Between the Briefs
Ready to hear the conversations shaping modern litigation? Every week, Between the Briefs dives deep into industry developments, tensions, and decisions with legal innovators who are leading the way. Go deeper into the topics that matter to your practice with Between the Briefs, brought to you by Steno.
The $800K Dispute That Could Have Been Prevented ft. Kai Jacobs
An $800,000 dispute over a self-drafted contract sounds…completely avoidable.
And, for a business litigator, the kind of frustrating case they could do without.
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Kai Jacobs, Partner at South Florida Business Law Group, to discuss how 33 years of practicing law have shaped his approach to litigation, client counseling, and preventative legal work. Plus, they break down what happens when clients bring AI-drafted agreements into a law firm, why Kai prefers pre-lawsuit mediation over arbitration, and how broken business rela...
Why Trial Lawyers Need More Than Courtroom Swagger ft. Gerardo “Jerry” Alcazar
Real trial work starts long before anyone stands in front of a jury.
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Gerardo “Jerry” Alcazar, trial lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright, for a practical and candid conversation on high-stakes litigation, trial preparation, team leadership, client management, courtroom presence, and the future of associate development in the tricky age of AI.
What You'll Learn:Why high-stakes trials are won through preparation, not courtroom performanceHow Jerry learned trial skills in Big Law without endless trial opportunitiesWhy lawyers need to b...
What Law School Should Teach in the AI Era ft. Patrick Baker
AI can give you an answer in seconds but that doesn’t mean it’s the right answer.
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Patrick Baker, law professor at University of Tennessee at Martin and Founder of Baker Law Firm, for a practical conversation on legal education, AI, critical thinking, law school reform and what it really means to think like a lawyer.
Plus, Patrick’s hottest take: AI is built to please you and lawyers would do well to remember that AI is buil...
Go Do Your Civic Duty: A Former Judge's Hottest Take ft. Brian Amero
Brian Amero became a naturalized American citizen in 2001. By 2007, he was an elected Superior Court judge in Georgia. Over nearly two decades on the bench, he set out to find better answers than incarceration for problems that jail was never going to solve.
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Brian, a former Chief Superior Court Judge in Georgia and now Litigation Counsel at Bennett International Group, for a candid conversation about criminal justice reform, mental illness in local jails, access to justice and what a judge can...
Innovation Is More Than AI ft. John Koss
AI is not a strategy.
Sure, it’s a powerful tool but still, only one piece of the puzzle.
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with John Koss, Chief Innovation and AI Officer at Mintz, for a practical conversation on legal AI, innovation strategy, knowledge management, law firm data, legal education, vendor relationships and what it actually takes to make new technology useful inside a law firm.
What You’ll Learn:Why John sees innovation as much broader than AIHow people, proce...
How AI Is Helping Lawyers Find Cases They’d Never Find Manually ft. Maxwell Weiss
Maxwell Weiss has investigated everything from stolen historical artifacts and match fixing to counterfeit medicines, privacy violations and questionable health plans. Now, he is working at the intersection of plaintiff-side litigation and AI-powered case discovery.
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Maxwell Weiss, a partner at Don Bivens and Litigation Counsel at Darrow AI, to unpack how lawyers can find the facts that actually matter, investigate complex wrongdoing and use technology to uncover cases that traditional methods may never reach. Maxwell explains the 80/20 rule he applies to l...
The Next Era of Between the Briefs
75+ episodes. 1,200+ followers. A new look. A bottle of hot sauce. And a legal industry that is changing faster than most people can keep up with.
In this special episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, hosts Joe Stephens and Adrian Cea record live from ILTACON 2026 to reflect on the conversations, guests, hot takes and recurring themes that have shaped the show so far.
Join them as they revisit standout guests including Elaine Barsom, Colin Levy, Eric Friedman, Andrew Finkelstein, Matthew Pringle, Bob Simon, Katie DeBorde, and others, while also introducing the show’s new Hot Takes ho...
Why Small Firms Can Move Faster Than Big Law ft. Nicole Brenecki
Personal injury law has a lot of big promises, big ads and big firms. Nicole Brenecki is more interested in what actually works.
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Nicole, Founding Partner at Jodré Brenecki LLP, for a candid conversation on personal injury litigation, boutique firm strategy, client service, New York court delays, fraud scrutiny, AI and why efficiency matters more than size.
