Lawyer Stories - Benny Gold (Brother from Another Mother)

Benny Gold / Louis Goodman - Transcript

Louis Goodman 00:04 

Welcome to Love Thy Lawyer, where we talk to practicing attorneys about their lives, in and out of the practice of law. I'm Louis Goodman, the host of the show, and yes, I'm a lawyer. Nobody's perfect! Today I'm super excited to talk with Massachusetts attorney Benny Gold. 

Benny, like me, is an attorney and he's also a podcaster. He hosts the very successful, the Lawyer Stories podcast. He and I share an interest in attorneys and what makes them tick. He also has a wife and a young family, so his life no doubt is a bit of a three-ring circus and we're going to see what's under that big top. 

Benny Gold, welcome to Love Thy Lawyer. 

Benny Gold 00:52 

Thank you so much, Louis. It's great to be here. And by the way, I love, I love your show, man. You're doing great things. I love the spirit that you have behind it. Keep going. It's a great thing to discover that, you know, you love podcasting. I hope you feel the same way. I really do. I think you do. 

Louis Goodman 01:07 

Oh, I do. That's why I do it. I mean, I do it purely for fun and as an artistic endeavor. 

Benny Gold 01:16 

I love it. That's terrific. Yeah. That's really great. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. 

Louis Goodman 01:21 

Where are you talking to us from right now? 

Benny Gold 01:24 

So I am in central Massachusetts. I'm not originally from here. I'm a transplant. I'm from Portland, Maine. I've lived all around New England and I've lived in like a few New England states, Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, which I'm here now, Connecticut for a while. So right now I'm in central Mass, near the Worcester area, about 45 minutes from Boston. 

Louis Goodman 01:45 

So, you're licensed in other states besides Massachusetts, correct?

Benny Gold 01:52 

Correct, yeah. I'm licensed in Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts. 

Louis Goodman 01:56 

Wow. I spent a fair amount of time in Worcester, went to some great concerts at Clark. 

Benny Gold 02:04 

Really? Okay. So, one of my best friends went to Clark back in the day. I live very close to Clark. What concerts did you see? I'm just curious.

Louis Goodman 02:11 

I remember seeing Ike and Tina Turner there. 

Benny Gold 02:15 

Oh, very cool. 

Louis Goodman 02:16 

And I had like a third-row seat. And I'll bet there weren't more than 600 people in the auditorium. 

Benny Gold 02:21 

That's awesome. Yes. 

Louis Goodman 02:22 

Yeah, it was amazing. So you grew up in Maine you said? 

Benny Gold 02:27 

Yep. Portland, Maine. Born and raised. 

Louis Goodman 02:29 

Is that where you went to high school?

Benny Gold 02:31 

I went to high school in Portland. Yes. Yep. During high school, you know, the rival Portland High School, but I was on the outskirts of town, but right in Portland. Yes. 

Louis Goodman 02:42 

So, what sort of things did you do in high school? 

Benny Gold 02:45 

What did I do in high school? 

Louis Goodman 02:46 

Yeah, I mean, besides studying practical math and American history, I mean, what, what sort of things?

Benny Gold 02:51 

Yeah. I actually played, I actually played sports for a few years. I played, you know, my freshman year I did like football, baseball, basketball. Sophomore year, I think I gave up on basketball and just did football, played some baseball. By senior year, I wasn't really doing much besides quote unquote focusing on getting in college and maybe playing some softball and doing what I guess normal high school seniors do. But I did love playing sports back then. I thought it was a good time. 

Louis Goodman 03:18 

Well, at some point you graduated from high school in Portland and you went to college. Where'd you go? 

Benny Gold 03:23 

So I went to UMass Amherst, which is actually pretty close to where I am now. Had a great experience there. Was a founding father of a fraternity, ZBT, and yeah, I mean UMass was a great place. It brought kind of the suburb and the country together with like city kids from like New York and New Jersey and I really enjoyed that experience a lot. 

