Between the Briefs

Your client knows what happened. Their employer has a perfectly reasonable explanation. And now it's your job to prove which story holds up. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Erica T. Healey-Kagan, Managing Partner of the Manhattan office at Filippatos PLLC, to discuss the challenges of proving employment discrimination, building retaliation claims and securing evidence when there's no “smoking gun”. The conversation also brings up fascinating insights on the evolution of LGBTQ+ workplace protections, the complexities of negotiating confidentiality agreements and why helping clients reach a resolution sometimes means having difficult conversations about what justice can actually look like.

How long can firms keep charging clients for the hours that work used to take? In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Steven J. Shanker, Esq., Partner and Head of Corporate Law at Romano Law, to discuss why he believes the billable hour is approaching its end, how alternative fee arrangements can change attorney-client relationships, and why preventative legal counsel deserves greater attention. Steven also shares his experience with worker classification litigation, the legal risks of AI-generated documents and why developing sound judgment in younger attorneys still requires real-world experience.

Every litigator knows the frustration of handling a dispute that better documentation could have prevented. So, what’s the solution? In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Kai Jacobs, Partner at South Florida Business Law Group, to discuss how his litigation experience shaped his approach to preventative law, why AI-generated contracts are creating new challenges for attorneys and how lawyers can help clients avoid disputes before they escalate. Kai also shares his preference for pre-lawsuit mediation, explains why legal strategy is about being effective rather than simply being right, and offers his perspective on AI's future in the profession.

The movies will have you believe that high-stakes trials are won by theatrics and courtroom swagger. Gerardo “Jerry” Alcazar would like to turn your attention to the real winners - preparation, team trust, emotional control and knowing the case well enough to survive when everything goes sideways. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Jerry, trial lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright, to talk about complex litigation, courtroom style, team management, AI in litigation, and why stunted associate development is one legal’s biggest challenges in the age of AI.

AI can write fast, generate ideas fast and be fast. But Patrick Baker wants law students and lawyers to remember something more important: they’re the ones that still have to think. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Patrick Baker, law professor at University of Tennessee at Martin and Founder of Baker Law Firm, to talk about legal education, critical thinking, AI in the classroom, IRAC as a way of thinking and why lawyers are still needed in a world where AI is built to please the user instead of challenge them.

Judges can do more than rule on the cases in front of them, and Brian Amero spent nearly two decades on the bench proving it. From drug courts to a child support program that spread across Georgia, he looked for ways to make the system more humane and more effective. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Brian Amero, a former Chief Superior Court Judge in Georgia and Litigation Counsel at Bennett International Group, to talk about moving from prosecutor to judge, why people with severe mental illness spend so long in jail, how the civil and criminal systems can work together, and what it would take to get more people invested in fixing it. Brian also shares his hottest take on jury service.

AI is everywhere in legal right now, but John Koss wants law firms to think bigger than the tool and genuinely innovate. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with John Koss, Chief Innovation and AI Officer at Mintz, to talk about what it actually takes to bring AI into a law firm. John explains why innovation is about people, process, and technology, how Mintz measures AI adoption, why repeatable workflows matter more than scattered experimentation, and why firms need the courage to commit to a strategy instead of chasing every new tool that hits LinkedIn.

AI is changing how lawyers investigate cases, and Maxwell Weiss is seeing firsthand what happens when technology can surface potential wrongdoing at a scale lawyers could never manage manually. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Maxwell Weiss, a Partner at Don Bivens, PLLC and Litigation Counsel at Darrow AI, to talk about class actions, legal investigations, plaintiff-side litigation and the growing role of AI in finding legal wrongs. Maxwell also shares lessons from federal clerkships, counterfeit medicine investigations, named plaintiff selection and why young lawyers still need to learn the fundamentals.

Between the Briefs has officially crossed 75 episodes and 1,200+ followers, so join hosts Joe Stephens and Adrian Cea as they take a moment to look back before the show steps into its next era. Recorded live at ILTACON 2026, this special episode revisits the biggest themes that have shaped the podcast so far: AI adoption, legal education, storytelling, soft skills, attorney-client privilege, changing billing models, remote firms, private equity and the human judgment that still sits at the center of legal work. And, the metaphorical hot sauce, that is our hot take special, obviously.

Bigger firms do not always deliver better outcomes - for clients or the lawyers working at the firms. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Nicole Brenecki, Founding Partner at Jodré Brenecki LLP, to talk about building a boutique personal injury practice around speed, efficiency, client care and sharp litigation instincts. Nicole breaks down why her firm files suit on most cases right away, why small teams can often move faster than large firms, how multilingual advocacy helps clients understand the system and why AI should be used as a tool, not a replacement for human judgment.