What You’ll Learn:Why firm size can become a marketing gimmick when service breaks downWhy Nicole’s firm files suit on most...
Every Paralegal Needs The One-Step-Ahead Mindset ft. Christina Carter
Paralegals are the people attorneys rely on when deadlines are tight, documents are moving fast and the work needs to get done right.
But they’re often treated as background support.
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Christina Carter, Senior Manager of Firm-Wide Paralegal Management at Venable, for a practical conversation on paralegal leadership, legal operations, team culture, generational dynamics, AI adoption and what law firms often miss about the people who keep the work moving.
What You’ll Learn:Why paralegal management shou...
The Email That Ruined a $10M Lawsuit ft. Kat Mateo
Litigation does not begin when a lawsuit is filed. By then, the story has often already been written in contracts, emails, missed deadlines and the very human decision to wait because “maybe it’ll blow over.”
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Kat Mateo, Counsel of Litigation at Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, for a practical, lively conversation about what clients, founders, business owners and legal teams often misunderstand about litigation.
What You’ll Learn:
Why clients should involve attorneys before disputes escalateHow litigators can spot...
Where Are the Legal Leaders We Need? ft. Nicole Lester Arrindell
Leadership in law is often treated like something that comes after the promotion, after the title or after someone hands you a team and assumes you magically know what to do with them.
Nicole Lester Arrindell sees it differently. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Nicole, Head of State Regulatory and Legislative Affairs and Associate General Counsel at Equitable, for a wide-ranging conversation on servant leadership, legal education, public service, in-house counsel, mentorship, and what it actually means to lead in the legal profession.
What...
Legal Tech Doesn’t Need More “Lamborghinis” ft. Kara Peterson and Richard DiBona
Everyone claims AI will revolutionize legal, but Kara Peterson and Richard DiBona want to fix the systemic bottlenecks that have broken the system for decades.
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Kara and Richard, cofounders of Descrybe, an AI company focused on making the law easier to find, understand, and verify. Their story began during the pandemic, when a personal legal issue pushed them into the frustrating reality of trying to understand and access the law as nonlawyers. That experience became the starting point for a platform...
Is Not Using AI a Malpractice Risk? ft. Shannon Boettjer
A few months ago, people were asking whether not using AI could ever be malpractice. Now, that question feels a lot less theoretical.
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Shannon Boettjer, partner at Jaspan Schlesinger Narendran LLP, for a sharp, practical conversation on AI governance, legal risk, and what it means to build defensible systems before technology decisions turn into lawsuits.
What You’ll Learn:Why the AI conversation shifted from “should we use it?” to “how do we use it responsibly?”How the knife vs. kitchen an...
Will AI Lower Legal Costs? Tim Fox Explains the Twist
Everyone wants AI to make legal cheaper. But what if that’s the wrong promise?
In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Tim Fox, Chief Data and AI Officer at Ogletree Deakins, for a sharp, practical conversation on what AI adoption really looks like when you are trying to scale it across a large law firm.
What You’ll Learn:Why build vs. buy is rarely as simple as “building is cheaper”How internal tools create long-term support, maintenance and upgrade costsWhy legal is not a rational economic actor wh...
Everyone Wants AI to Think Like a Lawyer. That's the Problem. ft. Colin Levy
Legal AI has no shortage of promises. Now, the real challenge is figuring out which ones are worth adopting. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Colin Levy, General Counsel at Malbek, legal tech author, and educator, to discuss how lawyers can adopt AI thoughtfully without sacrificing professional judgment.
What You’ll Learn:Why the biggest obstacle to AI adoption is often lawyer mindset, not the technology itselfHow to distinguish meaningful AI capabilities from legal tech marketing hypeWhy testing AI with real legal workflows is more valuable than watching po...
Your AI Strategy Isn’t the Problem - Your Readiness Is ft. Elaine Barsoom
Everyone wants an AI strategy but far fewer companies are ready to actually use one.In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome Elaine Barsoom, AI and innovation leader and Venture Partner at Silicon Foundry, for a grounded and practical conversation on what it really takes to turn AI ambition into measurable business outcomes.
What You’ll Learn:Why most AI efforts fail because of readiness, not technologyHow to identify where repetitive work, trapped knowledge and overloaded judgment are slowing teams downWhy “go slow to go fast” means doing the work in the right...
