TrustCast Show

What happens when an Eagle Scout who turned 18 in Marine Corps bootcamp, drove a 5,000-gallon jet fuel tanker through Southern Iraq all the way to Baghdad providing aviation support to attack helicopters during the invasion, comes home, goes to law school, spends 13 years fighting insurance companies in courtrooms, becomes one of only a few hundred attorneys in America authorized to sue the federal government on behalf of people hurt by vaccines, and then teaches himself Python so he can build software to help accident victims who don't need a lawyer figure out what their case is actually worth?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Kyle Moore, trial attorney and trial consultant based in Georgia, about why the first call you make after a car accident to the other driver's insurance company could quietly damage your case before it even starts, how he turns police reports that don't assign fault into leverage by deposing the officer and asking two or three very specific questions, and why the entire model of multiplying medical bills by three to calculate pain and suffering is an eighties formula that no longer reflects how real juries actually decide cases. Kyle explains what the difference is between a settlement mill and a boutique litigation firm, why he chose to stay small and keep every case under his personal control, and how a trucking case in rural conservative North Georgia became one of the top 50 verdicts in America in 2020 — built around a single lie a driver told his medical examiner to get his DOT certificate.

They also discuss the Baker Principle — if his nine-year-old can understand it and feel wronged by it, a jury will too — why he is now building a software platform called My Smart Settlement to help accident victims value their own cases without giving away a third to a lawyer they don't need, how vaccine injury cases work under a federal compensation system that most people don't know exists, and why his motivation throughout his entire career from Eagle Scout to Marine to trial lawyer has been the same: take trash and turn it into treasure.

Kyle Moore is a trial attorney and trial consultant based in Georgia, handling personal injury, trucking cases, and federal vaccine injury claims nationwide.

Connect with Kyle Moore:

kylemoorelaw.com

Phone: 678-316-7318

mysmartsettlement.com (in development)

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Kyle Moore

00:42 Enlisting one week after graduating high school — turning 18 in Marine Corps bootcamp

01:30 9/11 hits while he's a newly minted Marine — everything changes

02:24 Driving a 5,000-gallon jet fuel tanker through Southern Iraq to Baghdad as a fuel engineer

04:10 Eagle Scout — 10-mile days on the Appalachian Trail at 15 and the rank bump that sealed it

05:23 Switching gears to the practice — what to do when the other driver's insurance company calls

06:28 Why what you say in the first 24 hours can quietly hurt your case months later

08:19 Should you talk to the other insurance company at all or go straight to an attorney

09:39 Are some insurance companies more difficult to work with than others — culture versus policy

11:33 The insurance agent's role and whether they have incentives in the claims process

14:21 A police report with no fault assigned — how Kyle turns that into leverage

16:12 Getting the right two or three sentences from a police officer who doesn't want to give them

18:00 Building likeability with a witness before they ever show up to the deposition

20:13 The storytelling framework — bad guys versus good guys and why it always works

21:13 The difference between a settlement mill and a boutique trial-focused practice

24:00 Why Kyle stepped back from high-volume work — too many stories he couldn't tell

24:46 Building My Smart Settlement — software for people who don't need a lawyer but don't know what to ask for

27:30 How the platform values pain and suffering using real litigation logic instead of the times-three formula

31:10 Adjusters actually want organized unrepresented claimants — why that is the insight behind the software

33:34 Trial consulting — the North Georgia trucking case and the top 50 verdict of 2020

38:00 The lie at the center of the case — when the defendant lied to his medical examiner, he lied to all of us on the road

39:48 The Baker Principle — if my nine-year-old gets it and feels wronged by it, the jury will too

41:00 Reptile theory, fear, and what actually compels jurors to act

42:12 Vaccine injury cases — one of only a few hundred attorneys authorized to sue the federal government

35:06 Most people think vaccine manufacturers have total immunity — they don't

36:45 Taking vaccine cases from any state and why the government nickel-and-dimes attorney fees

42:12 How to reach Kyle Moore and learn about My Smart Settlement

#KyleMoore #KyleMooreLaw #TrustcastShow #PersonalInjuryAttorney #VaccineInjury #TrialConsulting #CarAccidentLawyer #GeorgiaLawyer #MySmatSettlement #TruckingAccident

