Tools of the Trade

Former Mayer Brown partner Andy Stewart joins Sally Davies for the next installment of Tools of the Trade's series on retirees. Andy, who retired in July 2025, reflects on his long legal career, which spanned more than 40 years. He began his journey with our legacy firm, Rowe & Maw, as an articled clerk in 1984 before becoming a Corporate & Securities partner in 1994. He also pioneered the London Corporate group's mentor scheme long before formal mentoring programs gained widespread acceptance. Tune in as Andy discusses his secondment experience (03:55), mental health in the legal industry (09:28) and advice for young professionals (14:02).

Recognizing Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Jon welcomes Ana Bruder and Stephen Lilley, partners in Mayer Brown's Cybersecurity & Data Privacy practice, to the firm's Tools of the Trade podcast. The guests discuss why clients call Mayer Brown first after a cyber incident and the legal risks of breaches (2:05). Ana and Stephen outline regulatory reporting obligations and evolving regulator responses (5:54). The conversation shifts to law enforcement coordination and how companies engage the FBI or other authorities (9:24), before moving to the issue of responding to ransomware demands, legal considerations, and reputational impacts (11:45). The episode closes with advice on preventative steps such as spotting phishing emails and following internal security protocols (14:36).

As world powers increasingly turn their attention to space, lawyers will be called upon to address an array of issues. London partner Rachael O'Grady reminds us that extraterrestrial legal matters will, in many respects, parallel what we're already doing on earth. Rachael is a co-leader of Mayer Brown's Space & Satellite practice—which launched in 2022—alongside partner Paul Whitfield-Jones. Rachael and Paul join us to discuss exciting opportunities around space exploration. Futurist Dr. Pippa Malmgren covered one of these areas at Mayer Brown's 2025 Global Partners Meeting: the potential for mining natural resources from asteroids in the very near future (04:08). Tune in as Rachael and Paul discuss the origins of their initial interest in space (01:46), how a global consensus is yet to be achieved in the evolving legal framework (05:36), clients seeking advice on space-related matters (07:55) and where legal work in the space industry could "lift off" in the future (10:17).

Russell Nance joined Mayer Brown's New York office as a tax partner in 2006. In recent years, many colleagues and clients have come to know him also as the co-owner of a whiskey distillery nestled in the mountains of Virginia. Opening a farm-to-bottle distillery was no easy feat and quickly turned into a master class in the hospitality industry (02:21). After a lot of "learning as they went," Russell and his two co-founders can now proudly call Ragged Branch a successful venture. Tune in as Russell reveals the steps behind making, and properly aging, whiskey (08:19), along with the business skills he's picked up along the way that can be applied to building a legal practice (16:53).

A life-changing incident as a teenager didn't stop Patrick Tomic from playing sports (04:48). In fact, it only propelled his passion and ultimately led him to pursue a career in recruitment after taking a shine to recruiting student athletes at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (16:20). Outside of working for Mayer Brown's Chicago Human Resources team, Patrick is active in wheelchair basketball and has competed all over the US and beyond (07:01). Tune in as Patrick tells the story of how a rare staph infection transformed the course of his life and opened unexpected doors (06:08).

In the lead-up to the United States presidential and congressional elections in November, the security of our election infrastructure is top of mind. During Adam Hickey's 15-year tenure at the US Department of Justice, he handled high-profile national security matters, which included the significant responsibility of managing the US responses to foreign interference with US elections. Now a partner in Mayer Brown's Washington DC office, Adam joins Tools of the Trade to discuss election security (01:32) and how threats are proliferating as an activity globally (03:12). Adam explains how election security affects clients (04:34), what makes this a challenging policy problem (06:42) and how Mayer Brown is positioned to deal with governmental investigations (08:04).

There are several ways to obtain financing using a company's receivables, one of which is known in the trade as "accounts receivables financing." As part of the "How It Works" series, Janelene Chen—Mayer Brown's only Singapore-qualified partner in Global Trade Finance—describes the logistics and benefits of using such a structure (02:44). Later, Janelene explains how Singapore came to be the primary financial and trading hub for Southeast Asian lending activity (06:42) and a diverse cultural destination (08:04).

23-Minute Listen: Keenan Horne is not your average jurist. Outside his international arbitration work in Mayer Brown's Paris office, he is an Olympic athlete. Keenan competed on the South African field hockey team at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games and is a part of the 16-player squad competing in​ the 2024 Paris Olympics. Learn all about Keenan's path to the world's foremost sporting competition—from backyard cricket in Cape Town (03:08) to professional field hockey clubs across Europe, overcoming a broken foot and virtual Pilates sessions during the pandemic (05:15), and how he manages to balance the equally demanding roles of paralegal and pro athlete (10:50).

Private credit is a growing market—and one that may be a little mysterious to listeners. Mayer Brown partners Matt O'Meara, who leads the Firm's Private Credit practice, and Andy Kolacki help distinguish private credit from public-market bank debt (02:00). The guests talk about the "limitless" nature of the private credit market, which has grown to around $1.7 trillion in outstanding loans (05:16); the operational function and how staffing works (07:05); and the regulation of private credit funds (09:56). Host Jon Van Gorp ends with a game to better understand where banks and private credit funds "play" (11:21).

In a departure from our regular format, Mayer Brown partner Mike Scodro breaks down an important US Supreme Court doctrine known as "Chevron deference." A decision overruling the precedent set by Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council would have a broad impact on all Americans, as it would affect which federal agencies hold regulatory power under federal statutes. Before diving deeper into Chevron (04:31), Mike takes listeners back to the 1990s when he was a clerk for the late Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (02:06), including what role he played in reviewing amicus briefs (08:56) and drafting opinions (09:50).

