the child, the parent, and the relationship between them — and why the fastest sign that a child is struggling emotionally is actually the one most parents celebrate: the child who is perfectly behaved, never gets in trouble, and never takes a chance.

They also discuss why the zero to five window is the most powerful period to intervene but it is never too late regardless of a child's age, how PC Care builds a positive relationship in the early sessions before ever touching the hard stuff like commands and consequences, the foster care story of a little girl who was terrified of her new foster father and how PC Care brought them to a place where he and his wife requested to move toward adoption, why foster children with disruptive behaviors get caught in a terrible cycle of placement changes that makes everything worse, and how PC Care's introduction into Sacramento's foster system during the first 90 days of placement measurably reduced that cycle.

Dr. Brandy Hauck is a clinical child psychologist and CEO of Red Leaf Psychology in Sacramento, California, and co-developer of PC Care therapy.

Connect with Dr. Brandy Hauck:

redleafpsychology.com

Email: [email protected]

Social: @TheNerdyPsychologistBookClub on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Dr. Brandy Hauck

00:34 Going to Russia as a graduate student — what the baby homes actually looked like

01:03 The baby home system in Russia — why children with disabilities were relinquished at birth

03:38 Three different baby homes in the study — no intervention, training only, and structural plus training

05:03 Sixty to one hundred different caregivers in the first two years — never the same face on back-to-back days

06:01 What happened to kids in the homes where sensitivity and consistency were introduced

07:21 Presenting the data to the other baby home directors — and being told they didn't believe it

08:07 How that research informed the creation of PC Care with Susan Timmer and Lindsay Armendariz

09:10 Seven sessions seems too short — why most of the gains happen in the first seven weeks anyway

10:02 My kid's melting down and nothing works — is this a parenting problem, a child problem, or something else

11:17 How do I know if what my child is doing is a phase or something that needs professional help

12:00 The sign parents miss most — the perfectly behaved child who never gets in trouble

13:04 What is actually going on behind the perfect child — over-control, anxiety, and the cost of the facade

13:38 My child went through a divorce, a move, or a loss and their behavior completely changed — what is happening

14:24 How the nervous system adjusts to stressful events and what that looks like in behavior

15:07 Is there a window where the parent-child relationship becomes too damaged to repair

16:09 Zero to five is the most powerful window — but it is never too late

17:07 A parent loves their child but genuinely does not like being around them right now — can therapy help

18:19 How playing together in session creates a moment where the parent discovers their kid is actually cool

19:27 Family therapy conflict causing families to quit — how PC Care avoids that by starting with easy

20:35 The seven sessions broken down — what happens in each one

23:00 One parent is all in and the other thinks therapy is pointless or is actively working against it

25:24 Where to find PC Care — Sacramento in person, virtual coaching, paraprofessional parent coaching, and group classes

27:13 For therapists — PC Care trainings in San Francisco in August and ongoing training across the country

28:41 The foster care story — a little girl terrified of her foster father and how it ended in a request for adoption

#BrandyHauck #RedLeafPsychology #PCCare #TrustcastShow #ChildPsychology #ParentingTherapy #FosterCare #ParentChildRelationship #ChildTherapy #NerdyPsychologistBookClub

What happens when a molecular biology student who wanted to be a doctor until she worked in a hospital, pivoted to law school with healthcare in mind, picked up her patent bar along the way, and then took a mentor's advice to try FDA law — and discovered that most brands selling health and wellness products online are one Instagram post away from a problem they don't even know is coming?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Natasha Taken, founder of The Advertising Lawyer, about the single most dangerous mistake founders make when writing copy for a health product — copying what competitors are saying without knowing their science, their ingredients, or what's happening to them in the background — and why a several hundred thousand dollar settlement can flow from a single claim on a pack that may or may not have been substantiated. Natasha explains the critical distinction between a structure/function claim and a disease claim, why saying your supplement supports healthy sleep is legal while saying it fixes insomnia makes it a drug, and why the FTC and FDA are always watching regardless of how small your brand is.

They also discuss why a civil investigative demand from the FTC is actually scarier than an FDA warning letter and can lead to 20 years of paperwork and headaches, what the FTC updated in its endorsement guides and why most brands in e-commerce still don't know about it, why hashtag ad is often not enough disclosure for influencer partnerships, what the current GLP-1 comparison minefield looks like and why supplement brands comparing themselves to Ozempic are asking for trouble, why a ton of glowing testimonials about a supplement curing serious illness will draw enforcement faster than almost anything else, and what a brand that has its advertising compliance dialed in is actually doing that most brands aren't.

Natasha Taken is the founder of The Advertising Lawyer, an FDA and FTC advertising compliance practice serving e-commerce brands, supplement companies, and health and wellness founders.

Connect with Natasha Taken:

theadvertisinglawyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Social: @theadvertisinglawyer on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Natasha Taken

00:46 One Instagram post away from a serious problem — was there a specific moment

01:03 The first year out of law school — a several hundred thousand dollar settlement over pack claims

02:29 From molecular biology to FDA law — why she left the hospital path and found the intersection

03:57 The single most dangerous mistake founders make when writing product copy

04:43 What is the difference between a structure function claim and a disease claim

05:32 Why supplements can say they support healthy sleep but cannot say they fix insomnia

05:56 Do nutritional companies make this mistake frequently — and why newer brands get it wrong

07:04 What the FDA and FTC are actually looking for — and how often they are watching

08:16 They're always watching — even small brands are not invisible

08:44 The made in USA claim crackdown the FTC is running right now

09:12 Can the FTC fine you for a customer review you never asked for

10:48 What makes a testimonial a legal liability versus just a review

11:01 What makes an influencer partnership a legal liability for a brand

12:01 Why hashtag ad is often not enough disclosure under FTC rules

12:32 Native advertising — when a news story is actually a paid ad and nobody discloses it

13:51 My competitor is making bolder claims than me and nothing is happening — does that mean I'm being too cautious

14:32 FTC investigations are quiet until they're made public

15:08 What changed in the FTC's 2023 updated endorsement guides

16:01 Fake doctors, AI-generated endorsers, and employees posing as customers

17:14 The speeding analogy — just because others are doing it does not mean you will not get caught

17:21 I sent free samples to influencers without a contract — what is the brand's liability

19:01 Rapid fire — the product claim that made her physically wince, favorite travel destination, dream FDA committee

20:19 What she does on weekends to completely not be a lawyer

20:37 What actually happens in the first 24 hours after a brand gets an FDA warning letter

21:31 FDA warning letter versus FTC civil investigative demand — which one should scare you more

22:36 A civil investigative demand can lead to 20-plus years of paperwork and headaches

23:44 What a brand with its advertising compliance dialed in is actually doing that most brands aren't

24:40 When a company realizes mid-investigation that their own documents don't make them look great

25:55 How Natasha helps a brand figure out what claims they can actually make

#NatashaTaken #TheAdvertisingLawyer #TrustcastShow #FDACompliance #FTCMarketing #HealthProductClaims #InfluencerMarketing #SupplementLaw #AdvertisingLaw #EcommerceLaw