Beyond the Bar Podcast

He was a special education teacher in North Carolina. Then a parent of one of his students dared him to audition for American Idol. He got cut in Charlotte. So he drove to Atlanta and tried again. Forty million people watched what happened next.

In this episode Clay opens up about not knowing it was a big show until thousands of people showed up screaming in Raleigh, what ten years traveling to war zones with UNICEF did to his persp...

She built a 35 person law firm from the ground up in Denver, Colorado. She did it while raising three kids in diapers. She did it without a roadmap. And she did it because she wanted to create something that did not exist when she needed it most.April Jones is one of the most influential women in Colorado law and the founding partner of one of Denver's most respected family law firms. But before any of that she was a curious little...

Lou Diamond Phillips has been one of Hollywood's most resilient and versatile actors for over 40 years and in this episode, he holds nothing back.From crashing Robert De Niro's hotel room in a stolen bellboy uniform at the Deauville Film Festival, to becoming a co-owner of the Tribeca Grill, to navigating what it means to stay relevant in an industry obsessed with the flavor of the month — Lou gives us the real story behind t...

Ice-T and Coco Austin return to Beyond the Bar Podcast with host Denise Tova for an unfiltered conversation on marriage, money, parenting, and life behind the headlines.Ice-T (Law & Order: SVU, Body Count) and Coco are back — and this conversation goes places the first one didn't. From road rage and their three English Bulldogs to the origin of Body Count and the Cop Killer controversy, from Ice-T's "$20,000 care level" p...

Three divorce attorneys. One firm. Twenty-five-plus years together. And not a single slammed door.Joseph Demarco, Jennifer Rosenkranz and Lisa Schoenfeld are the founding partners of Calcados Rosenkranz DeMarco and Schoenfeld, one of Long Island's most respected matrimonial and family law firms. They didn't just build careers. They built something together. And in a field where most people go it alone, that kind of partnership is r...

Most people think they know Chris Noth. Detective Mike Logan. Mr. Big. Peter Florrick. Three of the most iconic characters in television history — all played by one man who has spent decades deliberately staying out of the machine that made him famous.

In this episode Denisa sits down with Chris for one of the most honest and unexpected conversations Beyond the Bar has ever had. Chris opens up about raising a six year old at h...

Michael Nouri has spent 54 years in Hollywood. You know him from Flashdance, Yellowstone, and right now from The Pit. At 80 years old he is more honest about his life, his wounds, and his work than most people half his age.Michael opens up about growing up as the peacemaker in a combative household, being bullied as a kid and the day he finally fought back, spending decades seeking his father's approval and the moment on a Broadway...

Most people walk into a divorce expecting a battle. Family law attorney and divorce mediator Jacqueline Caputo has spent over two decades proving it doesn't have to be one.Jackie is a Partner at Joseph Law Group where she leads the mediation and collaborative divorce practice on Long Island, New York. She never planned on family law — never even took it as a course in law school. But the moment a pro bono family case landed o...

What happens when you meet the person you're going to marry — and it still takes 45 years to get it right? In this episode, Denisa sits down with power couple Lisa and Lloyd Zeiderman for a candid, unfiltered conversation about love, ambition, and what it really takes to build a life (and a business) with someone.Lisa Zeiderman is a managing partner of Miller Zeiderman LLP, a top matrimonial attorney, and a certified divorce ...

Most people spend their whole lives performing a version of themselves they think the world wants to see. Ice-T and Coco Austin never did that. And it changed everything.He told the truth about what he knew and built a career that has outlasted almost everyone from his era. She stepped out of the lane when the industry told her not to and paid a real price for it — until the world finally caught up.Together they built somethi...

What happens when the little girl who felt voiceless in the middle of her parents' divorce grows up to spend 20 years fighting for children who have no one else in their corner? For Liza Camellerie, that's not a hypothetical. That's her life.Liza is a family law attorney and one of New York's leading practitioners in child abuse and neglect matters. She started her career at 24 years old in the South Bronx, became an abuse speciali...

Nearly 40 years ago, Mitchell Y. Cohen walked into a matrimonial law firm fresh out of Emory Law School and met his work partner, Marty Johnson. They haven't had a fight since. That partnership — built on trust, respect, and zero yelling — says everything about how Mitch approaches the law, and life.Mitch is a Partner at Johnson & Cohen, LLP, a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and a past Chair ...

What does it take to walk away from a six-figure big law salary — with two young kids at home — to start over in a completely different practice? Morghan Richardson did exactly that, and it changed everything.

Morghan is a Partner and Co-Chair of the Matrimonial & Family Law practice at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP, where she represents high-net-worth individuals, public figures, and innovators through some of the...

What happens when a 14-year-old girl watches the justice system almost fail someone she loves? For Debra Whitson, it lit a fire that never went out.Denisa Tova sits down with Debra Whitson, founder of Whitson Law PLLC and visionary behind Mediated Online Solutions. From prosecuting special-victims cases to building a no-drama divorce practice that actually helps families heal, Debra has spent her life turning pain into purpose and ...

She argues high-conflict cases for a living… and still refuses to lose her humanity. 💥In this episode of Beyond the Bar Podcast, Denisa sits down with Lauren Crane – founding partner at Bender & Crane LLP, seasoned family-law litigator, appointed mediator, sports superfan, mom… and breast cancer survivor.Lauren opens up about:🏈 Growing up in a sports-obsessed family and why she believes sports are the ulti...

You think you know Sonja Morgan, but you really don’t.This is the version of the RHONY icon that never made it to Bravo.People know the memes, the townhouse, the fashion, the chaos, and the one-liners, but this conversation is the first time Sonja opens up about the real story behind the persona. The fashion designer, the entrepreneur, the philanthropist, the mother, and the woman who married into old money, survived a life-a...

What if the thing everyone told you to “toughen up” about is exactly what makes you brilliant at your work?In this episode of Beyond the Bar Podcast, Denisa sits down with Carmen Rodriguez, a Cuban-American mediator and collaborative attorney who was once told she was “too sensitive” for the legal profession. Carmen didn’t change who she was. She changed where she used her gifts.Carmen shares how growi...

When emotions run high and the stakes could not be higher, calm is not weakness. It is mastery.In this episode, NYC powerhouse Danielle R. Petitti, founding attorney of Petitti PLLC, sits down with Denisa Tova for a raw and honest conversation about what it really takes to navigate divorce litigation without losing control or yourself.Danielle has built her reputation on grit, emotional intelligence, and fierce advocacy for familie...

When litigator Deepti Shenoy faced her own divorce with a five-month-old baby, everything changed. What began as heartbreak became her purpose — reshaping her legal career and inspiring her to create Split Second, a New York City community helping single moms navigate separation and custody.In this episode of Beyond the Bar Podcast, host Denisa Tova dives into Deepti’s story — how she went from corporate law at JP...