Episodes

Judge Glenn Kim had over twenty years of experience as a prosecutor before taking the bench at the Contra Costa County Superior Court in January of 2022. He decided to pursue a career in law to fight back after 3 members of his family died on 9/11. Judge Kim started as an intern at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and was later hired by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office where he worked for several years. He later joined the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and worked on several different units including the Child Sex Assault Unit, the Felony Domestic Violence Unit, as well as in the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Unit. In this interview he answers questions about implicit bias and being neutral as a judge after decades as a prosecutor and explains why it’s important to be honest and introspective to avoid bias in decisions and rulings. He also talks about how dialog, transparency, and willingness to listen can go a long way in helping with restorative justi…

Megan Wachspress’ impressive academic endeavors include earning a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago, a master’s degree from Cambridge, a Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from UC Berkeley as well as JD from Yale. She originally wanted to be a professor but decided to be a lawyer instead halfway through her Ph.D. after doing volunteer legal work in San Leandro and Berkeley. Her passion for trivia and her pursuit of knowledge led her to become a multi-day Jeopardy! champion, while her concern about climate change and the realization that it’s a problem for the next decade led her to work as a staff attorney at the Sierra Club promoting renewable energy and grid decarbonization. Megan summarizes key points from her article on criminal law and piracy in the 16th and 17th centuries, and she also explains why Pauli Murray is one of the most influential legal thinkers in American history. Listen to the interview to get a glimpse into her journey…

Judge Michelle Tong was a trial attorney for the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office for over 15 years before taking the bench at the San Francisco Superior Court. She was born in Toronto and moved to Sacramento with her parents when she was 8. While in college in Santa Cruz, she studied abroad in China for six months, and speaks Cantonese and Mandarin. Prior to attending law school, she worked at the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco for two years doing nonprofit work as a community advocate paralegal. Judge Tong also did an externship at the Asian Law Alliance in San Jose and decided to be a Public Defender and do crimmigration work after working with immigrant populations and meeting lawyers who help those communities. In this interview she talks about the process of running for judge and how difficult it is to raise money for the campaign and explains how being a judge requires so much more mediation and problem-solving than she originally anticipated. Listen to the interview t…

Gary Miles is an attorney, entrepreneur, podcaster and life coach with a career that spans over 43 years. He is a managing partner at boutique litigation law firm Huesman, Jones & Miles. Nowadays he mostly handles family law but has also tried countless personal injury and insurance defense cases over the years. Gary also hosts The Free Lawyer Podcast, which helps lawyers become free from the things that hold them back, such as lack of confidence, fear, anxiety, and stress. His podcast episodes are inspired by his life experiences and his recovery. Having been sober and in recovery for 31 years, Gary reveals that many lawyers and judges often struggle with mental health issues, depression, anxiety, addiction and substance abuse. Lawyers often keep these problems hidden from everyone, but should know that it’s okay to reach out and ask for help before it’s too late. In this interview Gary explains why it’s so important to have gratitude in life, and why lawyers should try to listen mor…

Vicki Jensen went from serving up drinks as a bartender to defending clients from DUIs as a criminal defense attorney. She has clerked for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, the Santa Cruz Public Defender’s Office as well as the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office, and after trying out both sides, has found her calling in defending the criminally accused. Vicki is a specialist in DUIs and even speaks at seminars teaching other attorneys about the nuances of DUI defense. Listen to this interview to learn why amazing things happen when you take cases to trial and why it’s so important for attorneys to question police reports more often.Vicki Jensenhttp://www.vickijensenlawoffice.com/(510) 785-5700vjlawdui@att.net

After spending five years as a criminal defense attorney and receiving a bar complaint for not calling back a client on time, Matt Spiegel developed a legal case management software so that law firms could keep better track of cases and communicate with their clients more effectively, and thus MyCase was born. A few years after selling MyCase, Matt noticed a shift in the legal market and returned to the law firm tech space by founding Lawmatics, legal software for client intake, CRM, marketing automation, billing and much more, which goes beyond just managing cases by helping turn old business into new. In this interview Matt talks about how the case is the most important thing in the life of the client, while for the attorney, it’s usually just another case. He explains that treating that relationship accordingly will result in a better experience for the client and better business for the firm.Lawmaticshttps://www.lawmatics.com/MyCasehttps://www.mycase.com/Matt Spieg…

