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Trial lawyers do not become great overnight. It takes persistence, a relentless work ethic, a willingness to learn from mistakes, a burning passion for the craft, an authentic self, and the courage and vulnerability to enter the arena time and again.
Those who become great trial lawyers also become great people. Through their work, they grapple with the realities of the human condition and in the process cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, strength, compassion, and perseverance.
Based out of Richmond, Virginia, Courtroom Stories & Tactics by RVA Trial Lawyers exists for lawyers who try cases to juries on behalf of people. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.
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Richmond, VA 23219
42 Episodes
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If you want to learn how to live a full, sustainable life as a lawyer, this episode is for you. Matt Long breaks down how to build a healthy firm culture, communicate effectively, and avoid burnout as a lawyer. Please consider sharing this episode with someone who could benefit from it. Matt is the President of Bowen Ten Long & Bal in Richmond, Virginia. Over his 17+ year career, he has led with a simple philosophy: protect your people, communicate openly, and never let the profession c...
"It gives me so much purpose and meaning: we are helping educate people in a place where they don't know anything. And they need the help." Michele Lewane is runs the Injured Workers Law Firm in Richmond, VA, which since 2006 has been advocating to get the benefits injured workers deserve for their worker's compensation claims. Worker's compensation is a complex and bureaucratic field that requires tremendous expertise and preparation to navigate. Michele guides us through the intricate detai...
"What helps motivate us in part is institutional or organizational betrayal: where the bond between the institution and the person is strong, but there's a big power differential due to the size and strength of the institution." - Peter Everett Peter Everett and Barkley Horn from Blankenship & Keith joined us to talk about their firm's approach to personal injury law. They focus on catastrophic injury cases with a particular focus on representing survivors of violent crimes. Their cases c...
AI is not perfect yet, you still have to babysit it, but it's scary. Because two years ago I used AI and thought, "Well that was kind of like using a high school senior." Now when I'm using AI, it's like, "I'm using a second year associate." Penn Crawford joined us for a wide-ranging discussion. We talked about the realities of running a small, boutique law firm and what makes firms of this size effective for the people they represent. We also discussed the growing role of AI in legal practic...
"My thought when I go into a courtroom, and I feel this way throughout the trial, is I just am welcoming people into my house. I go in, I talk to my jury, I make eye contact with them, and I try to talk to them the way that I would talk to anybody: a clerk at the grocery store or you guys - us sitting in this room doing this podcast. " The way we interact with a jury, particularly in voir dire, sets the tone for the trial and can make or break the case. Courtney Winston is an expert at ...
"The community at the time was just furious with me for charging any of the counter-protestors with anything. And I was very sympathetic to the ideology of the counter-protestors, and was mortified by some of the viewpoints of the alt-right individuals. But I said, 'I have to prosecute conduct, not content,' and if you start picking sides, that's a scary thing." Joe Platania, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Charlottesville, joined us for a candid conversation about what it truly means to serv...
"The number one takeaway is trust yourself. Because we know our stuff. We are better than them. They are inundated with so much work, and they're doing the same old stuff. We're going to conferences and learning cutting edge technology. So believe in yourself." Tarun Rana of Rana Law Group in St. Louis, MO joined us for a conversation about learning, improving, and working alongside other trial lawyers. Tarun shared his approach to trial preparation, his insight on building a successful pract...
"So in listening to this, whomever wants Syria to be unified, maybe the solution is to listen to this petition, to consider it, and to work really, genuinely, on reaching a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis." - Firas Alchoufi In this special episode, international lawyer, arbitrator and humanitarian Firas Alchoufi joins us to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis that is impacting his home province of Suwayda, in the southern part of Syria. The recent regime change in that countr...
"This concept called the ethic of care: we've all heard this term 'care' before. And most of us who have had any type of training, a lot of times we are taught ethics from a formal or practical standpoint. But it doesn't always uplift the care side of things. So how do you do that? How do you adhere to the rules, the order, the law, and also balance that with the needs of all the people that we are talking about here?" Dr. Brad Lehman from Virginia Commonwealth University joins us for a fasci...