What happens when a repeat offender walks into federal prison on February 12th, 2001 — a man who used to believe he could only function, connect, and be the life of the party when he was high — comes out the other side of recovery, earns a degree in organizational leadership, co-creates the first Missouri-based credential in harm reduction that goes international, runs a 110-man residential program for homeless men in active addiction, and then opens one of the fastest growing treatment centers in Kansas?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Ken Vick, founder of Avalon Wellness and Recovery Center in Lawrence, Kansas, about what harm reduction actually means — and why it has nothing to do with letting people keep using — how motivational interviewing works as a communication style that helps people discover their own internal truth instead of being told what to do by someone who talks more than they listen, and why 28-day programs are based on insurance billing cycles rather than psychology. Ken explains what actually happens in the brain when someone tries to quit on their own ten times and fails, why tough love does damage, how to support a family member in active addiction without enabling them, and what the first 72 hours in a residential program should feel like if the facility is doing it right.

They also discuss what to look for when evaluating a treatment center — including the one thing you can feel when you walk through a tour — why medication assisted treatment is no more trading one drug for another than insulin is trading sugar, why nearly half of Avalon's 35-person staff has personal lived experience with addiction and what that does to the room, why behavioral health is one of the most toxic work environments in existence despite being a field dedicated to healing, and what Ken would change about how the entire system is funded if he could change one thing: stop measuring success by abstinence alone and start measuring quality of life.

Ken Vick is the founder of Avalon Wellness and Recovery Center in Lawrence, Kansas, a Joint Commission Gold Seal Accredited residential treatment program.

Connect with Ken Vick:

avalonwrc.com

Phone: 785-340-0300

Lawrence, Kansas

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Ken Vick

00:44 Walking into federal prison in 2001 — and whether anyone actually believed it would save his life

01:11 Co-creating the first Missouri-based harm reduction credential that went international

02:44 What harm reduction actually means — and what it absolutely does not mean

04:15 Nobody enters a program wanting to change — and why that is not a problem

05:42 What motivational interviewing is and why everyone in the world should learn it

06:50 The question format that drives motivational interviewing — doing less talking than the person you are helping

08:41 A family member just hit rock bottom — what is the single most important thing to do in the next 24 hours

10:35 How do you support someone without enabling them — and why tough love causes damage

11:20 Setting healthy boundaries with someone in active addiction — what that actually looks like

13:01 The family has tried treatment multiple times and nothing stuck — why should they try again

14:30 The real timeline for treatment — why 28 days is based on insurance, not science

15:24 What is the difference between detox and actual treatment

16:22 How do you know if a treatment center is legitimate versus just chasing insurance money

18:33 How Avalon funds itself — insurance, cash pay, and why they write off thousands of dollars

20:19 What actually happens in the first 72 hours of residential treatment

21:41 Why someone who has tried to quit on their own ten times keeps failing — what is happening in their brain

23:28 What Ken believed about himself when he walked into prison that turned out to be completely wrong

24:33 What to say to someone who thinks they do not deserve treatment because of what they have done

25:56 When someone says medication assisted treatment is just trading one drug for another

27:43 Half of Avalon's 35-person staff has lived experience — what that changes in the room

28:52 Joint Commission Gold Seal Accreditation — what it actually unlocks for clients trying to use insurance

30:28 Why behavioral health can be one of the most toxic work environments in existence

33:20 What Ken would change about how the behavioral health system is funded — outcomes over abstinence

34:31 How to reach Avalon and Ken Vick

#KenVick #AvalonWRC #AddictionRecovery #TrustcastShow #HarmReduction #MotivationalInterviewing #SubstanceUseDisorder #BehavioralHealth #RecoveryCenter #MentalHealthLeadership

What happens when a repeat offender walks into federal prison on February 12th, 2001 — a man who used to believe he could only function, connect, and be the life of the party when he was high — comes out the other side of recovery, earns a degree in organizational leadership, co-creates the first Missouri-based credential in harm reduction that goes international, runs a 110-man residential program for homeless men in active addiction, and then opens one of the fastest growing treatment centers in Kansas?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Ken Vick, founder of Avalon Wellness and Recovery Center in Lawrence, Kansas, about what harm reduction actually means — and why it has nothing to do with letting people keep using — how motivational interviewing works as a communication style that helps people discover their own internal truth instead of being told what to do by someone who talks more than they listen, and why 28-day programs are based on insurance billing cycles rather than psychology. Ken explains what actually happens in the brain when someone tries to quit on their own ten times and fails, why tough love does damage, how to support a family member in active addiction without enabling them, and what the first 72 hours in a residential program should feel like if the facility is doing it right.