Louis Goodman 03:47 

So, do you consider yourself a country kid or a city kid? 

Benny Gold 03:51 

That's a great question. I don't know. I never really thought of it like that. That's why you're a podcast host, that's just a great question, you know, and I don't, I don't, you know, when people say I'm a little at both, that's a little bit of an annoying answer, but I, you know, I think I have some aspects of both actually, but I think I'm definitely more laid back. 

Louis Goodman 04:08 

What was your experience at UMass like?

Benny Gold 04:11 

So, UMass was, it was kind of eye-opening, you know, I remember going there as a freshman. And, you know, me being from Maine, not really caring about certain fashions and that sort of thing, and then seeing kids for the first time, you know, wearing like Abercrombie and Fitch and like, I didn't even know what that was when I went there.

And that was kind of the big thing that everybody was wearing. And I really enjoyed my major. I studied, I was in legal studies, which I loved. The professors were like, unbelievable. They were like Yale and Harvard graduates who would just talk to us and talk to us and you just had to keep listening because they were just so erudite and smart.

And I really loved being a legal studies major there. And it really piqued my interest. And I thought, you know, I love learning legal studies and the law, and I wanted to pursue that further eventually. 

Louis Goodman 05:03 

Well, when did you first start thinking about being a lawyer? When did you first say, Hey, you know, I wanna be a lawyer, that's really where my career path is headed? 

Benny Gold 05:14 

Yeah, I mean, I think in legal studies I just kind of, you know, I have some family who are lawyers, you know, and I saw them become very successful and they, you know, they hone in on like one area of law and I thought that that sort of, I wasn't a math and science person and I really like, loved constitutional law at the time. Just reading a lot of the cases and decisions. And I wanted something more. I wanted something concrete, and I just felt like in undergrad I wasn't done, but I did end up taking a year off before law school cause I wasn't a hundred percent ready. I probably should have taken like three years off in retrospect.

Louis Goodman 05:50 

What did you do during that year off? 

Benny Gold 05:54 

Oh, I worked out a lot. I got into the best shape of my life, going to the gym, like all the time, seven days of running, and basically worked for a company that sold vitamins. Like I didn't, I don't have this story about, I worked for this law firm as a paralegal, and I didn't, you know, I didn't get hands-on experience. I did nothing like that. I literally just stayed at home after undergrad, went to the gym like six or seven days a week. And that's it. Got in shape and worked a little bit and had fun. Tried to have a little fun on the side. 

Louis Goodman 06:30 

I get it. I worked as a road manager for a band during my one year between college and law school. I've had nothing to do with the law or anything, but I have to say, I think that experience of just working and just being outta school really helped me focus a lot when I got to law school. What do you think? 

Benny Gold 06:51 

Yeah, well, I think the biggest thing, so my job that I had before law school wasn't really traditional. I would go in sometimes at three o'clock. I would go in sometimes at, depends on my hour. Nine o'clock. I think if you're gonna take a year off and know you're going to law school, you should, you should learn a sense of time. Like you should learn, you should learn that nine to five, eight to five, how much you can actually be productive through those times. Because when I went to law school, the first thing I realized is like, time was so important. You know, you needed to figure out how to, if I wanted to get down with this memo by 10 o'clock at night, I need to sit down and do start doing this at 11:00 AM. You know what I mean? 

So, I don't know if I necessarily like prepared myself. I might have, I think I ordered some books off like eBay, some case books and just, just to read the language. But that was about it really. 

Louis Goodman 07:38 

Where did you go to law school? 

Benny Gold 07:40 

So, I went to a school called Roger Williams in Rhode Island. 

Louis Goodman 07:45 

And how was that experience at law school? 

Benny Gold 07:47 

You know, it was okay. I think it's a good school. It's the only law school in Rhode Island. It's a, you know, it's a pretty good school. I just, I don't know. I think you get with law school; you get what you put into in you'll get out of it. 

