The Trial Lawyers College Podcast

"I want widows to know that once they have loved someone so deeply and been loved, it will come again. Nobody should live without love, and they don't have to." This podcast features California attorney Samantha Berryessa, who continues our 'Managing in Tough Times' series with a moving account of her experience navigating grief before and after the 2019 death of her husband, attorney Dax Cowart. ...

"We need to communicate with our eyes more, whether it's to your spouse or the jury on voir dire or to your client." In this week's episode of the TLC podcast, civil lawyer Chandler Loupe joins host Rafe Foreman in a contentious discussion around the unique challenges faced by trial lawyers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharing his experience as a trial attorney in one of the few regions that kept...

"In order for me to do a trial right now, I need to prepare extra-special. It's sort of like an extended warm-up to get my head in the right spot." This week's podcast features Jason Savela, a criminal defense lawyer with more than two decades of experience trying cases to juries in Colorado. Continuing our theme of "Managing in Tough Times," Jason shares the details of some of his most riveting c...

"I didn't want anyone to see me as I really am. I thought they would reject me. That's why, in the beginning, I worked so hard to walk perfectly -- I didn't want anyone to see my weakness. But it was only when I was willing to let people inside and to see that is when I began to be comfortable with it as well." Continuing our 'Managing in Tough Times' series is Bret Merkle, a Sioux Falls, South Da...

"We need to see the things that are happening—the changes, the protocols, the restructuring of how this is all working—as opportunities and to find ways to embrace them and make them part of how you present your case." This timely podcast features Texas trial lawyer Susan Hutchison, who discusses how the COVID-19 era has hindered the efficacy of the jury trial and what trial lawyers can expect in...

"It's not just the words that I say, but do I honor the words that you say?" This continuation of our 'Words Matter' series features Dana Cole, an associate professor of law at the University of Akron School of Law, who shares his thoughts on the power and components of an impactful story and the art of mindful listening.  This refreshing approach to why words matter explores not only on the side...

"I win because I'm the person who cares the most in the courtroom, not because I know the most." This week's podcast features Kiesha Cannon, a captivating voice for the vulnerable and the accused, who shares her insight into the simple secrets behind effective communication and connection both in and out of the courtroom. Drawing from her equally-inspiring personal and professional journeys, Kiesh...

"The whole point of psychodrama is to tell the story, and the ways that lawyers have incorporated this method to tell their client's story with such love and interest and time and attention is one of the greatest gifts I've ever seen another human being give another human being." This week's podcast continues our 'Words Matter' series with Jody Anderson, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Cer...

"They always told us in Tennessee, 'Great songs aren't written — they're re-written.' I think that saying could apply for us in our work as trial lawyers."  In this multifaceted episode of the TLC podcast, host Rafe Foreman is joined by singer/songwriter and trial attorney Sam Wooden to continue our 'Words Matter' series. Offering his perspective on the connection between art and the performance o...

"How do you know that words matter? You know because they make you feel something." In this continuation of our podcast series titled Words Matter , Los Angeles Public Defender Kim Savo shares her insight into the connection between poetry and the presentation of a compelling opening statement.  A wordsmith by nature and a passionate advocate for the accused, Kim stresses the importance of emphasi...

"As advocates in the courtroom, the truth carries the day, and we have the obligation to seek the truth, to speak the truth, and to correct lies and misstatements when they're in violation of the truth." In this first installment of our four-part series titled 'Words Matter', host Rafe Foreman takes the mic to introduce the why behind this pressing topic. Why do words matter? What do words, partic...

"Our great-grandfather stood to fulfill a sacred duty...to do more than he ever thought he may have been capable of doing ... at a particular time in the existence of the world for the survival of generations of all of us to come. The warriors that stand in courtrooms today — with their hand on a vulnerable, suffering person or their families — are doing that extremely honorable and important and...