They also discuss what to look for when evaluating a treatment center — including the one thing you can feel when you walk through a tour — why medication assisted treatment is no more trading one drug for another than insulin is trading sugar, why nearly half of Avalon's 35-person staff has personal lived experience with addiction and what that does to the room, why behavioral health is one of the most toxic work environments in existence despite being a field dedicated to healing, and what Ken would change about how the entire system is funded if he could change one thing: stop measuring success by abstinence alone and start measuring quality of life.

Ken Vick is the founder of Avalon Wellness and Recovery Center in Lawrence, Kansas, a Joint Commission Gold Seal Accredited residential treatment program.

Connect with Ken Vick:

avalonwrc.com

Phone: 785-340-0300

Lawrence, Kansas

00:00 Introduction to Ken Vick

00:44 Walking into federal prison in 2001 — and whether anyone actually believed it would save his life

01:11 Co-creating the first Missouri-based harm reduction credential that went international

02:44 What harm reduction actually means — and what it absolutely does not mean

04:15 Nobody enters a program wanting to change — and why that is not a problem

05:42 What motivational interviewing is and why everyone in the world should learn it

06:50 The question format that drives motivational interviewing — doing less talking than the person you are helping

08:41 A family member just hit rock bottom — what is the single most important thing to do in the next 24 hours

10:35 How do you support someone without enabling them — and why tough love causes damage

11:20 Setting healthy boundaries with someone in active addiction — what that actually looks like

13:01 The family has tried treatment multiple times and nothing stuck — why should they try again

14:30 The real timeline for treatment — why 28 days is based on insurance, not science

15:24 What is the difference between detox and actual treatment

16:22 How do you know if a treatment center is legitimate versus just chasing insurance money

18:33 How Avalon funds itself — insurance, cash pay, and why they write off thousands of dollars

20:19 What actually happens in the first 72 hours of residential treatment

21:41 Why someone who has tried to quit on their own ten times keeps failing — what is happening in their brain

23:28 What Ken believed about himself when he walked into prison that turned out to be completely wrong

24:33 What to say to someone who thinks they do not deserve treatment because of what they have done

25:56 When someone says medication assisted treatment is just trading one drug for another

27:43 Half of Avalon's 35-person staff has lived experience — what that changes in the room

28:52 Joint Commission Gold Seal Accreditation — what it actually unlocks for clients trying to use insurance

30:28 Why behavioral health can be one of the most toxic work environments in existence

33:20 What Ken would change about how the behavioral health system is funded — outcomes over abstinence

34:31 How to reach Avalon and Ken Vick

#KenVick #AvalonWRC #AddictionRecovery #TrustcastShow #HarmReduction #MotivationalInterviewing #SubstanceUseDisorder #BehavioralHealth #RecoveryCenter #MentalHealthLeadership

What happens when a licensed therapist who spent a decade in Appalachia, burned out inside a digital health startup, lost his grandfather to suicide at age seven, found himself involuntarily committed to an inpatient psychiatric unit at 27, became a dad twice over, and finally did enough of his own work to turn all of that into a private practice built specifically for millennial men who are holding everything together on the outside while quietly falling apart on the inside?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Jake Ross, licensed therapist and founder of the Ross Wellness Group, about why the men around us are all having the same quiet thoughts but none of them are saying them out loud, why social media is the most dishonest comparison metric in modern life, and why the word fine is almost never actually fine. Jake explains the four-phase Internal Operating System for Men he uses with clients — moving from symptom reduction to desensitizing the stories that drive those symptoms to dropping what's in the backpack that no longer needs to be carried — and why the first thing he has every man do is sit down for an hour with a cup of coffee and write out who they actually want to be, not what they want to have.

They also discuss why men make up half the population and nearly 79% of suicides and what that gap is really telling us about how men do — and don't — ask for help, why therapy didn't work the first time for most guys who tried it and what they should do differently on the second attempt, why Jake moved entirely out of insurance billing and into private pay and what that means for the quality and confidentiality of care, the bedside notebook trick that actually breaks the 2am thought spiral better than anything else, and his vision of becoming the premier men's mental health provider across all 13 Appalachian states in honor of his Appalachian grandfather.

Jake Ross is a licensed therapist and founder of the Ross Wellness Group in Delaware, Ohio, specializing in millennial men's mental health.