In collaboration with the Alameda County Bar Association, Love Thy Lawyer presents an interview with:Alice ChengAlice Cheng was born in Hong Kong and moved to San Francisco when she was a kid and speaks Cantonese and Mandarin. As the managing attorney at the Candelaria Law Firm, she handles all sorts of family law matters, and is really becoming the go-to lawyer for minor’s counsel work. Alice is a Super Lawyer, is on the executive board of the Earl Warren American Inn of Court and is a member of the Asian American Bar Association, Women Lawyers of Alameda County, and was also Chair of the ACBA Barristers Section. It’s not surprising that she was elected President of the Alameda County Bar Association for 2023, since she’s so engaged in the community. During her time as a Deputy District Attorney at the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office Alice completed eight criminal jury trials and countless bench trials. In this interview she answers questions about plans for her term…

Louis goes solo in the season finale of 2022 to recommend some of his favorite previous episodes and give an update for the next season in 2023, which begins in January. Louis takes us back in time to the late 70’s in Rochester, New York, when he owned a Triumph Spitfire and worked at an auto parts shop part-time during college and full-time during the summer. He talks about how his colleague Pat Markham (who looked like a Hells Angel, but wasn’t one) repeatedly inquired about his academic status and career plans, and how that helped Louis make the decision to go to law school. Finally, Louis pours his heart out about what he is grateful for: his health, career, opportunities, the listeners, and his life. Listen to this moving and inspiring episode where it’s less about Loving Thy Lawyer and more about Thy Lawyer Loving Thee.

Simone Chambliss is a criminal defense attorney at Red Metric Law. Despite just being an attorney for a little under two years, she has found her passion in helping people and defending the criminally accused in court. She’s had experience with defense and prosecution, both as a criminal defense attorney as well as an intern for the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office. Simone discovered her love for the law early on as a kid when she and her father would watch Law & Order: SVU and compete to see who could solve the cases first. After getting a taste of civil practice, family law, real estate and property disputes, she decided criminal law was her calling. In this interview she talks about how young attorneys try to fit a mold of who they think other people want to see, but instead shouldn’t be afraid to be who they are and let themselves be known. Red Metric Lawhttps://www.redmetric.com/1(833) 8 NO-JAIL(510) 999-5879

Mark Willis is not a lawyer, but a Certified Financial Planner and the co-host of the Not Your Average Financial Podcast. After watching the market meltdown in 2008, he came across strategies that he deemed worthy of recommending to clients and that would never leave them with the bad news that usually follow a recession. In this episode he talks about alternative strategies for building wealth that are less risky than other conventional approaches. He also explains the differences between term insurance and whole life insurance as well as how whole life insurance can be contractually designed to help you build tax-free alternative streams of income. Listen to the interview to learn about how you can take out a loan against your own insurance to make other investments and still make more than what you would pay in interest. Kickstart With Markhttps://kickstartwithmark.com/How to Be an Amazon Legend and Fire Your Banker! (Free copy on the link above)https://www.amazon.com/…

After suffering from severe depression in her teenage and college years, Dannie De Novo decided to study happiness so that her baby daughter would never have to go through what she did. Now in addition to being a lawyer she is a happiness coach and helps people combat loneliness, depression and manage anxiety. Dannie has written a few books including Get in a Good Mood & Stay There, and regularly appears on podcasts, TV shows, and radio interviews. In this interview she shares some of the worst chapters of her battle with depression, what ignited her journey into self-development, and explains that happiness is a habit that needs to be maintained through effort and sacrifice. Dannie De Novohttps://www.danniedenovo.com/Get in a Good Mood & Stay Therehttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/198916143X/The Dannie De Novo Podcasthttps://danniedenovo.libsyn.com/

Tom Kirkham isn’t a lawyer, but he helps lawyers as well as business owners keep their clients’ private data safe from breaches, ransomware attacks, hacking and other cyberthreats. He is a cyber security and defense systems consultant who’s been in the business for over 30 years, and the founder of IronTech Security. Tom gives an easy to understand brief on some of the most common cyberthreats and explains the reasons for most data breaches in companies, as well as why a lot of the enterprise-level antiviruses simply aren’t enough to protect corporate systems from ransomware attacks. In this interview he summarizes a few key principles from his book, The Cyber Pandemic Survival Guide and shares some tips and useful knowledge for law firms and business owners to implement an effective information security protocol.Tom Kirkhamhttps://tomkirkham.com/IronTech Securityhttps://irontechsecurity.com/The Cyber Pandemic Survival Guide: Protecting Yourself From the Coming Worldwi…