The Man Who Helped Make eDiscovery Make Sense ft. George Socha
Before eDiscovery had a name, George Socha was already asking the questions most of the legal industry had not caught up to yet.
In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome George Socha, Senior Vice President of Brand Awareness at Reveal and co-founder of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM), for a wide-ranging conversation on how legal technology has evolved from floppy disks and early matter management systems to GenAI, agentic tools and AI-powered discovery workflows.
What You’ll Learn:Why eDiscovery became an industry standard through collaboration, timing and free accessWhy li...
Why Is Legal Still Riding Horses in the Age of GenAI ft. Umair Muhajir
Law firms have, historically, struggled with change. In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome Umair Muhajir, Vice President and Global Head of Managed Review at DISCO, for a sharp, honest conversation about what GenAI is really doing to litigation workflows.
His view is clear: GenAI is not simply making old workflows faster. At its best, it is forcing the industry to ask whether those workflows still make any sense.
What You’ll Learn:Why GenAI replaces first-level document review work, not lawyers themselvesHow AI-powered review can deliver high precision and recall whi...
Why Paralegals Are Quietly Becoming More Valuable Than Associates ft. Michelle Pendleton
Paralegals have long been boxed into the role of “document reviewers” but their true value goes far beyond that. And with AI in the mix, their place in law firms is being rewritten entirely. In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome Michelle Pendleton, Certified Paralegal and eDiscovery specialist at Allen Matkins and President of the San Diego Paralegal Association, to explore how paralegals are quietly becoming the most valuable players in law firms.
What You’ll Learn:How to navigate the paralegal profession's shifting identityHow to structure case management from intake to tri...
Questioning Everything We Think We Know About AI in Law ft. Daniel Schwarcz
The impact of AI on law has been studied through the narrow lens of productivity and profitability. But the reality is much broader than that. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome back Daniel Schwarcz, Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School to discuss groundbreaking empirical research on how AI impacts lawyer performance, legal reasoning and long-term professional development.
What You’ll Learn:How to move beyond benchmarking studies to measure what actually mattersWhy reasoning models and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) platforms deliver measurable improvementsThe counterintuitive finding that using AI for re...
Is the Legal System Every Lawyer’s Biggest Enemy? ft. Legal Futurist Sateesh Nori
Lawyers can (technically) be the superheroes society needs them to be but the legal system simply doesn’t allow it. With a broken system, flawed legal aid and crumbling structures, justice gets the short end of the stick - but can AI be part of the solution? In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome Sateesh Nori, Chief Legal Futurist at LawDroid and Senior Research Fellow at NYU School of Law, to explore how justice can truly be democratized.
What You’ll Learn:How to quantify the access to justice crisisWhy AI is uniqu...
AI Transformation Without Change Management is Useless ft. Mike Russell
The only thing more important than embracing AI transformation for legal teams today is being able to communicate the change and manage it. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Mike Russell, Head of Global Legal Operations at Expedia Group, to explore just how legal operations is spearheading this movement.
What You’ll Learn:
How to position change management as the most critical skill in legal operationsThe framework for evaluating AI tools in legal departmentsWhy measuring "lawyer hours saved" alone is an incomplete metricHow to structure listening tou...
The Legal AI Game: Why Waiting Might be Better Than Rushing ft. Myah Bowermaster
Applying AI to an already bad process is just automating a bad process,” says Myah Bowermaster, Head of Legal Operations at Cvent, in this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno. Tune in as hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Myah to explore the truth behind AI adoption in the legal landscape.
What You’ll Learn:How to position legal operations as strategic partnershipWhy waiting for AI maturity beats first-mover adoptionThe framework for assessing legal tech readiness How to build credibility as a non-lawyer legal operations leader The “help me help you” approach to process implementation Why contract...
Why Finding the “It” Factor of Any Case is Critical ft. Kaelyn Gustafson
You can know every detail of a case - the when, what and who - but if you miss out the why, you’re playing a losing game. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, hosts Joe Stephens and Adrian Cea welcome Kaelyn Gustafson, Litigation Associate at Friedman, Kaplan, Seiler, Adleman and Robbins, to explore how genuine human connection, strategic preparation, and technological literacy are reshaping modern legal practice.
What You’ll Learn:How service industry experience builds the foundational empathy lawyers need to understand client motivation and case strategyWhy authenticity is the primary credibility meter in liti...