Connect with Jake Ross:

therosswellnessgroup.org

Instagram: @TheRossWellnessGroup

LinkedIn: Jake Ross (glasses, blue collared shirt)

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Jake Ross

00:47 Men don't need to be fixed — where that idea came from and what he was watching happen around him

01:30 His daughter being born, the group text to his friends, and realizing nobody talks about this stuff

02:14 Losing his grandfather to suicide at age seven and carrying it for 20 years without words for it

03:38 Finding himself in an inpatient psychiatric unit at 27 and what that moment revealed

04:09 Why a man can be killing it at work and still waking up at 3am with a tight chest

05:15 What his typical client looks like — the millennial man holding every role together

06:02 The four-phase Internal Operating System for Men — from symptoms to stories to tools

07:32 Keeping up with the Joneses — why it is not new and how it gets worse with social media

08:10 The perspective shift — what do people think is going on with me from the outside

09:55 The ideal me exercise — sit down with a cup of coffee and write out how you actually want to be remembered

10:58 When the spouse is the one pushing the keeping up and how to have that conversation

12:32 Why communication feels like weakness to men and what to do instead

14:01 The difference between regular life stress and the kind that is actually doing damage

14:37 Good stress versus bad stress — and why a stress-free existence is not a goal

15:35 The 2am thought spiral — the bedside notebook trick that actually works

17:35 When a man says he's fine, what he is usually actually saying

18:45 The spotlight dodge — getting everyone else to talk so you never have to

19:39 The number one reason men never pick up the phone and book a session

20:34 Mental wellness versus mental health — call when the low air light comes on not when the tire blows

21:04 Why therapy didn't work the first time and what to do differently

22:57 Men make up nearly 79% of suicides — what that number is actually telling us

24:48 Rapid fire — golf or fishing, Brittany's one word at your worst, what millennial men do better than their fathers

26:07 Something Jake tells clients that he still has to remind himself of

26:52 What the first session actually looks like from consult call to individual care plan

28:18 Insurance versus private pay — why Jake left insurance behind and what that means for confidentiality

30:23 The Ross Wellness Group expanding — the vision for men's mental health across all 13 Appalachian states

32:17 Group therapy and the idea of a third space where men can connect without it having to be clinical

34:04 How to actually make male friends as an adult when the connections have faded

#JakeRoss #RossWellnessGroup #MensMentalHealth #TrustcastShow #MillennialMen #MentalWellness #SuicidePrevention #TherapyForMen #MensTherapy #AppalachianMentalHealth

What happens when a dental hygienist with 30 years of chairside experience starts walking into practices across the country and notices the same pattern everywhere she looks — hygienists who have never been given permission to tell patients what they actually see, perio percentages hovering between zero and five percent when they should be thirty to thirty-five, fee schedules sitting in the fortieth percentile when the practice could be in the eightieth, and full schedules that look productive but aren't generating anywhere close to what they should?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Emme Sanders, RDH, one of the most sought-after dental hygiene coaches in the country, about what co-diagnosis actually means and why it is the single biggest unlocked opportunity inside most dental practices, why fifty percent of the adult population has some form of periodontal disease but most hygiene departments bill periodontal codes on less than ten percent of their patients, and why a full hygiene schedule and a productive one are two completely different things. Emme explains the trifecta framework that guides all of her coaching — if it's good for the patient, good for the provider, and good for the practice, it's probably the right thing to do — and walks through a real case in Georgia where she restructured hygienist compensation, elevated the services being offered, and had both the hygienists and the dentist making more money within three months.

They also discuss why toxic employees almost never need to be fired if you change the direction of the practice clearly and let each person choose whether they want to get on board, why financial conversations are actually a clinical responsibility of the hygienist, what an AgreePact is and why it is the first thing Emme does with every team she coaches, how hygienists can unlock their identity as healthcare providers instead of just cleaners, and what it actually looks like when a dentist has truly unlocked their hygiene department six months after coaching ends.

Emme Sanders is a registered dental hygienist, dental hygiene coach, and author of Welcome to Work: Inspiring Positive Change in the Workplace.

