Lawsuits & Lessons

Someone stops mid-sentence—not because they're lost, but because they've just described the exact moment everything shifted. A camera in hand for school projects. Then wandering the city alone, watching light fall on buildings and faces. That's when it happened. The thing they didn't plan for. The thing their younger self had no way of seeing. John Cruice left a career spanning statistical analysi...

A man casually mentions he owns a haunted house. Not a side gig—a real business entering its fifth year, staffed with 40 live actors and animatronics that cost serious money. The origin story starts with Hurricane Ida flooding a Philadelphia neighborhood, a stalled real estate deal, and a decision to transform a flooded bar into something entirely different. But the deeper story traces back three...

He landed in Los Angeles with $300, a FedEx ticket, and no idea what he was walking into. At 21, he was living four separate lives at once—wrestling, acting, chasing dreams that didn't stick. A casting director reduced him to a label: "Leonard's guy." But years earlier, he'd watched his father—a towering presence whose laugh could fill a room—build businesses that couldn't survive their own season...

She dropped off VHS tapes at a radio station until they finally called. Twenty-two years old, still a student, she walked in for an interview and got hired on the spot. Three days later: *I can't hire you. You're horrible.* But they trained her anyway. Her second week was September 11th. Within months she was anchoring mornings. She was supposed to stay in television forever—that was the dream. Th...

Someone sat in a hospital, freshly devastated, and made a promise to a son who was already gone. That moment—the refusal to let one death become just another statistic—set off a chain reaction that would reshape how one man understood discipline, purpose, and what it means to fight when the outcome is uncertain. Marcus Kowal is a professional fighter turned gym owner turned advocate whose work spa...

Someone spent years leaving the house at dawn, returning long after dark, watching friends head to bars at five while he'd finally arrive, exhausted, at nine. The work never stopped. The sacrifice became invisible until it became undeniable. This is what separates the people who talk about entrepreneurship from the people who live it—and this conversation captures the lived version in raw, unglamo...

Someone stood in the wreckage of their own ambition and chose to keep walking. Not because the failures didn't sting, but because each one taught him something essential about what it means to actually build. The turning point wasn't success. It was a hospital bed and a question that wouldn't leave him: What am I really here to do? Devin Dinofa, a real estate entrepreneur and founder of multiple v...

In this episode of Lawsuits & Lessons, host John Fagerholm, employment defense attorney and business advocate, and co-host Steve Cooper, comedian and veteran podcaster, welcome a special guest — John’s son, Dariuse Fagerholm. Dariuse shares his journey from juggling multiple jobs — bartending, warehouse management, catering, and seasonal work — to launching his own logistics business. Today, h...

In this episode of Lawsuits & Lessons, hosts John Fagerholm, employment defense attorney and business advocate, and Steve Cooper, comedian and veteran podcaster, welcome legendary performer, entrepreneur, and speaker Dave Raymond — best known as the original Philadelphia Phillies Phanatic. National media outlets have dubbed Dave the Hero of Happiness, and for good reason. What began as a summe...

In this episode of Lawsuits & Lessons, hosts John Fagerholm, employment defense attorney and business advocate, and Steve Cooper, comedian and veteran podcaster, welcome entrepreneur, technologist, and private chef Dweh Toeque for a candid conversation about creativity, reinvention, and building businesses that actually reflect who you are. Dweh shares his journey from culinary school and work...

In this episode of Lawsuits & Lessons, hosts John Fagerholm and Steve Cooper welcome longtime friend, attorney, and entrepreneur Jesse Rosenblatt for a wide-ranging conversation about reinvention, resilience, and building a life with intention. With more than 20 years as an executive, creative strategist, and business and legal affairs consultant, Jesse has worked at the intersection of entert...

In the first Lawsuits and Lessons episode of 2026, host John Fagerholm and co-host Steve Cooper sit down with entrepreneur and marketer Stefan Fagerholm for a candid conversation about entrepreneurship that doesn’t start with lemonade stands. Stefan shares how he transitioned from senior tech roles at Cedars-Sinai, Fox Studios, and EY into entrepreneurship, building businesses by focusing on effic...

In this episode of Lawsuits & Lessons, host John Fagerholm, employment defense attorney and business advocate, and co-host Steve Cooper, comedian and veteran podcaster, sit down with longtime friend and entrepreneur Omar Hernandez, President of Global Urban Strategies. Omar shares his powerful journey from growing up in Nickerson Gardens in South Central Los Angeles to serving in the U.S. Mari...

In this episode of Lawsuits & Lessons , host John Fagerholm, employment defense attorney and business advocate, joins co-host Steve Cooper, comedian and veteran podcaster, to welcome lifelong friend and financial advisor George Nelson. George shares his remarkable story — from growing up in deep poverty, surrounded by addiction, instability, and hardship, to becoming a successful financial pla...

In this episode of Lawsuits & Lessons , host John Fagerholm, employment defense attorney and business advocate, joins co-host Steve Cooper, comedian and veteran podcaster, to sit down with lifelong entrepreneur Sean Tipton. Sean shares his journey from a challenging childhood to building a multimillion-dollar healthcare company, and now, developing Oak Fire Ridge — a stunning social and sports...

In this episode of Lawsuits & Lessons , host John Fagerholm, employment defense attorney and business advocate, and co-host Steve Cooper, comedian and veteran podcaster, welcome longtime entrepreneur and business partner Alexander Wilson. From New York’s private school scene to launching legendary nightclub experiences and eventually building a Nike-sponsored youth basketball academy, Alexande...

In this episode of Lawsuits & Lessons , host John Fagerholm, employment defense attorney and business advocate, and co-host Steve Cooper, comedian and veteran podcaster, dive deep into what it really takes to survive as an entrepreneur in today’s business climate. With their guest postponed, John and Steve use the time to share real stories, legal lessons, and personal insights from decades of...

In this episode of Lawsuits & Lessons , host John Fagerholm , employment defense attorney and business advocate, and co-host Steve Cooper , comedian and veteran podcaster, sit down with serial entrepreneur CR Celona — a visionary who helped pioneer influencer marketing with his company Speaker and now leads innovation in the AI-powered creative space. John and Steve dive deep into CR’s journey...

In Episode 2 of Lawsuits & Lessons, host John Fagerholm (employment defense attorney & entrepreneur) and co-host Steve Cooper welcome multi-hyphenate creator Marvin V. Acuna—film/TV producer, restaurateur, and founder of MoBal. Marvin shares how Hollywood producing skills (planning, logistics, relationships) translate to building scalable companies, why discipline (mind, body, workflow) is...

In the premiere episode of Lawsuits & Lessons , co-hosts John Fagerholm, employment defense attorney and business advocate, and Steve Cooper, comedian and veteran podcaster, sit down to share John’s story — from Navy firebrand and serial entrepreneur to entertainment lawyer, and ultimately, a defender of business owners in California’s high-stakes legal climate. Steve and John dive into how la...

Welcome to Lawsuits & Lessons ! In this trailer, you’ll meet your hosts: John Fagerholm, an employment defense attorney and business advocate who knows the ins and outs of workplace law, and Steve Cooper, a veteran comedian and podcast host who knows nothing about the law but plenty about keeping things entertaining. Together, John and Steve break down real workplace issues, dive into bizarre...