AI's Role in eDiscovery and Information Governance ft. Matthew Krengel
What if legal professionals have been missing the key to responsible AI implementation this whole time? In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome Matthew Krengel, eDiscovery Counsel and Director of Information Retention Counseling at Cooley LLP, to explore the real solution.
What You’ll Learn:
How to transition from viewing AI as a liability to recognizing it as a strategic assetWhy the "move fast and break things" ethos conflicts with legal practice, and how to implement a phased approach to AI governance The critical importance of client consent frameworks for AI usa...
Eric Friedman: Leading the Future of Law and Tech
What does it take to lead one of the world's most prestigious law firms through a global financial crisis, a pandemic, and now, a generative AI revolution?
In this episode, Eric Friedman draws on his three decades of experience at Skadden to dissect the current "headwinds" impacting the legal landscape. Now an advisor to legal tech leaders like Litera and Ironclad, Eric explores why adoption remains the number one hurdle for innovation and how the "client voice" is finally forcing the hands of reluctant law firms. From the "crystal ball" question of the billable hour's future to the p...
High Stakes, Human Impact: Brian Shapiro on Navigating Catastrophic Injury Litigation
What does it take to represent families facing the unthinkable? For Brian Shapiro, it starts with deep mentorship and a commitment to strategic precision. In this episode, Brian discusses his journey from a "family of law" to becoming a passionate advocate for individuals impacted by spinal and brain injuries. He pulls back the curtain on his firm’s meticulous intake process, explaining how he identifies red flags early and prepares clients for the psychological rigors of depositions from the very first meeting.
Beyond the courtroom, Brian explores the intersection of technology and law, highlighting how tools like Steno’s Tr...
How Judge Paul Raleeh Disrupted Texas Courts Without a Law Degree
In these volatile and uncertain times, what does it really take to uphold peace? Someone like Judge Paul Raleeh, it would seem. In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Joe Stephens and Adrian Cea sit down with Judge Raleeh, Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1 in Collin County, Texas, to explore the critical yet often misunderstood role of justice courts in modernizing local litigation.
What You’ll Learn:
How to navigate pro se representation effectively
The critical distinction between bond-setting and punishment
Why civil jurisdiction expansion matters for rural and urban pr...
Why the Legal AI Revolution is Actually a Good Thing for Appellate Law ft. David Coale
What if the legal AI revolution is actually a good thing? In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome David Coale, partner and leader of the appellate practice at Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegman, to unpack how said revolution is transforming appellate law without replacing human judgment.
What You’ll Learn:
How to structure an appellate practice that balances deep legal writing with real-time courtroom advisory work
Why generative AI excels at document digestion, trial transcript summarization and sophisticated legal research
How to draft appellate briefs by wri...
How Victoria Schall is Beating the Corporate Shell Game in Nursing Home Litigation
Corporate greed and care cannot exist together. The only way to win is if you play a different game altogether. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Victoria Schall, New Jersey Supreme Court certified civil trial attorney and Founder of Schall at Law, reveals her rule book for advocating against nursing home abuse and winning neglect litigation.
What You’ll Learn:
How to leverage the "dignity matters" framework in jury selection by asking jurors whether the manner of death matters to them
Why electronic health records (EHR) systems like PointClickCare require specialized litigation support
...
Trust and Human Judgement Are the Legal Currency of Today ft. Bill Ryan
Law firm operations are undergoing a massive overhaul - as they should, in the age of AI. In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Bill Ryan, Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at AT&T, to explore how enterprise legal departments can harness AI to disrupt traditional workflows and what this means for enterprise compliance.
What You’ll Learn:
How to build organizational trust as the foundation for technological change
Why dedicated teams outperform wide AI operation
Why “vision without execution is just hallucination”
How to ap...
Law is About to Grow 50x and Most Lawyers Don’t Know It ft. David Cowen
Can legal technology be a catalyst for access to justice while preserving what makes legal work meaningful in the first place? That depends on how you use it. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with David Cowen, Founder of the Solid Legal Summit and President of the Cowen Group, to explore why the legal industry stands at an unprecedented inflection point.
What You’ll Learn:
Why the dinner table remains the most powerful predictor of professional successHow to identify and invest in the radically curious 20%The art...