Connect with Emme Sanders:

emmysandersrdh.com

Book a 30-minute consult: Calendly via her website

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Emme Sanders RDH

00:44 Hygiene departments running at half their potential — where that claim came from

01:13 Why hygienists haven't been given permission to co-diagnose with the dentist

02:10 What co-diagnosis actually looks like chairside — and why the trifecta framework matters

03:06 The first thing Emme looks at when walking into any practice — the perio percentage

04:01 What periodontal disease actually is and why most practices are massively undercoding it

06:04 How much production is actually being left on the table per year

07:25 Why a full schedule is not the same as a productive schedule

08:10 A real story — the Georgia dentist with overpaid underproducing hygienists and how it resolved

09:34 The number one clinically acceptable but missed opportunity in the hygiene chair

10:23 Why diagnosed restorative treatment never gets scheduled — time, fear, and money

11:09 The benchmarks every dentist should actually be tracking — perio percentage, compensation ratio, and open time

12:06 What to say to the dentist who thinks their practice is doing just fine

00:01 What a truly activated hygienist looks and sounds like versus one who is just punching in

01:17 Welcome to Work — the book and the AgreePact framework explained

02:24 AgreeDrift and AgreeShift — what happens when teams fall off track

02:50 Why the mindshift from cleaner to healthcare provider is so hard for hygienists and dentists alike

04:22 Structuring compensation so hygienists feel some sense of ownership in outcomes

05:43 How to identify a toxic employee — and why changing the practice direction is better than firing

08:28 Rapid fire — one word for her coaching style, fly fishing, biggest mistake dentists make with new hires

10:01 The underrated skill no dental school teaches — business acumen and communication

10:25 Why financial conversations are a clinical responsibility of the hygienist

11:18 What a high-performing hygiene appointment looks like from start to finish

12:21 What a solo practitioner with two hygienists can typically expect from coaching

14:35 The national fee database by zip code and why most practices are in the fortieth percentile

15:12 What the custom coaching process actually looks like from first call to workshop day

17:33 Single location versus multi-location — what changes and what stays the same

18:22 What the dentist who has truly unlocked their hygiene department looks like six months later

19:02 What Emmy Sanders RDH looks like five years from now

#EmmeSanders #DentalHygieneCoach #TrustcastShow #DentalPracticeGrowth #HygieneProduction #PerioDentist #DentalCoaching #WelcomeToWork #DentalHygienist #PracticeManagement

What happens when a chemical engineering student selling Desmond Howard Heisman t-shirts outside Michigan Stadium gets threatened with a lawsuit by university lawyers, holds his ground, wins the argument, and decides in that moment that he wants to be a lawyer — then spends the next 20 years building a 110-person defense firm that represents Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler in litigation across 41 states, powered by AI software his team built in-house starting in 2013?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Scott Erskine, founder of Erskine Law, about how he landed Ford Motor Company as a client as a two-year associate by simply asking them — and how Ford said yes — what happened when the partners at his firm tried to have lunches with his clients without him while his son was in the hospital, and what a partner at a rival firm told him on the day Scott was ready to accept a partnership offer: you don't need me, you have clients, you should have your own firm. Scott also explains what rules-based AI actually is versus generative AI, why using gen AI for most of what lawyers do is like paying to resurrect Babe Ruth to teach your five-year-old to hit, and how his firm answers four complete sets of discovery in two to three hours — work that would legitimately take a competing firm two to three days and twelve billable hours.

They also discuss Council Vision, the software company Erskine spun off to solve the portfolio management problem that every general counsel with 200 active cases across five outside firms is quietly drowning in, why court time is the single biggest way outside counsel bleeds money from corporate clients without anyone noticing, how real-time liability exposure tickers are changing how general counsels present risk to CFOs and boards, and the four-pillar interview process that has kept employee number one still at the firm nearly 20 years later — with the most important pillar being the one that has nothing to do with knowledge of the law.

Scott Erskine is the founder of Erskine Law, a 110-person defense litigation firm representing major automotive manufacturers across 41 states, and founder of Council Vision, an AI-powered litigation management platform.

Connect with Scott Erskine:

erskinelaw.com

councilvision.com

Detroit, Michigan

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Scott Erskine

00:58 Selling Desmond for Heisman t-shirts outside Michigan Stadium and the moment that changed everything

02:30 Why the advice to drop chemical engineering was actually bad advice

04:31 What a typical day looks like running a 110-person firm

05:30 Rules-based AI versus generative AI — why using gen AI for most legal work is overkill

06:51 The open door policy and the two-solutions rule that keeps it from drowning the day

08:28 Why the open door policy does not get abused — and what makes it work

09:36 The multi-stage interview process and why legal knowledge is the least important pillar

11:54 The four pillars — culture fit, being a good human, playing well with others, and knowing the law

13:05 How the four pillars developed from the early days of a small firm

15:55 Starting small — why personality fit matters more than anything when the office has five people

17:10 Working at big law before starting out — what was missing and what he learned

18:23 Bringing in Ford Motor Company as a two-year associate because he was bold enough to ask

