Iron Advocate

Ashley Kesner has battled alcohol and drug addiction as well as an eating disorder since her teenage years.  Thanksgiving 2020 was Ashley’s 224th day sober.

Ashley’s father, Kim Kesner, was an attorney for 40 years including 33 as solicitor to Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.  Being the face of the law in a small rural community is extremely isolating.  It also comes with the false perceptions of your community that because you are ...

Michael Goldberg is a clinical therapist and performance enhancement specialist. Michael works with athletes, lawyers and highly successful business people to put their arms around anxiety and normalize it.  Michael supports his individual clients as well as firms and organizations in creating a culture of identifying, talking about and welcoming the uninvited guests who will never leave...anxiety, fear and shame.  Rather than pret...

Renee McDonald Hutchins has done it all in the law...and based upon her passion for the profession and vision for legal education in America, she is just getting started...Renee currently serves as Dean of UDC Law which is one of the nation’s 6 HBCU law schools.  Dean Hutchins eloquently and thoughtfully dissects what is working within our profession as well as what we must do better, and differently, to meet the honorable mandates...

Olivia Vizachero currently finds herself atop the best seller charts with the just released book, #Networked.  Olivia is one of 20 women lawyers who came together during the struggles of the pandemic and used the crisis as an opportunity for professional and personal growth.  Each chapter of the book is authored by a different woman.  

Olivia Vizachero’s story in the law started at age 8 when she announced that she wanted to be a la...

David Jaffe is the Associate Dean of Student Affairs at American University’s Washington College of Law.  David is a pioneer who is on the cutting edge of the dialogue surrounding the connection between wellness and true success in the law.  David shares his vision for sparking innovative conversations and designing unique coursework in law schools which will produce lawyers with a growth mindset as they blaze new trails within the...

Jen Riggs graduated law school and dove head-first into stress as a public defender.  During our conversation, Jen reflects on the burnout that came quickly.  She walked away from the law without a plan and boarded a plane to London.  This began Jen’s journey of deep personal growth that today finds her as an expert in mindfulness-based leadership development.  Jen offers digestible reflections that she believes would have changed ...

Kevin Curnin is the Founding Director of the Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP nationally acclaimed Public Service Project.  Kevin spearheads a vast array of pro bono projects carried out by the lawyers at Stroock.  This initiative sends Stroock lawyers into courtrooms to advocate for clients in education, housing, family and criminal matters, just to name a few.  Kevin discusses the impact that handling pro bono matters has up...

The conversation with Rich Negrin was inspirational, educational and unfiltered.  Rich’s resiliency runs through the fabric of the dialogue.  From the time he watched the brutal murder of his father at the age of 13 and finding himself a critical witness for the government in the ensuing prosecution, it seems Rich’s journey to the law was inevitable.  But being a prosecutor was just the beginning of Rich Negrin’s service to others....

If Attorney James Leonard had a theme song...it would be My Way.  Jim is counsel, adviser and friend to best selling author and  reality television star, Teresa Giudice, of Real Housewives of New Jersey.  Jim also counts rap artist Lil Kim and many politicians and power brokers as members of his client roster. 

Jim has taken the road less traveled and blazed his own trail in the practice of law.  Six months after law school, Jim Leo...

After 30 years as an attorney, Judi Cohen left the practice of law to dedicate herself to Warrior One.  Warrior One is the only mindfulness teacher training program in the world developed by lawyers for lawyers.  In this episode, Judi unpacks the emotional baggage that prevents many of us from maximizing our success and happiness in the law.  We dive deeply into the complex challenges facing lawyers and Judi shares wisdom, insight ...

The ability to manage during a crisis is fundamental to effective leadership.  As Chief of Staff to California Governor Gavin Newsome, Ann O’Leary finds herself leading a statewide team as they engage in a battle to control the deadly spread of Coronavirus.  Ann recounts the decision-making process that led Governor Newsome to make California the first state in the country to order a shutdown.  Ann also gives us real-time analysis ...

Bree Buchanan is the Co-Chair and Founder of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being.  In 2017, the American Bar Association sanctioned Task Force published the most comprehensive report to date detailing the critical need for the legal profession to address alarming rates of addiction, depression and suicide amongst its members.  The Report paints a worrisome picture while also offering thoughtful insights into what can be do...

The theme of this episode is grit...and Kevin Harden defines the word.  Kevin has lived an extraordinary life...packing experiences worthy of a movie into his 34 years.  In May 2019, Kevin stood with his client, Terrence Lewis, as a judge freed Mr. Lewis who had served 21 years of a life sentence for a crime he did not commit.  Kevin shares the shocking tale of Mr. Lewis who was proclaimed factually innocent by a federal judge in 2...

Criminal defense attorney Brian McMonagle takes us on a journey covering his incredible career from the hung jury while defending Bill Cosby in the case of a lifetime to representing Meek Mill as Meek became the international face of the movement for criminal justice reform.  Brian also takes us back to his early days as a homicide prosecutor obtaining a conviction in a high profile mob case that thrust him into the media spotlight...