Sam Mollaei has only been an attorney for 7 years, but he already has 7 different law firms which serve clients in a myriad of different fields ranging from business law, tax ID services, property damage, employment law, lemon law, and workers' compensation. He also helps law firms implement automation systems and use data to improve their businesses. Over 400 lawyers have joined his program across multiple types of practices. He’s received numerous awards for using software to help make several of his companies as well as others’ make over a million dollars. Listen to this interview to learn several of Sam’s “secret sauces” from his book, Virtual Law Firm Secrets: How to Run Your Law Firm So It Doesn't Run You on how entrepreneurs can reduce busy work and automate client management. Mollaei Law https://mollaeilaw.com/Legal Funnelhttps://www.legalfunnel.com/for-lawyersVirtual Law Firm Secrets: How to Run Your Law Firm So It Doesn't Run Youhttps://www.amazon.com/Virtu…

After working grueling hours at a big law firm, Amanda Butler Schley founded Business Law Group, a boutique firm focused on representing Louisiana entrepreneurs. Having her own firm and not having to show up in court allowed her to practice from her 44-foot sailboat as she sailed along the Gulf Coast. She’s been back on land since 2020, but that hasn’t stopped her from taking to the sea from time to time. Listen to the interview to learn about how forming a mastermind group of law firm women entrepreneurs helped Amanda learn valuable lessons about the business of practicing law and how she set up her business so that she doesn’t have to work at it 24/7.Business Law Grouphttps://www.lawgroup.biz/ abutler@lawgroup.biz(504) 934-2020

Matt Davis left a job at the Department of Energy to move back to his hometown and practice law. Now he runs Davis Business Law, a firm with seven offices throughout Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma focused on helping lawyers and small businesses with a myriad of different corporate and legal matters. He’s also written The Art of Preventing Stupid, which helps businesses avoid mistakes and protect themselves from vulnerabilities that could spiral out of control. Matt also has a knack for music. He’s the lead guitar in Geriatric Steel, a heavy metal band with several songs about common middle age situations. Listen to this interview to learn about how to snowball your referrals as well as get a broader understanding of how to protect your business by avoiding some of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make.Davis Business Lawhttps://davisbusinesslaw.com/mdavis@davisbusinesslaw.comMatthew Neil Davishttps://matthewneilldavis.com/The Art of Preventing Stupid: How to Build a Str…

Daniel Callahan runs Callahan Consulting, providing consulting services on trial strategy and tactics as well as expert case matching - helping clients find attorneys specialized in a certain field or from a certain locale. He also provides consulting services to his law firm, Callahan & Blaine, by mentoring associates and junior partners. He obtained a verdict for 934 million dollars in a complex business case that started out as a 2 million dollar breach of contract case, as well as a personal injury settlement over 50 million dollars. In his career spanning over four decades, most of his work has been with complex business litigation, and he has secured over a billion dollars to clients in record-breaking verdicts and settlements. Listen to the interview to understand why being diligent in case preparation is vital for a successful law business.CONTACT INFOEmail: dan@callahanconsulting.comwww.callahanconsulting.comToll Free: (888) 570-0000

Kenneth McCallion has been practicing law for half a century. He has been an Assistant United States Attorney, a New York State Attorney and a civil litigator and has worked on several high-profile environmental and human rights cases such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the construction of the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant in Eastern Long Island and many others. Kenneth also helped prevent suicides by adding barriers and suicide-proof netting to the Cornell Bridge. His book, Saving the World One Case at a Time shares details of those and many other landmark trials of his career. Listen to the interview to get a broad glimpse into modern American legal history through some of Kenneth’s outstanding professional experience.McCallion Lawhttps://www.mccallionlaw.com/Saving the World One Case at a Timehttps://www.amazon.com/Saving-World-One-Case-Time/dp/1737149257

Richard Zitrin has been practicing law for 47 years. He’s currently a consultant to other lawyers on ethical issues and is occasionally an expert witness. His career started in the early 1970’s representing Johnny Spain in the San Quentin Six case. Richard then went on to teach legal ethics at USF and later became a consultant in legal ethics and malpractice cases and attorneys' fees disputes and doing trial work in legal malpractice and attorney conduct cases almost entirely for plaintiffs. In this interview he shares some of the advice he got from psychologist Cathy Bennet on using open-ended questions to bring out the mentality of the jurors and to create a rapport when picking the jury. He also shares some anecdotes from his book, Trial Lawyer: A Life Representing People Against Power including details of his products liability case against the Chrysler Corporation as well as his personal opinions regarding Roe v. Wade and the Supreme Court. Richard Zitrinhttps://www.richard…