20:09 Partners reaching out to his clients while his son was in the hospital — and why he left

21:12 The partner who offered him a job and then told him not to take it

22:09 How he launched ethically — resigning first, then calling Ford and Chrysler directly

23:25 Financing the startup with a bonus and savings and 60 days of runway

24:36 What a general counsel managing 200 active cases across five outside firms actually does all day

25:40 Why Erskine spun off Council Vision to solve the portfolio visibility problem

27:30 How data gets into the system — CSV, Excel, PDF, OCR, and automated intake

30:00 Real-time liability tickers for CFOs and the SEC disclosure use case

32:25 How the database links to document repositories and eliminates the separate time-entry problem

33:52 The single biggest way outside counsel bleeds money from corporate clients — court time

35:00 Using rules-based AI to answer discovery in two hours that takes competitors three days

37:10 Why corporations are being overcharged by law firms that refuse to use the tools that exist

38:25 Council Vision for law firms and corporations — who the software customers actually are

38:43 How to reach Scott Erskine and Erskine Law

#ScottErskine #ErskineLaw #CouncilVision #TrustcastShow #LegalAI #Automotive Defense #CorporateLitigation #LegalTech #OutsideCounsel #AIinLaw

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 guy who spent his twenties dipping hot metal into liquid plastic on third shift, taking one or two classes a semester for a decade while raising a kid, and sleeping in parking lots during breaks on the way to a degree he didn't finish until he was 29 — decides he's too stubborn to quit, aces the LSAT, earns an 80% scholarship to law school, walks out with almost no debt, gets hired by a big law firm, and then almost immediately leaves to open his own injury practice in Hamilton, Ohio because people he grew up with kept calling him needing help that corporate firms would never touch?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Josh Hodges, founder of Hodges Law Firm in Southwest Ohio, about what to do in the first 24 hours after a car accident, why the insurance company that calls you immediately is not doing you a favor, and why the gap in treatment defense is one of the most common ways injured people quietly destroy their own cases without knowing it. Josh explains why uninsured motorist coverage is the most undervalued line on your policy, why moving from $100,000 to $250,000 in coverage might cost you $15 a month and could be the most important financial decision you make, and why signing anything the insurance company sends you — including clicking a link — may be settling your case forever.

They also discuss why most of his clients are not the type of people who want to sue anyone — they're actually under-exaggerating their injuries and trying to tough it out — why insurance companies have spent decades making people feel guilty for using coverage they already paid for, how pre-existing conditions get handled when an accident aggravates something that was already there, what the $10 million his team recovered in 2025 actually looks like across auto accidents, dog bites, and slip and falls, and how Josh built the Hometown Lawyer brand by filming free commercials for small local businesses on his phone every single day for five years — which went from three job applicants to 75 overnight and made social media his single most effective employee recruiting tool.

Josh Hodges is the founder of Hodges Law Firm, a personal injury firm serving Southwest Ohio with offices across the region.

Connect with Josh Hodges:

hodgeslawfirm.com

Hamilton, Ohio

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Josh Hodges

00:43 Factory floor to law firm — the 20-year slow grind that almost broke him a few times

01:44 Building the firm — seven attorneys, 25 staff, eight years in

02:57 Government job paying 80% tuition, the LSAT scholarship, and how he kept the debt low

05:11 Getting hired by big law, realizing it wasn't the plan, and walking out in 2017

06:00 I just got hit and the other driver's insurance is already calling — what do I do in the next 24 hours

07:14 Should I talk to my own insurance company or the other driver's company — and what's the difference

08:10 How to handle property damage versus the injury claim and why you treat them separately

09:39 My knee felt fine at the accident and now two days later I can barely walk — did I hurt my case

10:59 The single most common thing accident victims do that damages their case

11:55 Why insurance companies have brainwashed the public into feeling guilty for filing claims

12:46 The room full of people who all think there are too many frivolous lawsuits but nobody in the room has ever filed one

13:55 Social media, photos, and what the defense is actually doing with your Facebook posts

15:00 The other driver has no insurance — now what

15:56 Why $25,000 minimum coverage in Ohio sounds like a lot until your medical bills arrive

16:32 Uninsured motorist coverage — why Josh has a higher limit than most people and what you should ask yourself

17:22 How to think about your coverage based on your family situation and what you actually need to protect

18:14 The umbrella policy and why moving from $100k to $250k might cost $15 a month