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago, the topic of sanctions has received unprecedented media coverage. The topic generated a fresh round of coverage on February 23, 2024, when US President Biden announced hundreds of new sanctions on Russia in response to the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. Mayer Brown partner Jason Hungerford has been advising on US, UK and EU financial sanctions and export controls long before they were a buzzword. Jason, who leads the Firm's International Trade team in London, pulls back the curtain on what governments are trying to accomplish by imposing sanctions (04:31), the entities that are affected (08:02) and whether or not sanctions are here to stay. 

21-Minute Listen: John Sullivan, former US deputy secretary of state and former US ambassador to the Russian Federation, has had a close-up view of US national security matters for decades. His career in public service has included prominent diplomatic and legal portfolios under five US presidents, as well as experience in private law practice at Mayer Brown (02:05). Keep an eye out for his memoir, set to publish in summer 2024. Ambassador Sullivan explains how national security works (03:58) and share insights on the transformative period we are experiencing on a global scale (06:16). Host Jon Van Gorp closes the episode by playing a game that takes a deeper dive into hypothetical national security scenarios (17:42).

22-Minute Listen: After stepping down from the Mayer Brown partnership in 2022, former Chicago office managing partner Rebecca Eisner is enjoying retirement on an island near Charleston, South Carolina, where she is an active community member and certified sail captain. It was not an easy decision to transition out of her career, and it took years of forethought and planning (03:26). In the latest episode of Tools of the Trade, Sally Davies and Rebecca catch up on highlights from Rebecca's decades-long legal career (09:46), advice for junior lawyers and staff (11:15), and the importance of succession planning (07:55).

16-Minute Listen: In this special episode of Tools of the Trade, partner Nina Flax sits down with the inaugural participant in the Firm's Technology General Counsel in Residence program, which launched in early 2023 (02:22). Technology veteran Beth Stevens of Sword Health joins Nina for a candid conversation about her experience in this first-of-its-kind program (which Nina designed) (05:06), as well as the program's benefit to both law firms and GCs.

11-Minute Listen: The "How it Works" series of Tools of the Trade returns with an insightful follow-up discussion around AI. In part 1​, we heard from partner Niketa Patel about the mechanics of generative AI and how to keep up with the evolving area when interacting with clients. In part 2, our global chief innovation officer, Amol Bargaje, does a deeper dive into how AI can be used in the practice of law. While AI is seemingly unlimited in its application, like any new technology, there are inherent risks. Amol explores ways that legal work can and​ cannot be replaced by generative AI (02:55), how AI pilot programs are adapting to our business (05:32) and the transformation and adoption period for legal professionals (09:22).

12-Minute Listen: This episode of Tools of the Trade unpacks a topic on everyone's minds—AI—with the help of a thought leader in the space. New York partner Niketa Patel begins by defining the broad "artificial intelligence" term (01:54), including the difference between predictive and generative AI (03:46). Later, she identifies risks (08:28) and how to keep up with the rapidly evolving area (06:44). Stay tuned for part 2 with Mayer Brown's global chief innovation officer, Amol Bargaje, who will discuss how AI is being used in the practice of law.

20-Minute Listen: Last year, DC associate Gretel Echarte took over as host of "Tools of the Trade" to put Sally Davies in the hot seat. This time around, our director of client teams and market strategy takes a spin at hosting! Tune in to the latest episode as David Byrne welcomes guest Nat Slavin, the founder of Wicker Park Group, with whom the Firm has partnered on a global client listening exercise. David asks Nat about the importance of taking time to interview clients (02:01), the roadmap Mayer Brown has set out to increase client loyalty (04:02), how the pandemic has impacted client service (06:31), the art of reaching out in between matters (14:52) and key takeaways from the process (08:30). 

12-Minute Listen: LNG, or liquefied natural gas, is produced all over the world, but the war in Ukraine has made it even more relevant. On the next installment of Tools of the Trade's "How it Works" series, Singapore partner Nick Kouvaritakis uncovers the inner workings of LNG (01:28). Nick describes its benefits to the environment (01:48) and to transportation (02:00)—and how it came to be a critical commodity across Europe (05:12). The episode concludes with a round of "Blame or No Blame" (09:57), where Nick considers legal risks related to LNG.

16-Minute Listen: Much can be learned from Mayer Brown's talented alumni, and former Washington DC counsel Lisa Pino is no exception. Lisa joins Tools of the Trade as the second alumni guest, delivering valuable tips from the front lines of public- and private-sector work. Lisa focused on immigration law in our Employment & Benefits practice from 2017–2019. Before that she served as a presidential appointee in the Obama administration (01:35). Since 2019, Lisa has held positions in the US Department of Health & Human Services and the New York State Department of Health, including overseeing the operational response to COVID and implementing public health programs for millions of New Yorkers. Tune in as Lisa talks about her threshold for risk (05:22), high-stakes challenges (08:50) and misconceptions of public-service and private-sector roles (12:46).

What is "the Cloud," really—and where does all our data actually reside? As part of the "How it Works" series of Tools of the Trade, Washington DC partner Emily Naughton gives an insider's look into the windowless warehouses humming with servers and explains how they run (01:31). After years of representing data center owners and operators (07:16), Emily is well-versed in functional aspects such as the centers' sophisticated cooling systems (02:58). Host Jon Van Gorp later kicks off a round of "Blame or No Blame" (10:10), asking Emily to weigh in on data center owners' liability in extraordinary scenarios ranging from a physical invasion to a virus taking over the highly secure facilities.