Louis Goodman 07:58 

It's true. Most things in life, don't you think? 

Benny Gold 08:01 

Yeah, I think that's it. I think that's it. You know, I think I probably could have used like four or five years off before I went back, although I don't think I, I think it would've been very difficult if I took more time off. It still was difficult and the experience for me was, you know, I don't have any regrets in life because it all led me to where I am. Like, why I wanna start Lawyer Stories like, you know, because of my experience in law school but I kind of wish, well, not wish, I kind of would've been nice if I had a little more guidance in law school. Meaning not going and saying, Hey, I need an internship or something like after my first year, I'm obviously, I'm not a big law person, like, and them saying, well, you know, you should probably get your grades up first. You know, that sort of thing. 

So, the experience wasn't, I can't say it was, it, it for me, it was definitely different than other, other kids.

Louis Goodman 08:54 

When you got out of law school, you obviously started working in the legal profession. Can you kinda walk us through your experience of getting out of law school, getting that first legal job, and then kinda where you went in your career as an attorney? 

Benny Gold 09:12 

I actually didn't go right into the law. I had a stint in New Jersey for a couple months while I was there for the actual current mayor of Hoboken, who was a great guy, he gave me great work. But the situation didn't work out for me. 

I ended up moving back to Maine, unlicensed, and then tried to figure out where I could go from there. For some reason, I had like a bunch of friends from Connecticut, so one of my good friends said to me from law school, said to me, Hey, I bought a house.

I'm going to, take the Connecticut bar and like move down here. So I passed the Connecticut bar. I moved down there and I got a job in Connecticut, right in downtown New Haven, and I started off as a temp down there in a legal department at a housing authority. So that's sort of how I got my start. And I'm still in housing, which is crazy, but I started at a housing authority of New Haven, which was a very interesting experience. I definitely appreciate it. 

Louis Goodman 10:09 

And what sort of practice do you have now? I mean, I know you have the podcast and we're gonna talk about that, but what sort of legal practice do you have?

Benny Gold 10:17 

So when I was in New Haven, I was doing landlord tenant. I was going to court representing the housing authority for tenants in low-income housing who weren't paying the rent. So I was doing eviction cases at housing session in downtown New Haven at the Housing Authority. 

I got an opportunity eventually to move up in the housing authority structure and be an assistant director. So I took the job back in Massachusetts and then eventually a couple years later, my boss, great guy, left and the board there appointed me executive director. So right now, my current role is executive director of four public housing authorities in central Massachusetts.

It's a great job. I'm thankful for it every day. And then I run lawyer stories on the side. So right now, I'm actually not in the practice of law. 

Louis Goodman 11:09 

But you're using your legal skills in running the Housing Authority. 

Benny Gold 11:13 

Hundred percent right Louis. I'm always looking out for preventing us from getting sued and watching liability and people saying, Hey, should we do this? Can we do that? No, don't do that. Like, don't put that in writing. Like, did they, they fell down, are they gonna file? I mean, it's a great job. I work with great people and I am, I definitely feel I have my law degree right above me where I work. They. You know, the housing authorities supports it completely me being an attorney, I think I got the job because I was an attorney at the assistant director job. Yeah. So that's, so I am using that in my quasi-governmental position right now. 

Louis Goodman 11:53 

So, if a young person were just coming out of college, would you recommend the law? 

Benny Gold 11:59 

I think there are a few reasons to go into law school or a few things that help you.

A: if you have family that's gonna pay, help you financially pay for law school, cuz it is a very big undertaking and I think a lot of kids don't realize that. I would recommend going to a school where you're not gonna get yourself into a crazy debt. 

I would also recommend, you know, if you have family members in the profession that, you know, like can bring you in or teach you something and be a mentor, I would say go to law school. But it's a difficult decision. I think kids look at those glossy magazines of like the school, the brochures, and they're thinking to themselves, you know, I want to go. They get suckered in and like, then they owe all this money.