18:47 How do I know if my case is even worth hiring a lawyer

20:00 What cases Hodges Law actually takes — from catastrophic injuries to minor rear-end accidents

21:12 What to do when the insurance company rushes in with a big check on day two

22:05 The saying — the easiest way to get a million dollars is to screw up a ten million dollar case

23:06 Pre-existing conditions — can they use my old shoulder injury against me and how do you fight back

24:21 If I signed something to settle and changed my mind — is it over

25:32 The client who clicked a link and accidentally settled — and how Josh got them out of it

26:28 What drove the $10 million in recoveries in 2025 — auto, truck, motorcycle, dog bites, slip and falls

28:05 What Southwest Ohio needs from a local injury firm that a national TV advertiser cannot deliver

#JoshHodges #HodgesLawFirm #HomeTownLawyer #TrustcastShow #PersonalInjuryOhio #CarAccidentLawyer #UninsuredMotorist #SouthwestOhio #InjuryLaw #SmallTownLawyer

What happens when someone who spent 16 years inside corporate HR — watching how companies document, how they protect themselves, and how they quietly push employees out after pregnancy leave — decides she has seen enough and goes to law school to take all of that insider knowledge to the other side of the table?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Lorna Griffin, founder of L. Griffin Law in South Central Texas, about what at-will employment actually means and what it does not mean, why the first 48 hours after a termination can either protect or permanently destroy a legal claim, and what employees almost always get wrong about severance agreements — signing away every right they have, including a non-compete that bars them from their entire industry for two years, in exchange for a check they needed to cash anyway. Lorna explains why you have to file through the EEOC before you can ever get to court, what the difference is between plain vanilla retaliation and legally protected retaliation in Texas, and why the phrase legitimate non-discriminatory reason for termination immediately makes her suspicious.

They also discuss what happens when an employee comes back from FMLA leave and gets put on a performance improvement plan two months later — and why that is not a coincidence to an employee-side employment attorney — how to negotiate a neutral reference so a former employer cannot torpedo your next job offer, what the severe and pervasive standard for harassment actually requires in Texas courts, why employers with attorney's fees exposure perk up and pay attention in ways they otherwise would not, and what proper medical leave administration under the ADA actually looks like versus what most HR departments are actually doing.

Lorna Griffin is the founder of L. Griffin Law in San Antonio, Texas, serving employees in South Central Texas in employment discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, and severance matters.

Connect with Lorna Griffin:

lgriffinlaw.com

San Antonio, Texas

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Lorna Griffin

00:38 Watching an employee get pushed out after pregnancy leave — the moment that changed everything

01:25 What 16 years in HR taught her about how employers actually think that law school never could

02:14 I just got fired and have no idea if it was legal — what do I do first

03:00 Texas is an at-will state — what that actually means and what it absolutely does not

03:50 How long do I have before I lose my right to do something — 60 days, 180 days, 300 days

04:42 Employees who are afraid to even call a lawyer because they think it will get back to the employer

05:57 Attorney-client privilege and why consulting an attorney while still employed is protected

06:50 Free consultations — what that process actually looks like at L. Griffin Law

07:02 Why you have to file through the EEOC before you can ever go to court

07:43 The fear that filing an EEOC charge will ruin your reputation with future employers

08:32 How to negotiate a neutral reference so a former employer can only confirm position and length of employment

09:38 The single most damaging thing employees do in the first 48 hours — resigning

10:20 Why taking company property or posting on social media can destroy a legal claim

10:53 I reported my boss to HR three months ago and now everything is different — is that retaliation

11:39 The difference between legally protected retaliation and plain vanilla retaliation in Texas

12:33 Hostile work environment claims in Texas — what qualifies and what does not

13:56 Is there such a thing as a hostile work environment in Texas — yes, but only in specific circumstances

14:39 My harasser is a peer and not my boss — does the company have to do anything about it

15:50 Rapid fire — Sunday mornings, Rottweilers and Pitbulls, the Griffin household on a loud weekend

17:07 The one phrase employers use that immediately makes Lorna suspicious

17:20 Severance agreement or wrongful termination lawsuit — which one to fight for

17:50 My employer said I have to sign by Friday — do I really have to decide that fast

18:17 Why employees over 40 get 21 days to consider a severance agreement under the ADEA

18:47 What you are actually giving up when you sign a severance agreement — every right, forever

19:32 Can a severance agreement actually waive rights for illegal termination — yes it can

20:11 The hidden non-compete buried in a severance agreement that bars you from your industry