"Whether it's a $50,000 case or a $50 million case, it's ultimately helping people preserve their settlement funds, make sure that they are being smart financially, and protecting the financial security of their settlement." Jenny Sciadini is a Settlement Consultant who partners with attorneys and their clients to maximize the value of settlements while safeguarding government benefits and long-term financial stability. Driven by a passion for helping people, she ensures clients not only prot...
"I tell my prosecutors that being a public defender was one of the most important things for my career as a prosecutor, even though I only did it briefly. And it's a reason why I have a strong preference for hiring former public defenders and defense lawyers in my office." We sat down with Ramin Fatehi, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Norfolk, Virginia. From growing up in Iran to serving as a public defender in Richmond, Ramin now leads one of Virginia’s largest prosecutor’s offices. In our...
"You often think, if someone's going through a hard time, what is the way that you can help them? And here was something I had to offer. I felt like this is something I can do. This is something I can give to them." - Gray Broughton In this special episode, Nael interviews the team at Broughton Injury Law Firm, including founder Gray Broughton, attorney Zac Grubaugh, and our own Sharif Gray. We explore their career paths, the firm's origin and mission, and the importance of stepping out...
"I just owned the bad facts. I talked about them, I mentioned them to the jury. I'm making eye contact with the jury, they're making eye contact with me. And I just had this feeling like, 'I think we've got a good shot here.' It was like this osmosis going on." Personal Injury Lawyer Dillon Hobbs of Birmingham, Alabama joined us to discuss his trial experience, the nuances of truly understanding and communicating with clients, and how putting yourself in their shoes is in fact a skill to be d...
"Practice means you're doing intentional movements. Practicing typically indicates you have a coach giving you feedback, or somebody's giving you feedback. If you haven't been trained, how do you know what's appropriate?" Dan Ambrose, founder of Trial Lawyers University (TLU), joins us to share the story behind one of the most influential training series for trial lawyers in the country. In just five years, TLU has become a must-attend training for trial lawyers serious about improving in and...
"Having done so many focus groups, you get a good, fine-tuned ear for what is clear testimony and what is not. The goal of this method is for people to be as comfortable as they can, but then have confident, clear testimony that is very credible." Trial Consultant Elizabeth Larrick joins us today to discuss the importance and methodology of both witness preparation and focus groups. Elizabeth shares her journey from being a plaintiff's trial lawyer to running her own consulting firm. We...
"The middle of a trial is the only place I've ever been where the thought came over me, 'This is where you belong. Right here. In this chaos.' Having some control over a situation that most people feel is totally out of control. You're in the eye of the storm, and it's calm there." -John Merrick Personal Injury Lawyers John Merrick and Les Brock spent a combined 25 years defending insurance companies and other large corporations, before moving to defend individuals and their families in...
"What is going to drive damages has little to do with what the client is going to say about their therapy records, and instead is going to have everything to do about the conduct of an organization and/or perpetrator. That's what drives the value." Guy D'Andrea is a passionate defender of victims of abuse, and has pursued justice against many notable religious institutions, boarding schools, massage therapists, healthcare providers and more. Today he shares what brought him to this work, how ...
"We have the mindset that each case we're going to file suit on, we're intending to take it to trial. Absent a material difference or client ambivalence that arises later, we're taking them all to trial. But sometimes the insurance companies start to be more reasonable at the end when they know something big might hit them." Beau Correll leads a busy plaintiffs personal injury law firm, anchored in Virginia's Northern Shenandoah Valley, and today we talk about how he and his team balance a st...
"Just because the jury can't use words, doesn't mean they can't talk to you, it doesn't mean they can't communicate with you. So really listen and really talk." Andrew Caple-Shaw joined us on RVA Trial Lawyers: Virginia's Trial Lawyer Podcast. Andrew is the managing partner at Act of Communication and a professional actor with nearly four decades of experience. He brings the art of performance and a deep understanding of human behavior to the courtroom and to witness preparation—trainin...
"All you can do is guide and arm your good jurors to go in there and fight for you." Michael Cowen is one of the most respected voices in the personal injury practice area. Over nearly 30 years, he has tried more than 100 cases and built a reputation for being both a skilled trial lawyer and a generous teacher. Michael started his career in corporate law in New York but chose to return home to Texas and fight for injured people—and he’s never looked back. His work gives him purpose, and he’s...
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