That One Lawyer™ Podcast

Emma Lilley was told that going in-house early would damage her legal career. But the conventional route already felt like a place where she didn't belong. Growing up in a working-class family in Stoke-on-Trent, Emma had no family roadmap into law. She originally wanted to study music. When that plan fell through, an available university place led her to a law degree, where she found herself tryin...

Have you ever felt you had to become someone else to fit in as a lawyer? In this selected replay from an earlier episode of That One Lawyer Podcast, Neal Goldstein revisits his conversation with corporate lawyer Lani Medina about the pressure to fit a professional mold and the strengths that pressure can cause you to overlook. Lani, a Puerto Rican attorney raised in the Bronx and the first lawyer...

In Part 2 of Neal Goldstein's conversation with Brian Cuban, the focus turns to the lawyer Brian became while his personal life was unraveling. Brian speaks candidly about his years practicing personal injury law and why he has described himself as an "ambulance chaser." He and Neal discuss the referral relationships, chiropractors, settlements and ethical questions surrounding that period of his...

Brian Cuban's story did not begin with recovery, writing, or being Mark Cuban's brother. It began with a kid in Pittsburgh struggling with shame, bullying, body image, and an overwhelming desire to belong. In Part One of this two-part conversation, Brian talks about the childhood experiences that shaped his identity, the loneliness he carried to Penn State, the eating disorder and drinking that fo...

When does the relationship with a client end? For many lawyers, the practical answer is when the case ends. Neal Goldstein sees it differently. In this episode, Neal talks about treating clients as more than transactions and why some of the most important relationships in a legal career continue long after the immediate legal work is finished. He discusses calling clients before they call you, sta...

Bert Neuborne spent decades taking on some of the most consequential civil liberties cases in America. But Part 2 of his conversation with Neal Goldstein is about something no courtroom victory could prepare him for. The death of his 27-year-old daughter, Lauren. Lauren died of heart failure during her final year of rabbinical school. Bert continued teaching because he felt a responsibility to his...

Bert Neuborne entered Cornell at 16 expecting to become a doctor. Organic chemistry helped change those plans. A few years later, after Harvard Law School and three years on Wall Street, he took a one-year leave to work at the Civil Liberties Union. On his second day, Muhammad Ali walked through the door looking for legal help in his fight against the draft. Neuborne knew he had found his work. In...

Eli Honig never planned on becoming a television legal analyst. Before CNN, he spent 14 years as a federal and state prosecutor. In this episode, Eli joins Neal Goldstein to talk about the unexpected career pivot that took him from the courtroom to television, the relationships that made that transition possible, and why the skills of a trial lawyer translate so naturally to explaining complicated...

revor Sterling left school at 17 believing school simply wasn't for him. A career advisor gave him three options: warehouseman, tennis racket stringer, or postal clerk at a law firm. He chose the law firm. That decision changed everything. Trevor went from delivering legal papers to becoming a solicitor, senior partner at Moore Barlow, and the first Black senior partner appointed at a UK top 100 l...

Roman Lifson built the kind of legal career many lawyers are taught to want. He became a trial lawyer, a partner, and a litigator handling cases from both the plaintiff and defense sides. Outside the courtroom, he found another demanding arena: competitive race car driving. But somewhere along that path, Roman began asking a harder question. What is being a lawyer actually costing us? In this epis...

Lawyers spend years building networks. But Steve Fretzin learned that having a network and having people who actually show up are two very different things. Steve joins Neal Goldstein for a conversation about business development, family, survival, loyalty, and the relationships behind professional success. At 26, Steve survived a plane crash that left him severely injured and his girlfriend with...

Every lawyer wants more cases. Very few are willing to wait long enough for the strategy that keeps producing them. In this episode of That One Lawyer Podcast , Neal Goldstein sits down with Seth Price to discuss one of the biggest mistakes law firm owners make with marketing: giving up on SEO before it has a chance to work. Their conversation goes far beyond search engine optimization. Neal and S...

