Lawyerist Podcast

Recent Episodes

1. Building Stronger Law Firm Teams Through Better Communication, with Zeina Baydoun

   Jul 16, 2026

   Zeina Baydoun, a business transformation consultant at Affinity Consulting, discusses the DISC assessment tool as a framework for improving team communication and leadership development in law firms. The episode explores how DISC profiles reveal observable behavioral preferences in communication, decision-making, and interaction styles across four dimensions (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness). Zeina emphasizes that DISC is not a limiting personality box but rather an invitation to growth—a tool that reveals default behaviors while enabling individuals to consciously adapt their communication style based on situational needs and the needs of others.

2. The Power of Humor in Law Firm Communication, with Jennifer Cargo

   Jul 9, 2026

   Jennifer Cargo, Office Manager at Rose Law Firm in Napa Valley, discusses how her comedy training and background in stand-up comedy has shaped her approach to client service and team leadership. She shares practical examples of using humor to break the ice with clients navigating the firm's intentionally maze-like office layout, and how her comedic sensibility helps her create a psychologically safe environment for staff. The conversation explores how humor is a learnable skill rooted in recognizing everyday absurdities, timing, and the universal setup-tag-punch joke structure, with applications across professional settings.

3. Before You Hire: How to Know What Your Law Firm Really Needs, with Bernadette Harris

   Jul 2, 2026

   Bernadette Harris, a business strategist at Lawyerist, discusses the critical decision of when law firm owners should hire new staff. The conversation focuses on identifying the "sweet spot" for hiring—avoiding both premature hiring (causing financial strain) and late hiring (creating operational chaos). Harris outlines four key indicators of readiness: consistent work demand, the owner being a bottleneck, clear role definition, and adequate time for training and onboarding.

4. Building Better Lawyers in the Age of AI, with April Dawson

   Jun 25, 2026

   April Dawson, Associate Dean of Technology and Innovation and Professor of Law at North Carolina Central University School of Law, discusses AI's role in training new lawyers and preparing law students to use AI responsibly. The episode explores how legal education must evolve beyond written artifacts as assessment tools, emphasizing oral skills, self-directed learning, and client-facing competencies. Dawson argues that new lawyers can compress the expertise-building timeline using AI tools as force multipliers, while maintaining the irreplaceable value of human mentorship and community.

5. AI Arbitration and the Future of Legal Work, with Bridget McCormack

   Jun 18, 2026

   Bridget McCormack, CEO of the American Arbitration Association (AAA), discusses how AI and innovation are transforming dispute resolution and legal work. She shares her experience leading the Michigan Supreme Court through the COVID-19 pandemic and its digital transformation, then transitions to her current role driving AI-powered alternative dispute resolution services. The conversation explores the AAA's AI arbitrator platform, bias mitigation strategies, and emerging legal challenges around agent-negotiated contracts.

6. From Practice to Asset: Building a Law Firm with Real Value, with Tom Lenfestey

   Jun 11, 2026

   Tom Lenfestey, Attorney, CPA, and founder of the Law Practice Exchange, discusses exit planning and succession strategies for law firm owners. He explores how lawyers can build their firms as transferable assets rather than job-dependent practices, and introduces his new book, 'The Exit Blueprint: A Law Firm Owner's Playbook for Selling, Succession, and Life After Law.' The conversation covers emerging opportunities in law firm transactions, including alternative business structures (ABS) and management services organizations (MSOs), as well as practical strategies for preparing firms for sale or internal succession.

7. Stop Calling Them VAs: How to Build a High-Performing Remote Legal Team, with Raquel Gomes

   Jun 9, 2026

   Raquel Gomes, co-founder and CEO of Staffy, discusses five critical mistakes law firms make when hiring remote offshore staff. She emphasizes the importance of language and mindset—rejecting the term "VA" in favor of treating remote hires as true team members—and covers hiring strategically with defined roles, conducting thorough vetting with assessments, implementing solid onboarding processes, integrating staff into company culture, and investing long-term rather than giving up at first challenges. Gomes also introduces Staffy's immigration case outsourcing service for immigration law firms.

8. What Claude Means for Law Firms, Part 2: Using AI to Practice at the Top of Your License, with Sam Harden

   Jun 4, 2026

   Sam Harden returns for part two of a conversation about Claude for legal work, discussing Claude's new legal plugin 2.0 released on GitHub with 13+ practice area sections and dozens of customizable skills. Harden emphasizes the importance of mapping workflows and SOPs before implementing AI tools, cautioning against grabbing skills off-the-shelf without strategic planning. The episode explores how law firms can use Claude to practice at the top of their license by automating routine tasks like form generation and document review, freeing attorneys to focus on client counseling and high-value work.

9. What Claude Means for Law Firms: AI Skills, Connectors, and Workflow Strategy, with Sam Harden

   May 28, 2026

   Sam Harden, Innovation Strategist at Affinity Consulting, discusses Claude AI and its applications for law firms. The episode covers Claude's core capabilities, including Claude Chat, Claude Cowork (which manipulates files on local computers), and Claude Code. Harden explains data connectors that link Claude to legal tools like Westlaw, NetDocuments, iManage, and CourtListener, as well as Skills—customizable SOPs that teach Claude how to perform specific legal tasks. This is part one of a two-part series on Claude for Legal.

10. AI and Legal Ethics: Protecting Client Privacy in a Changing Legal System, with Sunny Eaton

    May 21, 2026

    Sunny Eaton, Director of the Conviction Review Unit at the Nashville District Attorney's Office, discusses wrongful convictions and AI's intersection with privacy rights. The episode explores how evolving science—from DNA to trauma research to bias understanding—changes case review, and pivots to examine whether individuals retain reasonable expectations of privacy when using AI tools like ChatGPT, particularly as data flows through third-party brokers to government agencies like ICE.