"It's not going to be a straight line from here to a better world, but what other choice do we have?" This unconventional episode of the TLC podcast features Bernie Cantorna, a Centre County, Pennsylvania District Attorney who served on the TLC faculty from 1997 to 2016. As he catches up with host Rafe Foreman, Bernie explains why he chose to become a DA and offers his unique insight into the inne...

"We have a real power right now to change the world we live in and leave it better for the generations to come, but we must come at it from a place of love. We have to be brave enough to be the light." In the fourth and final installment of our podcast series titled "What Do Trial Lawyers Do?" TLC graduate and faculty member Jacqui Ford offers a striking reminder of what it truly means to be a tri...

"Fighting is an end in itself if the cause is right, so you've got to keep fighting. Even if you aren't having success at times, you've got to stick with it." In this third installment of our series titled 'What Do Trial Lawyers Do?', host Rafe Foreman explores the ins and outs of practicing civil rights law with Albuquerque, NM attorney Zackeree Kelin. Beginning with a deep dive into Zack's exper...

"Part of being a trial lawyer is being a good investigator — getting out of the office, visiting clients, visiting the scene, visiting witnesses, talking to people — and getting the evidence you need for your cases." In this second installation of our podcast series titled 'What do trial lawyers do?' host Rafe Foreman chats with Kansas City civil law attorney Tom Dickerson to discuss the ins and o...

"We help the people that have been neglected, left out, and desperate, and we give them life when everybody else has left them for dead." In this first installment of our four-part series titled 'What Do Trial Lawyers Do?' TLC graduate and faculty member Patrick McLain shares the intricacies, peculiarities, and triumphs of being a military trial lawyer. Hosted by Rafe Foreman, this engaging and in...

"The most important thing to help people in the system is to address their thinking errors, and this all starts with their limiting, permission-granting beliefs and values about drug use or criminal thinking and conduct. There will be no long-term behavior changes without this work being done." In this week's podcast, host Rafe Foreman sits down with Hawaii's Stan Dokmanus, a Certified Criminal Ju...

"We might be on different sides of a bridge but we're both human. We can get closer on that bridge than we ever thought possible if we truly open up and try to listen and hear each other and find something in ourselves that connects with what that person has just said. You'd be surprised that we have more in common than we have different." In this week's podcast, TLC graduate and F-Warrior board m...

"The newspaper quoted, 'the defendant hugged his lawyer after the verdict was read.' That's the relationship we had, and you only get there by caring about your client." In this week's episode, TLC graduate and faculty member Jerry B osch guides host Rafe Foreman through the ways in which the TLC methods helped obtain a not guilty verdict on an attempted murder charge, detailing the months he inve...

"They're people who made a mistake. If you're willing to put in the time and hold their hand through the process, they'll never forget that." In this week's podcast, Sarah Toney, a criminal defense specialist and TLC faculty member, discusses the world of DWI/DUI and the interplay between the TLC methods in both trial and pretrial settings. As a national leader in DUI defense, Sarah shares her ins...

Chris Trundy, a TLC faculty member from Massachusetts, discusses the delicate and powerful issue of institutional racism in the United States court system and the crossroads between civil prosecution of these claims and the TLC methods.  Standing among the top trial lawyers and psychodrama experts in America, Chris' career took off in the early 90s when he served Massachusetts as a private court-a...

In this riveting interview, TLC alum and faculty member Max Mitchell draws upon his extensive experience representing Missouri's most vulnerable criminal defendants to passionately and earnestly identify the good, the bad, and the ugly in the criminal justice system. As a district public defender in Sedalia, Missouri, Max represents individuals with charges ranging from DWI to first-degree murder....

TLC alum Greg Antollino (TLC July 2003) discusses his recent Supreme Court victory, in which the SCOTUS ruled that employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited under federal civil rights laws. Greg's client was dismissed by his employer after a customer complained that he revealed his sexual orientation to her during the course of his work. Greg's c...