So I think it really depends on the situation, but I would never prevent or tell somebody not to go. Because there are people out there who have these hopes and dreams of being civil rights lawyers, of being the next Ben Crump. And like, I don't, I'm not gonna be the one to tell 'em not to go. I just think I see it more practically now.

Louis Goodman 13:05 

What do you think's the best advice you've ever received? 

Benny Gold 13:09 

Oh, that's a good question. There's always a way to figure something out. There's always a way to do something, even though, you know, you might, as pertaining to my career, there's always a way to succeed and do stuff. And you also have to trust yourself. If you don't show faith in yourself, nobody is going to, like, you have to show faith in yourself. 

Louis Goodman 13:33 

When did you decide to start being a podcaster? 

Benny Gold 13:36 

That's a great question. So basically, I started the Lawyer Stories Instagram account. I don't know if, are you on Instagram, Louis?

Louis Goodman 13:44 

A little bit.

Benny Gold 13:46 

Okay, so we have a page that I founded in 2017 that I started. 

Louis Goodman 13:51 

I've seen your Instagram page. 

Benny Gold 13:52 

Should I start there with? 

Louis Goodman 13:54 

Sure. Start wherever you want. 

Benny Gold 13:56 

Okay. So, in 2017 I was with my fiancé at the time, and I turned to her and we're going out for dinner. I'm like, you know, I just read this like human of New York thing and like people talking about themselves in New York City. Have you ever heard of Humans of New York, Louis? Okay, so it's people, this guy Brandon Stan, stops these New Yorkers on the street and asks them situations and they speak in the narrative form, right? And they talk about something that's gone on in New York, or like a situation that they have or where they are in the present life.

I was like, man, I would love to hear lawyers speak like, this down to earth way. So I'm getting to your question, don't worry. So I was out to, I was out to dinner and I turned to my girlfriend at the time. I'm gonna start this thing called Lawyer Stories, and it's not about going to court and like, you know, having an attack or going to court and being rude to the judge. This is about people telling me their path to the law. Like I want to hear it, I had one. 

So after a couple years of that we have a network that started to get some traction on Instagram. So I had this event in Miami and then in like 2019. And then I said, you know, I really wanna bring Lawyer Stories off the page, so I need to have a podcast. 

So, you know, just to make a long story short, it's a long story for me. It doesn't have to be for you, Louis. So, I had my sister come on and this was, we didn't even record video at the time and she, I was like, Hey, ask me these questions about Lawyer Stories for episode one. Like, we're gonna do this and just ask me, and I'm gonna talk about what it is, what I'm doing. and that's sort of how the whole thing started. It was actually February 2020. 

Louis Goodman 15:42 

Yeah. A date that will live in infamy. 

Benny Gold 15:45 

Yeah. Right, right, right. So yeah, that's just how it started. And then I started with a couple people that I knew that I had met on Instagram that I felt comfortable with, that were really nice and that were sort of supporting what I was doing. And I said, come on my show and let's, you know, let's, this is what I'm doing now. Like, let's do it. 

Louis Goodman 16:03 

How has that gone for you? I mean, have you been able to monetize that or is it something that it's more a labor of love?

Benny Gold 16:14 

So the big thing is, Louis, is like this whole Lawyer Stories thing started as a passion, a passion project from a guy who has a big heart and a guy who wants to legitimately hear what people have to say. Using my, what I think is emotional intelligence and helping people like talk about their mission and their journey.

But after a while, you know, now I have two kids, and it's like I have people email, I have legal marketers who email me, which is amazing. And I have people emailing me about wanting to come on the show. And we do have a podcast package. You know, we have a good following on Instagram. We have like over 50,000 followers. We have a following now on, you know, 8,000 on Facebook, couple thousand on In, you know, it's a social media thing. We package it up. So we have podcast packages, however, I try to give people as much value as possible, as much value as I can. It's not really traditional to like charge for a, you know, a podcast, but I've, I've monetized it through, you know, our email lists, email marketing, email, social media posts. People generally charge sometimes charge for social media posts, so we do have some sponsored packages for people who come on. 

