Elawvate: The Trial Lawyer Podcast

When police officers intentionally falsify evidence to arrest someone they believe is guilty, it’s usually "an ends-justify-the-means approach," says Doug Lieb. He and trial partners David Lebowitz and Alyssa Isidoridy challenge that approach in their civil rights practice, recently winning $7.6 million for a client who spent 30 years wrongfully imprisoned. With hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi, the guests reveal their collabora...

"It's not rocket science," says Brian McKeen about trial advocacy. His record-breaking verdicts may suggest otherwise. The Detroit med-mal virtuoso shares with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi how he transformed from a sports-obsessed student into one of Michigan's powerhouse plaintiff attorneys. From a $130 million med mal judgment to a $96 million trucking verdict, Brian reveals how deep medical knowledge and relentless case d...

In a personal injury case, the plaintiff’s lawyer must rely on witnesses to perform. In a bad-faith case, their job is educating the jury about the rules that insurance companies must follow. That’s how Ricardo Echeverria describes the two areas of his practice at Shernoff Bidart Echeverria. With hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi, he explains that he started his career focusing on PI but that evolved over the years to litigating ...

When FDA guidelines failed their client, trial partners Austin Dana and Karen Zahka flipped the script by arguing for clinical judgment, typically a defense position. Hospitalized with an epileptic seizure at age 13, their client was old enough to receive an adult dosage of an anti-seizure medication, according to the FDA – but she weighed only 61 pounds, the weight of a child. That adult dosage led to their client getting Stevens-...

Spare Terry Garmey the old joke about ambulance chasers. “I'm defensive about being a plaintiff's lawyer. I like what I do,” says one of Maine's most respected plaintiff's lawyers. His daughter Alexis Garmey Chardon, who left a high-paying corporate law career to practice with her father, also describes the profession’s nobility: “It’s almost like a civic duty for us lawyers that we keep trying cases, including small cases.” Tune i...

"AI knows what absolute truth is," says Darryl Williams, whose military career solving "strategic surprise" led him to create algorithms that dive deeper than conventional AI. Speaking with host Ben Gideon, Darryl explains how his cognitive AI system, grounded in foundational sciences, achieves near-perfect accuracy where generative AI can falter. From identifying juror biases to uncovering hidden fraud, Darryl details how his plat...

"Attach yourself to the right people. Anything great that you ever accomplish is almost certainly accomplished by a team," says Kimball Jones, who's on an incredible winning streak with verdicts of $550 million, $105 million, and others in quick succession. Fresh off these victories, Kimball joins host Rahul Ravipudi to break down his teambuilding philosophy, inspired by the 1980s Detroit Pistons. He shares how his losses taught hi...

Trial lawyer and consultant Elizabeth Larrick brings her expertise on focus groups to hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi. With experience conducting over 1,000 focus groups, the founder of the Trial Lawyer Prep Podcast explains how she helps attorneys make critical decisions at various stages in a case. Sharing success stories, Elizabeth details how her streamlined Zoom focus groups identify blind spots, test liability theories, a...

When Brad Cosgrove got the case of a woman who died during elective cosmetic surgery, his first thought was, “Is this rare?” During his investigation, he discovered that the plastic surgeon had been linked to other deaths but never disciplined. Tune in as Brad recaps his $54 million verdict against the doctor with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi. Brad also discusses how to eliminate the “worst” jurors for a med-mal plaintiffs’ ...

Big data doesn’t stymie a lawyer’s creativity in the courtroom; it actually informs smart decisions. So argues John Campbell, who co-authored “Jury Ball: The Big Data Revolution Is Here” with his wife, Alicia, and Sean Claggett.

Big data is no substitute for creativity; it can't capture the lawyer’s biggest weapon: authenticity and heart. So argues Josh Koskoff, a leading personal injury trial attorney. 

Tune in to this friendly...

“I say the theater is a safe place to be dangerous. I firmly believe that the courtroom is a dangerous place to be safe.”

That’s why Jesse Wilson teaches lawyers and witnesses how to be dangerous in the courtroom. A Juilliard-trained actor, he prepares witnesses and helps lawyers with trial strategy through his Tell the Winning Story consultant business. Following a workshop for host Ben Gideon’s team, Jesse joins “Elawvate” to shar...

Frank Fratello used to consider money an “evil secret” in jury selection. Then he got a $2.5 million verdict.

Fresh off the red-eye to Florida, Frank told his trial partner David Thompson about a strategy he’d learned days before from consultant Sari de la Motte at Trial Lawyers University in Las Vegas. “He was extremely excited. He’s like, ‘I'm doing it.’ … And he went and did it, and it was actually quite effective,” David recalls...

Hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi invite trial lawyer Charla Aldous for a conversation about her distinguished career. Sharing stories that range from amusing to poignant, she recalls making corporate defendants wither and juries giggle. She discusses reinventing herself from a defense lawyer to a plaintiff’s lawyer specializing in medical malpractice. She criticizes med-mal caps in Texas and cherishes taking unpopular cases. The...

Scott Schlesinger has known what it means to be a trial lawyer from his earliest days, growing up in the shadow of his father, legendary Florida trial lawyer Shelly Schlesinger.  Scott talks about how the lessons and values he learned for his father shaped his approach.  Scott has continued to legacy by becoming a one of the country’s best plaintiff’s trial lawyers in his own right, continuing to fight for clients impacted by the s...

Join Ben and Rahul for a conversation with Spencer Lucas, Partner at Panish Shea Ravipudi, in which Spencer talks about his recent $135 million verdict on behalf of two victims of sexual assault by a teacher at a public school, and his work on the leadership trial teams representing sexual assault victims in claims against the Los Angeles Catholic Diocese and Boy Scouts of America.  Spencer talks about how he found a passion for ch...

Join Ben and Rahul for their conversation with Michael Talve, Founder and CEO of Expert Institute, a nation-wide expert search and research firm.  Michael talks about how he stared the business in his apartment with a few friends and grew it to hundreds of employees that service more than 5000 plaintiff law firms across the United States.  Michael discusses trends he has witnessed in the practice of plaintiff law and what he sees f...

From a young age, Robert Glassman worked hard to perfect his abilities as a public speaker.  When he was in high school, his parents enrolled him in a Dale Carnegie program to develop confidence speaking in front of strangers.  From high school to law school, Robert was a perennial class president and accustomed to giving planned speeches before large audiences.  Join Rahul and Ben as they discuss with Robert the advantages and cha...

Join Ben and Rahul for their in-depth discussion of Ben’s recent three-week jury trial in which Ben represented a little girl who developed cerebral palsy following the development of necrotizing enterocolitis in the NICU.  Ben discusses how decision-making guided by big data led to him and his client to turning down an $11 million offer after closing arguments to take a verdict.  He discusses what he learned following extensive di...

Tampa Florida trial lawyer Steve Yerrid has done it all.  He was a boxer in his youth and a fighter for justice in his career as a trial lawyer.  Steve was the youngest member of the Tobacco “Dream Team,” which secured a $17 billion settlement from Big Tobacco and numerous changes in their business practices which have saved thousands of lives.  Steve has many record setting jury verdicts.  He has served as personal counsel to NY Y...