How AI is Exposing Decades of Legal Incompetence ft. Nicole Black
Everyone’s worried that AI will take their job. But what they should be worried about is AI exposing how bad some people have been at their jobs. In this episode of Between the Briefs, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens welcome Nicole Black, Principal Legal Insight Strategist at 8AM, for an eye-opening discussion on how AI is really shaping the ground reality of law today.
What You’ll Learn:
Why hallucinated case citations and fabricated legal propositions represent a systemic competence crisis
How to build internal AI governance policies and training frameworks that protect your...
The Kelly Firm, LLC Proves Why Small Firms Beat Big Law
Three sisters, Lauren, Erica and Gianna Kelly, switch sides, from being defense lawyers to giving a voice to plaintiffs. The result? The creation of The Kelly Firm, LLC and a transformation of the medical malpractice space. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, the trio joins hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens to explore the full story.
What You’ll Learn:
How to leverage defense litigation experience on the plaintiff side
The optimal case vetting framework for medical malpractice litigation
Why pre-suit negotiation timelines differ between practice areas
How to scal...
What’s Going to Happen When the AI Dust Settles? Ft. Kyle Poe
Lawyers are always going to be important. What makes them relevant, however, is another question altogether. In the latest episode of Between the Briefs by Steno as hosts, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens, sit down with Kyle Poe, Vice President of Legal Innovation Strategy at Legora, to explore the balance of traditional legal skills and legal services evolution in the age of AI.
What You’ll Learn:
How to build organizational AI literacy without disrupting existing revenue streams
The data moat as the new competitive advantage
How to reprice fixed-fee work int...
Most Lawyers Are Ignoring AI’s Biggest Risk: Insights from Steve Embry
AI has taken over legal in a way lawyers didn’t expect. But what if lawyers and AI could evolve alongside each other? In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, hosts Joe Stephens and Adrian Cea sit down with Steve Embry of embryLaw LLC, national litigator and renowned legal tech writer, to explore the collision between artificial intelligence and traditional legal practice.
What You’ll Learn:
The Verification Paradox: How the time saved using generative AI tools may be offset or entirely negated by the time required to verify outputs
Why senio...
A Trial Lawyer’s Guide to Preserving the U.S. Justice System ft. Eric Weitz
The fabric of American law is changing - courts are in crisis, judges are under threat - and something needs to change. This episode of Between the Briefs by Steno reveals the ‘what’ as hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Eric Weitz, Founder of the Weitz Law Firm and President of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice.
What You’ll Learn:
Leveraging authenticity to build courtroom credibility, instead of performance
The critical gap between law school education and trial practice reality
Why non-economic settlements matter more than transactional case resolution
How t...
Getting People to Change is the Hardest Part About Legal Tech Adoption ft. Carolyn Humpherys
Change is always uncomfortable. But in today’s tech-driven world, it is necessary. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, hosts Joe Stephens and Adrian Cea welcome Carolyn Humpherys, Senior Consultant at Traveling Coaches, to explore the critical gap between implementing new technology and achieving genuine organizational adoption.
What You’ll Learn:
Why change management and strategic training are the secret weapons behind successful AI adoption in law firms
How to overcome the resistance that derails most digital transformation initiatives
How to identify and remove adoption barriers within your organization
T...
Retaining Top Legal Talent in 2026: The Playbook by Karen Mesmer
Retaining top legal talent often feels like an uphill climb. Unless you have Karen Mesmer’s playbook. In this episode of Between the Briefs, Karen, Legal Services Manager at Shook, Hardy and Bacon, joins hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens to explore how premier litigation firms are evolving their operations in the face of technological disruption.
What You’ll Learn:
How to evaluate AI tools without replacing institutional knowledge
The essential soft skills that no technology can replicate
Why technical fluency in platforms like Excel and document management systems is now table stak...
Why Law Firms Reject Innovation and How Ted Theodoropoulos Is Making Change Happen
What’s it going to take for legal companies to wholeheartedly embrace legal technology? Social proof, as Ted Theodoropoulos, CEO of Infodash, puts it. In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, hosts Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens, pick Ted’s brain about the tech reckoning the legal landscape is confronted with, today.
What You’ll Learn:
Why "Innovation Theater" still dominates big law and why that’s dangerous
Why change management is critical to successful AI adoption, not the tools
How Gen AI is forcing conversations about business models that should ha...