I don't know if I'd have the, like, I mean I love what I do. It's still a passion project, but it takes a lot of time. You know, I record once or twice a week. Those are my slots. I have, you know, two kids, three, like three and under, you know, my son will be four on New Year's Day and my daughter just turned one last Friday. 

So, you know, Lawyer Stories needs to receive some value too. It's not what it's all about cuz we are coming out with some new things that it's gonna be really interesting. And with all that said, like I love it. I love being a podcast host. 

Louis Goodman 18:05 

I would just say to anybody listening to my podcast, if you listen to the Love Thy Lawyer Podcast and you enjoy it, I would definitely go to whatever app you use to get your podcasts and check out the Lawyer Stories podcast because there is a, I don't know, I think there's a certain similarity. I mean, you and I are different people and we have different interview styles, but I think that we, we both are interested in lawyers as people. 

Benny Gold 18:36 

Yeah. No, I definitely, it's really cool, like talking to you. I definitely feel like, somebody's

having me on their show and like I'm talking like the way I ask questions, so that's really nice. 

Louis Goodman 18:46 

You've worked in the legal system and you've seen it from a number of different sides. Do you think that the legal system's fair? 

Benny Gold 18:54 

Oh, Jesus, Louis, is it fair? I, the thing about the legal system for me is it, it takes so long to get justice. I don't know if it's fair. I don't wanna say it's unfair. I think it's too slow. I think it needs to speed up a little bit. 

Louis Goodman 19:08 

Justice delayed is justice denied. 

Benny Gold 19:11 

Yeah. Listening to like personal injury attorneys talk and you know how long it takes to like process cases and it's just, it's crazy. 

Louis Goodman 19:22 

You mentioned that you have two young children. I'm wondering what sort of things that you and your family enjoy doing on a recreational basis? 

Benny Gold 19:32 

Oh, well thanks. Nice question. So, yeah. I mean, my daughter just turned one. She's the sweetest thing ever. And she likes to eat her like little mozzarella cheese and like, you know, dance around while I hold her to like some hip hop stuff and roll the ball, try to roll the ball a little bit.

And then my son, who will be four, he's really, he's a smart dude. I know everybody says that about their kids, but mine is, you know, he likes to, he likes to play. You know, he likes to, he had a soccer class. I'm trying to teach him how to throw in the football, you know, he likes to actually do hip hop. He's like good at dancing. So and he loves to, he likes to hang out with adults too. He likes to talk to, like the people. He likes to talk. 

So yeah, that's, that's basically what we do. You know, we go, we went apple picking last weekend. We go to, like far, we're in central Mass, right? So we like go to farmlands and like apple picking and like do that sort of thing.

Louis Goodman 20:28 

Okay. How about this question. Is there somebody living or dead who you'd like to meet? And if so, what would you like to ask them about? 

Benny Gold 20:41 

Living or dead? Holy.... 

Louis Goodman 20:43 

Don't worry. That's why we have, that's why we have editing. 

Benny Gold 20:46 

No, I know. And that's why I like, should have looked at this question beforehand. Yeah.

I really, you know, here's the thing, like I never met either of my grandfather. My dad's father, I never met him. My mom's father never met him. Actually, her maiden name is Shane and we named my son Shane. So, you know, I never, those obviously like those two people that I've never met. I would love to like, you know, talk to 'em like we're on podcast and get some info from them.

But those would probably be like, the two people. If the question, if I change the question to, is there somebody that you never met that you'd like meet? 

Louis Goodman 21:29 

Yeah. That's a great answer. I like that. 

Benny Gold 21:31 

Thank you. All right. Good. 

Louis Goodman 21:36 

Are there any books or movies about the law that you've enjoyed, that you would recommend to someone?

