Two Lawyers Walk Into A Bar

On this episode of Two Lawyers Walk Into a Bar, Bradley Pollina sat down with Edward Hept, a commercial litigator and head of the aviation litigation practice at Smith, Gambrell & Russell, to discuss how a general commercial litigation career evolved into a highly specialized practice involving aircraft, engines, international treaties, and cross-border disputes. From lessor-lessee disputes an...

On this episode of Two Lawyers Walk Into A Bar , Bradley Pollina is joined by David Kupfer, a Partner in the Trial and Global Disputes practice at King & Spalding, They discuss how meaningful work often comes after years of conversations, follow-ups, and strategic thinking, as well as the balance between offering value upfront and setting boundaries. It’s an honest look at the long game behind...

On this episode of 2 Lawyers Walk Into A Bar, Bradley Pollina is joined by Joshua Wurtzel, Partner at Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP. Joshua is known for his sharp courtroom instincts and creative approach to complex commercial and real estate litigation. From his early days clerking for Judge Kiyo Matsumoto to becoming a partner at one of New York’s premier boutique firms, Joshua shares how he buil...

On this episode talks to his long-time friend and Democratic Candidate for Nassau County District Attorney, Nicole Aloise! Lee and Nicole talk about their time spent working together at the Queens County District Attorney's Office. Nicole discusses some of the pivotal moments in her career and how that led her to the campaign trail. Lee and Nicole discuss the goals of her campaign (besides "to win...

In this episode of Two Lawyers Walk Into A Bar, Lee Bergstein sits down with Pradnya Desh, attorney and the CEO of Advocat AI. Pradnya and Advocat AI are making waves in the legal industry by utilizing AI to transform how businesses tackle the contract cycle. During the course of the conversation, Pradnya shares her journey from serving as U.S. Diplomat at the World Trade Organization and the UN C...

In this episode of Two Lawyers Walk into a Bar, Lee Bergstein and Cooper Knowlton sit down with Ira Leesfield, the founder and managing partner of Leesfield Scolaro, a personal injury firm with offices in Miami, Key West, South Beach and Central Florida. Mr. Leesfield is one of the most prominent personal injury attorneys in the country, who was nominated as "Lawyer of the Year" by the Trial Lawye...

In this episode of "Two Lawyers Walk into a Bar" Cooper Knowlton and Lee Bergstein chat with Shaun W. Pappas, a partner at Starr Associates LLP, who practices in the general real estate group with a focus on development and offering plans. During this conversation they chat about why Shaun decided to go to law school, why he started his career in litigation, and how he pivoted...

Tom Hanley is a partner at Glaser Weil in Los Angeles, where he leads a transactional real estate practice advising investors, joint venture partners, lenders and developers in all aspects of purchases, sales, financings, lease agreements and joint ventures. In this episode, he chats with Lee and Cooper about his path to law school, his early struggles with ADD, his transition from litigation to t...

Lee Bergstein and Cooper Knowlton chat with election law attorney Jerry Goldfeder about the inflection points in his storied career. The conversation also serves as a history lesson for anyone interested in New York City politics, and a roadmap for any lawyers considering entering the field of election law. (You can also tune in for a rare story involving Representative Jerry Nadler without a shir...

Maria Sanez is an immigration attorney who represents clients throughout the United States in all types of immigration matters. During this call she discusses how her cases are being affected by the shutdowns and how she is advising clients during this time. Maria also discusses how she is managing to run her practice in the virtual world. You can learn more about Maria and her practice here: http...

New York based personal injury attorney Matthew Salimbene discusses what is happening in New York Civil Courts and discusses how his cases are being affected by the current state of the world. To learn more about Matthew and his practice visit: https://www.salimbenelaw.com/ . To find out more about Bergstein Flynn Knowlton & Pollina PLLC, visit our website at bfkplaw.com . Hosted on Acast. See...

Lawyer, mediator, and educator Damali Peterman shares thoughts on how she is helping clients adapt during this time and discusses how she is being forced to adapt as a business owner herself. You can learn more about Damali here: https://damalilaw.com/ To find out more about Bergstein Flynn Knowlton & Pollina PLLC, visit our website at bfkplaw.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...