Most people assume the path to becoming a lawyer starts early. Rick Metzgar proves otherwise. After spending nearly two decades in mortgage banking, raising a family, and building a successful career, Rick enrolled in law school at 45 while continuing to work full time. In this episode, Rick shares how a difficult divorce first exposed him to the legal system, why that experience stayed with him f...

Are young lawyers chasing the wrong definition of success? In this special replay episode of That One Lawyer Podcast , Neal Goldstein revisits one of his favorite conversations with attorney, entrepreneur, and author Kara Vaval . A young lawyer wanted to enter personal injury law after hearing stories about lawyers making hundreds of thousands—even millions—of dollars. But Kara explains why compar...

I Almost Didn't Go... In this first edition of That One Lawyer Unplugged , Neal Goldstein shares a personal story about almost skipping a New York Law School alumni event—and why showing up reminded him that relationships are built one conversation at a time. This isn't an episode about networking. It's about overcoming hesitation, reconnecting with people, and remembering that meaningful relation...

When Alex Wilson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2016, she faced the same uncertainty that confronts many people receiving life-changing medical news. What happened next surprised even her. Rather than pulling back, Alex adopted a simple philosophy: why wait? In this episode, Alex joins Neal Goldstein to discuss her journey from private practice to senior in-house leadership, living with...

Nick Altopiedi grew up watching his father build a successful personal injury practice, but his own path to law was anything but direct. Before becoming a lawyer, Nick played college baseball, worked in finance at JP Morgan Chase, bartended in New York City, and attended law school at night while working full time during the day. In this conversation with Neal Goldstein, Nick shares how those expe...

Michelle Stern never wanted clients. She went to law school intending to work in advocacy and nonprofit leadership, not traditional legal practice. That path eventually led her to the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, where she has spent more than two decades building one of the largest trial lawyer organizations in the state. Today the Academy serves more than 6,000 members, but Michelle b...

What happens when a lawyer refuses to stay in one lane? Asha Smith has spent her career doing exactly that. Public defender. Professor. Mediator. Appellate advocate. Civil rights lawyer. Bar association leader. Artist. While many attorneys are told that success comes from narrowing their focus, Asha built her career by pursuing multiple interests and refusing to separate creativity from legal prac...

Victor Suthammanont's path to becoming a lawyer was anything but traditional. Before entering the legal profession, he studied drama at NYU Tisch, founded a theater company, wrote screenplays, and performed stand-up comedy across New York City. Eventually, he went to New York Law School, clerked for a federal appeals judge, spent years at the SEC, and became a litigation partner while continuing t...

Most lawyers are taught that networking means legal mixers, bar association dinners, and handing out business cards to strangers. Neal Goldstein explains why that approach often feels transactional and why it rarely creates meaningful long-term relationships. In this episode, Neal shares how shifting away from traditional legal networking helped shape his career, his client relationships, and ulti...

Who decides what it means to be a professional lawyer? In this episode, Haley Moss, Florida's first openly autistic attorney, explores how expectations around professionalism are formed, reinforced, and applied in the legal field. Many of these standards are not written down, yet they shape how lawyers are judged, evaluated, and advanced. Haley shares her experience navigating those expectations e...

    YouTube Titles He Left Law for 24 Years and Came Back Seeing Why Lawyers Get Taken Advantage Of Lawyers Get Taken Advantage Of Here's Why After 24 Years Outside the Profession If You Can't Negotiate for Yourself This Is What It Costs You Final Title He Left Law for 24 Years and Came Back Seeing Why Lawyers Get Taken Advantage Of Thumbnail Text THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE Cold Open Start: 16:28 End: 17...

Many lawyers try to project success. Fewer actually build it. In this episode, Michael Liner discusses the gap between how lawyers present themselves and how real legal value is created. From luxury marketing to surface-level branding, he explains why many approaches fail to build trust or attract the right clients. The conversation explores what clients actually care about, how authenticity influ...

Scott Peterson spent seven years on the defense side before making a decision that changed his career. It was not driven by money or opportunity. It came from a moment where the work no longer aligned with who he wanted to be. In this episode, Scott explains what pushed him to leave and what it actually takes to build a plaintiff-side practice. He talks about the risk most lawyers underestimate, t...