Benny Gold 21:42 

Yeah. Yeah. So, I will talk about the movie that I actually asked Dershowitz on our podcast about. It's called The Paper Chase. Have you seen it, Louis? 

Louis Goodman 21:51 

Oh yeah. Absolutely. 

Benny Gold 21:53 

Oh man, I love it. That was like, I made, she was my girlfriend at the time, Caren with a C, who's now my wife. I made her watch that with me, like in my apartment in Lemonstown, Mass.

I was like, this is one of my favorite movies. Like, we're gonna watch it. It's really cool. Like just traditional Harvard Law kids studying their butt off. You know, I loved it. I loved that movie, the Paper Chase. 

Louis Goodman 22:18 

Here is a dime, Mr. Gold. Take it out in the hall and call your mother and tell her you will never be a lawyer.

Benny Gold 22:30 

That's right. That's right. That's amazing. I love that movie. I mean, you know, a lot of people are caught up in these other like things, but I, I think that's one of the best. 

Louis, what are you practicing now, by the way? 

Louis Goodman 22:42 

I do nothing but criminal defense in Alameda County. Yeah. That's it. 

Benny Gold 22:47 

Do you do DUI and stuff like that? 

Louis Goodman 22:49 

I do lots of DUI. 

Benny Gold 22:50 

Okay. That's awesome. All right. 

Louis Goodman 22:52 

How do you define success? 

Benny Gold 22:56 

So that, you know, some people would think that's a really hard question. and it is, but I will tell you this, if you are happy and you found your strength and you're doing something that applies your strength, I think that I think you're happy and I think you're successful.

Louis Goodman 23:17 

Do you think you're playing to your strengths these days? 

Benny Gold 23:20 

Yes. I'll tell you why. You know, it took me a long time, like outta law school it did, like Lawyer Stories was something that came, like, it's a personal thing. It really is. It's close to my heart. It wasn't a business when I started. It's a personal thing, and I, when I started the podcast and I started talking to people and making them feel good and talking about what they do, I felt like, you know, doing this and creating the content that I was on the podcast was really like playing to my strength, you know? 

And the law degree finally really helped with it. And you know, Louis, let's not forget about my, you know, my full-time job. Like I get to help people all day. You know, I manage 24 people and I get to help people who otherwise couldn't help themselves. So that's, that's such a blessing to be able to do something like that. 

Louis Goodman 24:19 

One of the people that I interviewed for my podcast is a young woman who's a Deputy District Attorney here in Alameda County. And she was saying how somebody said to her, well, what are you gonna do now? You know, now you've been a DA, now what are you gonna do?

And she said, I don't know. I love this job. I want to be a DA the rest of my life, I think. I just so support that because she loves the work. She feels she's making a real contribution, and to me that's just a huge success story. 

Benny Gold 24:55 

Oh, she's won. A hundred percent. You know, W O N. 

Louis Goodman 25:00 

What is it that you really like about talking to lawyers?

Benny Gold 25:04 

So, legal studies at UMass was sort of about the law. It wasn't in the law. And they, you know, they taught us, we, we read a book once, like we read books about the law and like law school and about, I just love hearing about their experience. I loved hearing if what happened to them as a kid connects to what they're doing today as a lawyer. What, like an immigration attorney who immigrated with their family, you know, or a criminal defense attorney who had issues with the law like early on in life or knew somebody who did. 

I, like I said, I sort of depend on, I consider myself sort of emotionally intelligent and I really enjoy speaking to people and making them feel good about themselves, and I'm able to do that with attorneys, and I think my law background helps with that.

Louis Goodman 25:58 

Let's say you came into some real money, let's say three or four billion dollars, billion, yeah with a B. What, if anything, would you do differently in your life? 

Benny Gold 26:10 

Yeah, that's a good question. Just make sure everything's all set and then like with my family and then like do whatever I wanted. Like have a house here and there, maybe. 