20:53 How to ask for more time when an employer is pressing you to sign immediately

22:13 I took FMLA leave for a health issue, came back, and got put on a PIP — is that a coincidence

#LornaGriffin #LGriffinLaw #EmploymentLaw #TrustcastShow #WrongfulTermination #TexasEmploymentLaw #SeveranceAgreement #EEOCFiling #WorkplaceDiscrimination #EmployeeRights

What happens when a first-generation college student who got his Coast Guard captain's license the day he turned 19, watched a tornado touch down from a Plymouth Harbor tour boat, worked as a deckhand from age 13, and then decided he was better suited for a courtroom than a federal ethics desk builds a trial practice that ends up arguing before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on a case that could change how every subcontractor in the state gets paid?

In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Nathan Cole, founding partner of Cole Law Partners, about the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Act — what it requires, what happens when a general contractor ignores a payment requisition or fails to certify a rejection in good faith, and why that failure is far from a trivial technicality. Nathan walks through the Canestraro v. Columbia case in detail — a nearly million-dollar lost productivity claim by New England's largest mechanical subcontractor, litigated through years of arbitration, won at summary judgment, escalated to the trial court, and now before the SJC with a ruling that could set precedent on both the Prompt Pay Act and the standard for vacating arbitration awards in Massachusetts. He also explains the order of operations argument at the heart of the case: that a general contractor cannot hold onto disputed money, force a sub through years of litigation, lose at summary judgment, then pay under court order and immediately claw the money back — because if that is allowed, the Prompt Pay Act means nothing.

They also discuss what subcontractors should do before a fight ever starts — including the one contract clause Nathan says is a no-brainer that most subcontracts are missing right now, why ambiguity is the single biggest enemy of any contractor who wants to avoid litigation, how to build a lost productivity claim before ever filing suit using MCAA factors and expert witnesses, when a business divorce becomes a legal claim and how forensic accountants help determine whether the fight is worth having, and how Cole Law Partners went from four lawyers and no staff in October 2025 to fourteen people in seven months.

Nathan Cole is the founding partner of Cole Law Partners, a boutique litigation firm based in Massachusetts specializing in construction law, business disputes, and employment matters.

Connect with Nathan Cole:

LinkedIn: Nathan Cole

Cole Law Partners

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Nathan Cole

00:38 From whale watching boats and a federal ethics desk to deciding he needed a courtroom

02:20 Clerking for a Massachusetts Superior Court judge as a career reboot

03:26 Subcontractor finishes a job and the GC goes quiet — what do they do in the first 30 days

04:47 What makes something a Prompt Pay Act job versus any other classification

06:07 What the GC is required to do within 22 days and what happens when they ignore it

08:31 The three things a rejection must include — written, contractual basis, factual basis, and good faith certification

10:27 What a savvy subcontractor can do strategically when the GC blows the deadline

11:15 Can a sub legally stop working if they're not getting paid — and should they

12:53 Negotiating construction contracts — getting to yes without wasting money on redlines

15:45 The top things Nathan always pushes for in a subcontract negotiation

18:12 Coaching the subcontractor to have the conversation versus formally redlining a contract

19:34 Ambiguity is the client's biggest enemy — why elimination of ambiguity saves more than any clause

21:00 Risk allocation — why a sub should not be responsible for what it cannot control

22:13 When trade stacking and GC mismanagement create schedule damage the subcontractor absorbs

24:01 Rapid fire — tornado on the harbor tour, Ragged Mountain versus hiking, where did the Boston accent go

29:27 Construction crisis call at 5 p.m. on a Friday — what Nathan does first

30:07 One clause every contractor should add to their subcontract right now — attorney's fees

30:40 The Canestraro case — plumbing sub, nearly a million dollars, years of fighting — what happened on that job

32:16 What a lost productivity or cumulative impact change order actually is and why it is hard to execute

33:25 How Canestraro documented the claim before litigation using MCAA factors and an expert witness

34:51 Columbia's rejection that was missing the good faith certification — and why that was fatal

36:43 Why the arbitrator correctly ordered payment at summary judgment — the Tachi decision context

37:42 The order of operations argument — you cannot hold the money, force the litigation, lose, pay, and then claw it back

39:34 The case goes from arbitration to the trial court to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

#NathanCole #ColeLawPartners #PromptPayAct #TrustcastShow #ConstructionLaw #MassachusettsLaw #CanestraroCase #SubcontractorRights #BusinessDivorce #ConstructionLitigation