Doug Brown has been an executive coach for over 10 years. He works with Summit Success International helping lawyers build up their business to a point it can run without them, giving them more time and freedom as well as earning the money they deserve from their ideal clients. Before joining Summit Success, Doug’s experience ranged from starting out at a big firm handling real estate commercial transactions and litigation to being the chief executive for the Connecticut Bar Association and then becoming the chief operating officer for a chain of fine jewelry stores. Listen to the interview to get some of Doug’s best tips on how to best improve your practice, find your ideal clients as well as how to develop your emotional intelligence skills and self-awareness.Doug Brownhttps://summit-success.com/lawyerDoug@summit-success.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasbrown/

In collaboration with the Alameda County Bar Association, Love Thy Lawyer presents an interview with:Judge Dorothy ProudfootJudge Dorothy Proudfoot presides over arbitration hearings and conducts mediation sessions as an administrative law Judge for San Francisco's Residential Rent, Stabilization and Arbitration Board. While still an intern at the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, she fell in love with appearing in court, and that passion motivated her to quit a private law firm to work at the Marin County District Attorney’s Office, where she stayed for 16 years before taking the bench. In this interview she talks about having retired California Supreme Court Justice Ming Chin as a role model, as well as her passion for music and how it has always been an important part of her life. Judge Proudfoot also answers guest questions about pro per clients and self-representation, as well as if she misses being an advocate rather than being a judge. Listen to the interview to get…

Fulvio Cajina and Adam Carlson join this roundtable discussion to talk about qualified immunity and Section 1983, and how they play into civil rights, police misconduct and compensation cases. They discuss how sometimes it’s challenging to establish a constitutional violation in court, and even when it can be established, there is the factor of whether or not the defendant knew or should have known that their conduct would violate the plaintiff's individual rights. Furthermore, many defendants in police misconduct cases don't even know how many times they've been sued, and oftentimes it seems not to bother them because they have qualified immunity and their agency or police department is who actually ends up paying the cost. Adam and Fulvio share their experiences with qualified immunity and Section 1983, as well as their personal views and opinions about it.Fulvio Cajinahttps://www.cajinalaw.comhttps://www.cajinalaw.com/peoplefulvio@cajinalaw.comAdam Carlsonhttps://…

Tony Serra’s amazing career throughout several decades includes fascinating tales of representing clients in several high-profile cases from Huey Newton and the Black Panthers, to White Panthers, Hells Angels and many more. The movie True Believer was loosely based on his successful acquittal of Chol Soo Lee for murder. Tony shares details about traveling throughout Morocco and South America when he was young, sleeping in the Black Panther houses in Oakland and San Francisco while being concerned about raids like the one that killed Fred Hampton, and taking part in the early beginnings of the Haight-Ashbury community in San Francisco as well as adopting the free-spirited hippie lifestyle associated with it. A pro bono lawyer who has taken a vow of poverty, he reveals how early on in his career he originally wanted to be a mafia lawyer. Tony also shares his views on the death penalty and the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement in the fight against racism, and explains his “ch…

There was never any doubt Cherie Wallace would become a criminal defense lawyer. Coming from a big family with several members that have been in the system, she has visited the inside of jails and prisons since she was little. She runs her own practice but also works as a senior of counsel attorney for Bay Area Criminal Lawyers, PC. Cherie is also a skilled semi-professional poker player who has participated and cashed in on quite a few tournaments. But be careful, she loves being underestimated on the poker table as well as in court. In this interview Cherie shares critical insights about how defense lawyers might be missing out on important details of cases by not paying enough attention to body cam footage and not communicating properly with their clients, and she also gives some sage advice as to how young minority women can defend themselves from being manipulated and taken advantage of in the business.Cherie Wallacehttps://bayareacrimlaw.com/team/cherie-r-wallace/crwall…

Adam Carlson knew he wanted to be a lawyer since the days he would relentlessly argue with his mom. He began as an intake paralegal and now is a managing partner at Casper, Meadows, Schwartz & Cook handling personal injury cases with a client first approach. Adam previously worked at the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office where he aggressively represented a large number of indigent clients, and it was the most fun he’s ever had in a job. Listen to the interview to learn about Adam’s invaluable advice about insurance coverage as well as a big tip to increase your chances of getting hired as an Alameda County Public Defender. Adam Carlsonhttps://www.cmslaw.com/https://www.cmslaw.com/attorneys/adam-m-carlson/https://www.linkedin.com/in/adammcarlson/carlson@cmslaw.com925.275.5592Louis Goodmanwww.louisgoodman.com