Louis Goodman 26:21 

I mean, to some extent that question could be rephrased as: if money were not in any way an issue in your life, what would you do? 

Benny Gold 26:33 

Oh, I don't know. That's a tough question. Like, I feel like I'm supposed to say something that I don't, that I'm not saying. 

Louis Goodman 26:39 

No, it is a tough question and I mean, I ask people that question... 

Benny Gold 26:44 

You know, I'll just, honestly, I think like that would make sure the people I love and trust the most are like secure. Cuz you, you know, you only go around once, like, you want people to be happy and secure and not like, stressed out, you know? 

Louis Goodman 27:00 

Yeah, no, I do know, I mean, I ask people that question because it's something that I struggle with in my own mind, just in the sense of, you know, I think a lot of times we put limits on ourselves because we say, oh, well I can't do that because it's too expensive, or I don't have the means to do it, or things like that. And then when you think about it, you go, you know, I could swing that if I really wanted to. And I just sort of wonder in my own life, like what sort of things I would do differently and... 

Benny Gold 27:41 

What would you do differently? Have you thought about it? 

Louis Goodman 27:43 

Oh yeah, I've thought about it a lot. I would like to get the people who are around me and who work for me, I would like to pay them more money. I would, as you say, I would make sure that my family was well set. And you know, when I talk to people, a lot of people talk about, you know, philanthropic things that they would do and. I'm not really that interested in the philanthropic part of things, you know what I mean, I mean, I don't think that's what makes, 

Benny Gold 28:13 

That's totally honest. I think it's great. 

Louis Goodman 28:15 

I mean, I mean, that part of the question doesn't interest me that much other than to say I would really like to put a lot more money if I had it into the East Bay Regional Park system, because I think it's a, just a wonderful asset for people who live around here because there's, you know, there's open space and there's trails, and there's woods, and there's beach access.

If I had that kind of money, that's the charity that I would probably put it towards. One of the reasons being is because that's something that I use personally all the time. You know, but... 

Benny Gold 28:50 

Well, I like that about the philanthropic thing because people say that, but then when it actually happens, like what's the, you know, what's the chances? Are they really gonna remember that and say, Hey, I'm gonna give all my money to this and that. Like, you never know. 

Louis Goodman 29:04 

Yeah, I'm sure I'd give some of the money away, but, because a billion dollars is a lot of money. But I just think of, what, you know, as I say, it's like, I think it's a way of thinking about what is it that holds you back from doing things, you know? If you had a magic wand, there was one thing in the world, the legal world, the podcasting world, or otherwise it, and you could change something, what would that be? 

Benny Gold 29:30 

Just having everybody on that show that I want, basically. I'd wave that wand and be like, come on man, like do you know who I am? Like come on the show. 

Louis Goodman 29:39 

I'm Benny Gold! I'm Ben Gold. 

Benny Gold 29:41 

I'm Benny Gold, come on, man! That's it. Or I'd get more views and like, you know, have people like look at my, actually like watch the thing. That would be cool. Right? 

Louis Goodman 29:51 

Let's say you had an ad on the Super Bowl. Somebody gave you 60 seconds on the Super Bowl.

Benny Gold 29:59 

That's a great question. I like that one, Louis. 

Louis Goodman 30:01 

Yeah. What would you make your Super Bowl ad about? 

Benny Gold 30:07 

Well, I mean, can I have people in there? No, like with me, like celebrities? 

Louis Goodman 30:11 

Sure. 

Benny Gold 30:11 

Like celebrities, like in there wearing like Lawyer Stories shirts and hats and you know, like what's your story type of thing. Follow us, you know, @lawyer_stories. I would, I'd be curious to actually see how much traction they got for like a Super Bowl ad. Like do people actually, will people actually like go and follow us? 

Louis Goodman 30:34 

I don't know. Let me know if you do it. 

Benny Gold 30:37 

Yeah. No, I don't think I can do that right now, but good question.