Joel Cohen is a former Skadden Arps attorney who founded TalksOnLaw , an online platform where legal experts share cutting edge ideas, and deliver CLEs through captivating and informative video content. During this conversation Joel discusses why he decided to get an LLM, what it was like starting his career at Skadden, and the moment he realized the world of big law was not for him. Joel also tal...

Adam Safir is the head of Safir Intelligence & Security where he uses his diverse career experiences in law, finance, M&A, security, forensics and data management to help clients reduce, navigate and respond to a full spectrum of security and integrity risks. In this episode Adam shares stories about his early years at the University of Virginia, selling cars in Queens, working at the New...

On this episode we chat with Tyler Reynolds a real estate developer at Singh Investors and the Vice President of Eyos Investors a Private Equity fund involved in the acquisition of properties in the hospitality industry. During our conversation Tyler discusses his experiences at Reed College, how he ended up working as an organizer for lobsterman in Maine, and the corruption trial that led him to...

Steve Cohen is a partner with the Pollock | Cohen LLP law firm in New York, where he focuses primarily on handling whistleblower/qui tam claims, class actions and mass torts. Before entering the legal profession, Mr. Cohen led a successful career spanning more than 35 years in the publishing industry. He served as an executive at both Time and Scholastic, and he was the CEO of several internet-bas...

Aitan Goelman is a litigation partner at Zuckerman Spaeder in Washington, DC, where his practice focuses on white-collar crime and complex commercial litigation. He is the former Director of the Division of Enforcement at the CFTC and was the youngest member of the team prosecuting Oklahoma City bombing suspects Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. On this episode we discuss Aitan's years at Ya...

Paul Casteleiro is the Legal Director for Centurion, the first organization in the world dedicated to the vindication of the wrongly convicted. Prior to taking this position in October 2014, Paul was a sole practitioner with law offices in Hoboken, New Jersey where his specialty was criminal trial and appellate work. On this episode Paul shares stories about interning at the ACLU, working on the C...

Kenneth C. Holder is a justice of the Queens County Supreme Court, Criminal Term in the 11th Judicial District of New York. He was elected to this position in 2008 and his current term expires in 2021. On this episode Judge Holder discusses growing up overseas, his passion for photography, his experiences at the University of Toledo Law School, starting his career at the Queens District Attorney's...

David Shanies is a skilled litigator who started his own civil rights practice after spending ten years as an associate at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP. In this episode David discusses how he ended up at NYU Law School, his years at Hughes Hubbard, his experience clerking, and the pro bono case that changed his life. David also shares advice for anyone thinking about starting their own practice a...

Silvia L. Serpe is a seasoned litigator and criminal and government enforcement defense lawyer at Serpe Ryan LLP. In this episode Silvia chats about spending seven years at Cornell, starting her career at Davis Polk, clerking in the Southern District of New York, serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Civil Division, the transition back to private practice, and starting her own firm. Silvia...

Brian Cuban is a Dallas-based attorney, author, and addiction recovery advocate. His best-selling book, "The Addicted Lawyer, Tales of the Bar, Booze, Blow, and Redemption," is a look back at how addiction to alcohol and drugs as well as other mental health issues destroyed his career as a once successful lawyer. In this episode Cuban talks about his struggles with an eating disorder, how alcohol...

Christopher Renfroe, from Renfroe Driscoll & Foster, LLP, is a seasoned criminal defense attorney with over thirty years of experience. He is often sought after for the most difficult cases, including the defense of the first death penalty case tried in Queens County. In this episode Chris shares stories about selling suits to pay for college, his first murder trial, and his early years workin...

Christian Lang is a former associate at Davis Polk and the founder of Blacklines and Billables , a blog, forum, and podcast dedicated to sharing practical tips and tricks for success among law firm associates and starting conversations around other important aspects of associate life, such as the state of legal technology.  On this episode Christian shares stories about leading Segway tours t...

Damali Peterman is the CEO of Damali Law LLC and is a skilled corporate attorney, negotiator, mediator, and educator with experience working with clients throughout the world, across a wide array of industries. On this episode we discuss Damali's love for learning languages, the value in taking time off between undergrad and law school, attending law school at Howard University School of Law, work...