Episodes

Send us Fan Mail Seth Morris is a criminal defense lawyer based in Berkeley, California, where he runs his own firm and represents clients in state and federal criminal cases, from misdemeanors to serious felonies. He works across the Bay Area and focuses on defending people accused of a wide range of crimes. Before starting his own firm, he spent years as a deputy public defender in Alameda County, then moved into private practice and later launched his own office in 2021. In the episode, he...

Send us Fan Mail Sonya Mehta is a trial attorney and partner at a workers’ rights law firm, where she represents employees and labor unions in cases involving discrimination, retaliation, and workplace issues. She focuses on holding powerful employers accountable and advocating for fair treatment of workers. She has been practicing law for over a decade and has built her career in the same firm, eventually becoming a partner. Before becoming a lawyer, she spent years as a community organizer,...

Send a text In this special episode of Love Thy Lawyer, Louis shares a personal story instead of interviewing a guest. After nearly forty years as a private criminal defense attorney, Louis explains how he is returning to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office as a Deputy District Attorney, the same office where he began his career decades ago. He reflects on his early days as a young prosecutor in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the legal community in Alameda County was smaller a...

Send a text Brian Ripley is a business attorney based in Oakland, California who works with small business owners, real estate investors, and licensed professionals. He often serves as outside general counsel, helping clients set up businesses and handle legal questions as their companies grow. He began his legal career in the early 1980s and spent many years working as a litigator, handling cases such as insurance defense and product liability. After decades in litigation, he started his own...

Send a text Arthur Bryant is a public interest lawyer based in Oakland, California, and the former chairman and executive director of Public Justice. He now runs his own firm, focusing on cases that aim to advance civil rights, consumer protection, workers’ rights, and equal access to justice. He has practiced law since 1979 and has spent more than three decades in nonprofit public interest work. Early in his career, he clerked for federal judge Gabrielle McDonald in Texas and later handled F...

Send a text This episode features Ursula Jones Dickson, the current District Attorney of Alameda County, and Emilie Raguso, a journalist who runs The Berkeley Scanner, an independent public safety news outlet covering Berkeley and the DA’s office. Both work closely with the criminal justice system from different sides, one inside government and one reporting on it. Ursula talks about leading a large District Attorney’s office after a period of instability, rebuilding staff, fixing budget prob...

Send us a text Fatima Silva is a Bay Area criminal defense attorney who focuses exclusively on representing people accused of crimes. She runs her own practice and also collaborates with other defense attorneys in the region. She has spent over a decade working primarily in criminal law, after earlier experience handling a wider range of cases. She also reached a national audience as a featured attorney on the HBO series Reasonable Doubt, which examined claims of wrongful convictions. In this...

Send us a text Scott Kriens is a technology entrepreneur and investor best known for co-founding Juniper Networks, a company that builds the core systems that move data safely and quickly across the internet. Today, his work focuses on investing, philanthropy, and supporting projects that help people improve how they relate to themselves and others. He helped grow Juniper from an early startup into a major global company with billions in revenue and played a key role in shaping how large-scal...

Send us a text Elizabeth Larrick is a trial lawyer who works as a plaintiff personal injury attorney and also helps other lawyers prepare cases for court, mediations, and depositions. She focuses on understanding how juries think and helping lawyers communicate more clearly and effectively. Over the course of her career, she has handled personal injury cases, gone to trial regularly, and built her own practice. She later expanded her work into consulting, teaching lawyers through focus groups...

Send us a text Henry Cox is a longtime legal professional who now works mainly as a neutral mediator, arbitrator, and hearing officer, while also writing fiction. Over the years, his work has shifted from active litigation to helping parties resolve disputes outside the courtroom. Over his career, Henry Cox practiced law in dozens of states, handled complex civil and civil rights cases, and represented everyone from local governments to major companies. He also argued appeals in higher courts...

Send us a text Gordon Firemark is an entertainment and media attorney who works with creators, producers, and businesses in television, film, publishing, and digital media. He focuses on helping creative professionals share their work while protecting their interests. Over his long career, he has built a solo practice that serves clients across the entertainment world and has become a well-known presence online through his teaching, writing, and podcasting. He was one of the earliest lawyers ...

Send us a text In collaboration with theAlameda County Bar Association, Love Thy Lawyer presents an interview with: Helen Hoeffel Helen Hoeffel is a staff attorney who works with Legal Assistance for Seniors, helping older adults in Alameda County with housing, consumer issues, conservatorships, guardianships, benefits, and elder abuse cases. She also serves on the Alameda County Bar Association board and chairs its business section. Her career includes civil litigation work at a small...