Louis Goodman 30:41 

Okay, so Benny, if someone wants to get in touch with you, let's say they want to talk to you about the Lawyer Stories podcast or an attorney who's a superstar wants to be on the Lawyer Stories podcast, or someone wants to know something about it or they want to talk to you. What's the best way to get in touch?

Benny Gold 31:06 

Yeah, sure. Go check out our Instagram page @Lawyer_Stories. We're also on Facebook /lawyerstories. We're also on Instagram lawyer stories. I'm sorry, not Instagram. I meant to say LinkedIn. 

Louis Goodman 31:22 

You're on all the major social media pack platforms. 

Benny Gold 31:25 

You know, we have our podcast, we actually have a video podcast on YouTube. We have a YouTube channel. Check us out. Just, just type in the YouTube field. 

Louis Goodman 31:33 

How about a website? Is there a website? 

Benny Gold 31:35 

Website? Yeah, thelawyersstories.com. So, it's thelawyersstories.com. 

Louis Goodman 31:42 

And I assume that if you google thelawyerstories.com they'll have no trouble finding that. Is that correct? 

Benny Gold 31:48 

No, hopefully not at this point. I don't, I don't know, but check it out let me know. 

Louis Goodman 31:52 

I had no trouble finding it. 

Benny Gold 31:54 

All right. Good. Very good. 

Louis Goodman 31:56 

Is there anything you wanna talk about that we haven't discussed? 

Benny Gold 32:00 

No, I mean I, you know, I just wanna say, I know going back to like the monetization of the Lawyer Stories really didn't start as a business. It started as something I love and talking to people and hearing how they ended up being lawyers and if they had any challenges, inspirations or motivations. My whole thing is awareness. I want people to know that we exist and know that you can go on our Instagram and scroll through our feed and read through the couple thousands of stories now from lawyers and law students and connect with them because you're not alone.

People out there have some of the same issues that you did and that you do and that you, and you could find people, you can connect with people. That's our big thing. We want you to connect with each other and that's what we're facilitating. 

So we are starting a big membership platform. We're launching it in 2023, and our goal is to connect people and me, I will connect you. If you see somebody out there that you wanna connect with. That's what I love doing. I love being a social broker, so to speak. 

Make sure you connect with Lawyer Stories and you know, we, we'd love to, we'd love to meet you. And to Louis, you're doing an awesome job. I love your podcast. Keep up the great work. I love that you've found a passion outside of practicing. That's very important. 

Louis Goodman 33:27 

Yeah, I think it is. And I find that our podcasts are similar to each other and some of the questions that you've come up with to ask your guests are similar to the questions I've come up with to ask my guests. And I really wanted to get you on and to talk to you on this podcast ever since the first couple of times that I heard yours.

Benny Gold 33:49 

Thank you so much. I apologize if it was difficult. I've run. It's a hustle and I know you know that too. Everybody's busy. Nobody wants to hear that somebody else is busy cuz we're all busy. Right? But I appreciate it a lot Louis, for, you know, letting me come on, talk about Lawyer Stories, you asked great questions, thought provoking, and I really had a good time.

Louis Goodman 34:13 

Benny Gold. Thank you so much for joining me today on the Love Thy Lawyer Podcast. It really has been a pleasure to talk to you. 

Benny Gold 34:20 

Likewise. Thank you, sir. 

Louis Goodman 34:22 

That's it for today's episode of Love Thy Lawyer. If you enjoyed listening, please share it with a friend and follow the podcast. If you have comments or suggestions, send me an email. Take a look at our website at lovethylawyer.com where you can find all of our episodes, transcripts, photographs and information.

Thanks to my guests and to Joel Katz from music, Bryan Matheson for technical support, Paul Robert for social media and Tracy Harvey. I'm Louis Goodman.

Benny Gold 35:01 

Right. So, the thing is, and this is my fault cause I probably didn't prep the podcast post enough that that might take a little while for me to think about. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be such a dud.