Send us a text Ted DeBettencourt is the founder of Juvo Leads, a company that provides real-person chat services to help law firms convert website visitors into clients. He specializes in legal marketing and client intake systems, combining his background in law and business to improve how firms attract and manage leads. He began his career in marketing after experimenting with SEO and content creation for law firms, eventually growing his own small agency before launching Juvo Leads in 2016....

Send us a text Rita Goodroe is a former attorney who built a thriving career as a business coach and professional speaker. She helps people and organizations lead, connect, and sell more effectively by focusing on authenticity and relationship-building. Before launching her coaching and speaking career, Rita practiced law for 13 years, specializing in business and real estate. After leaving law, she became a dating coach, quickly surpassing her legal income, and eventually shifted into busine...

Send us a text Mark Bassingthwaighte is an attorney and the national risk manager at ALPS Insurance, where he helps lawyers prevent malpractice claims and manage professional risk. He’s spent nearly three decades working with law firms across the country, consulting, writing, and speaking on ethics, risk management, and cybersecurity in the legal field. Throughout his career, Mark has conducted more than 1,200 law firm risk assessments and become a trusted voice on issues like burnout, addict...

Send us a text Ken Crutchfield works with Wolters Kluwer, where he focuses on legal research products that help professionals find and understand laws and regulations. He has spent more than four decades in and around the legal, tax, and accounting industries. Over the years, he has held senior roles at Bloomberg Tax Technology, Thomson Reuters, and LexisNexis. He began his career listening to lawyer support calls in the early days of legal research services and went on to bridge the gap betw...

Send us a text LTL – Caitlin LoCascio-King - Show Notes lovethylawyer.com A transcript of this podcast is easily available at lovethylawyer.com. Caitlin LoCascio-King is an attorney and entrepreneur who runs a boutique law practice focused on estate planning, elder law, and small business support. She is also the founder of a marketing company that helps professionals, especially lawyers, navigate branding and social media. Over the years, Caitlin has built a practice entir...

Send us a text lovethylawyer.com A transcript of this podcast is easily available atlovethylawyer.com. Go tohttps://www.lovethylawyer.com/blog for transcripts. In collaboration with theAlameda County Bar Association, Love Thy Lawyer presents an interview with: Hon. Roz Silvaggio Judge Rozlynn Silvaggio is a newly appointed judge on the Alameda County Superior Court bench, after serving as a Public Defender for two decades across Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, and San Francisco counties. ...

Send us a text LTL – Robert Ingalls - Show Notes lovethylawyer.com A transcript of this podcast is easily available at lovethylawyer.com. Robert Ingalls is a former attorney who now runs LawPods, a company that helps law firms create and market podcasts. He calls himself a “recovering lawyer” and has found his true passion in helping others share their stories through audio. He began his career in criminal defense but struggled with the emotional toll of the job. After re...

Send us a text LTL – RJon Robins - Show Notes lovethylawyer.com A transcript of this podcast is easily available at lovethylawyer.com. RJon Robins is an entrepreneur, attorney, and author who helps small law firm owners grow and manage their businesses more effectively. He runs multiple businesses that provide management support to small law firms, serving over 500 firms, many of which are among the fastest growing and most profitable in the country. His career began as a sm...

Send us a text LTL – Mark Shaiken 2.1 - Show Notes lovethylawyer.com A transcript of this podcast is easily available at lovethylawyer.com. Mark Shaiken is a retired bankruptcy attorney who spent nearly four decades practicing law across five states. After stepping away from the courtroom, he became an author and photographer, writing legal thrillers and memoir-style reflections on his life and career. He co-authored treatises used in law schools and later self-published a series of fic...

Send us a text LTL – Nick Pavlidis - Show Notes lovethylawyer.com A transcript of this podcast is easily available at lovethylawyer.com. Nick Pavlidis is a ghostwriter, business strategist, and entrepreneur who helps thought leaders grow their influence and income through content. He also leads Podfest, a major conference for independent podcasters, and runs several businesses, including a ghostwriting agency and software platforms for content creators. Nick started his c...

Send us a text LTL – Hon. Al Dover - Show Notes lovethylawyer.com A transcript of this podcast is easily available atlovethylawyer.com. Go tohttps://www.lovethylawyer.com/blog for transcripts. In collaboration with theAlameda County Bar Association, Love Thy Lawyer presents an interview with: Hon. Al Dover Judge Al Dover is a retired superior court judge from Nevada County, California. He currently works as a mediator, handling emotionally intense legal disputes, particula...

Send us a text LTL – DA Ursula Jones Dickson - Show Notes lovethylawyer.com A transcript of this podcast is easily available at lovethylawyer.com. Ursula Jones Dickson is the District Attorney of Alameda County. Before this role, she served as a Deputy District Attorney for 14 years, handling a wide range of criminal cases, and later served as a Superior Court judge overseeing the Juvenile Dependency Division. She was appointed to the bench in 2013 and returned to the DA'...