Episodes

"Trust the data." That's the lesson John McCabe took from a six-week trial that ended in a record-setting $101 million jury award for two men seriously injured when a retaining wall collapsed in Hendersonville. John, principal attorney at The Law Offices of John McCabe and a past president of NCAJ, learned mid-trial that he had also won NCAJ's Founders Award. He tells host Amber Nimocks how his team scored jurors using big data analytics, why the jury needed only 35 minutes to decide 16 liabilit...

A fifth-grader wrote to President Richard Nixon in 1971 about school desegregation — and got a reply. That girl grew up to build a 40-year career as a litigation paralegal, most recently at Daggett Shuler Attorneys at Law in Winston-Salem, where her work earned her NCAJ's Robbie Price Award at Convention this year. In conversation with host Amber Nimocks, Rana D. Holcomb traces her path from an outspoken kid to a trial-prep specialist who mastered the rules of evidence and court. She also descri...

When Anabel Rosa joined NCAJ's Hispanic Latino Legal Issues Division in 2011, she was one of just a handful of attorneys in the room — today that group is nearly 200 members strong. Anabel, principal attorney at Rosa Lawyers in Durham and this year's Annie Brown Kennedy Award recipient, joins host Amber Nimocks to trace the path that led there: from Spanish-language TV reporter to press aide for Mayor David Dinkins to Brooklyn Law School graduate to a 2010 move to North Carolina and James Scott ...

A crush on a Spanish teacher in middle school, a mission trip to Peru at age 16, and a CNN documentary — Jacob Goad's path to workers' compensation law is anything but ordinary. Jacob is the principal attorney at the Law Office of Jacob Goad and immediate past chair of NCAJ's Hispanic Latino Legal Issues Division. In this conversation with host Amber Nimocks, Jacob traces how his years working in Peru, his blue collar family roots, and his Spanish fluency all converged into a practice serving in...

Telana Poe grew up in the world of trucking: Her first job was working in her parents’ ambulance service as a teenager. She considered a career in medical billing until a judge in her law school clerkship suggested that she consider personal injury law. That’s what she does today at Horton & Mendez in Wilmington. In this conversation with host Amber Nimocks, Telana reflects on her journey, including her formative time as a NCAJ NEXT fellow, and discusses another thing that she does in Wilmington...

Barely a year old, North Carolina Lawyers for the Rule of Law is actively driving the conversation about hot legal topics. Steering Committee member David Teddy discusses why he and like-minded lawyers formed the group in the wake of the NCAJ’s Convention 2025, seizing the opportunity to issue a public statement about threats against judges and lawyers. Since then, North Carolina Lawyers for the Rule of Law has come out on other issues and is raising money to “get out the message that you need t...

Martha Ramsay has been an NCAJ member for more than three decades and served in leadership roles – all while developing a thriving workers’ comp practice at two firms. Later this month, she’ll unite her law practice and her NCAJ commitment at the 31st Annual Workers' Comp Round Table CLE. In this episode, Martha sits down with host Amber Nimocks to look ahead at the CLE, where she’ll participate in a roundtable, and look back on her path to workers’ comp law and to the NCAJ. The Workers' Comp R...

Audrey Snyder and Gabe Snyder stop by the studio to reflect on their “whirlwind” transition at Ward Black Law since the passing of founder Janet Ward Black last November. In January, they purchased the Greensboro-based firm and will preserve Janet Ward's faith-driven culture while reshaping it as their own. In this conversation with host Amber Nimocks, they discuss their vision of serving clients spiritually as well as legally. They are both active with NCAJ: Audrey has served as chair of the Wo...

The winner of the NCAJ’s 2025 Charles Becton Teaching Award, Chris Nichols reflects on his decades-long commitment to NCAJ's continuing legal education programs and the North Carolina Mock Trial Program. Joining the conversation is one of Chris’ mock trial students, high school senior Sam Circosta. “The great thing about mock trial is we're not necessarily training lawyers. We're just training leaders. That's what Sam has been for the last four years,” Chris tells host Amber Nimocks. In addition...

Zack Kaplan sums up his inspiration for civil rights law in one word: Leandro. It’s long-running litigation that seeks to enforce the constitutional right to a sound basic education in North Carolina. As a fifth-grade teacher, Zack read frequently about the case. “I didn't even know that there was a constitutional right to a free public education under our North Carolina constitution. And the more I dug into it, the more it really – that mission and that purpose – really resonated with me,” he t...

In the last podcast of 2025, NCAJ President Carma Henson reflects on her first five months on the job. Carma and host Amber Nimocks talked about what it’s been like to lead the organization during one of the most eventful years in recent history and how much they are looking forward to 2026. Carma also talked about being the first Lumbee Indian to lead a statewide professional organization and what full federal recognition will mean for the Lumbees. Tune into this conversation for Carma’s insigh...

"I just met this person, and the state wants to kill him." That’s what Gretchen Engel was thinking the first time she met a death row inmate, as an intern at the Alabama Resource Center. Gretchen would eventually move to North Carolina and join the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in 1992. After 33 years, including a dozen as the CDPL’s executive director, she retired this summer. Gretchen reflects on victories and setbacks in this conversation with Amber Nimocks. And she looks ahead, suggest...

“Improved appellate advocacy betters us all,” says Chris Edwards. “It betters the court system. It betters our outcomes.” The co-chair of Ward and Smith's Appellate Practice, Chris discusses how trial lawyers can improve their appellate advocacy in this conversation with host Amber Nimocks. He also highlights his new column for “Trial Briefs,” NCAJ’s flagship publication, where he shares his “superpowers” with NCAJ members. And he previews his Nov. 12 virtual CLE, “Winning on Appeal Starts at Tr...

Within hours of each other, two things happened that changed Coleman Cowan’s life. While waiting to take a deposition as a young associate, he realized that his reward for working hard would be more hard work. Hours later, while leaving that deposition, he was shot in a random mugging. Despite colleagues calling him “crazy,” Coleman left law to pursue journalism, eventually becoming an Emmy-winning producer for “60 Minutes.” In this conversation with host Amber Nimocks, he discusses his journey ...

To NCAJ members who have an appeal or just want another set of eyes on a brief, Sam McGee says, “Shoot me an email.” As NCAJ’s Legal Affairs counsel, he oversees the organization's amicus briefs program and moot courts while representing member interests at the State Bar Ethics Committee. In this conversation with host Amber Nimocks, Sam outlines the committee’s advocacy, including its amicus brief in a recent North Carolina Supreme Court eminent domain case. He also discusses how it supports me...

As a social worker, Billie Guthrie was drawn into all the factors at play in her clients’ struggles. As a Social Security Disability attorney for The Deuterman Law Group, she is laser-focused on getting clients the benefits they deserve. Tune in to this conversation with host Amber Nimocks as Billie reflects on her unique journey to making “tangible differences” in clients’ lives. And attend the NCAJ’s upcoming day-long CLE, "Social Security Disability Updates and Practical Pointers for 2025 and...

Curiosity has driven Leslie’s Leake’s remarkable career, which NCAJ recently celebrated with the awarding of its prestigious Robby Price Award. The lead paralegal for the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, Leslie said her advice to up-and-coming paralegals who want to stay engaged in their careers: Keep asking questions. “Stay curious,” she says. Her nominator described her as an “unspoken hero.” In this conversation with host Amber Nimocks, Leslie shares her path from defense to plaintiff's wor...

Rosa Antunez Boatwright, an immigrant from Honduras, was excited to attend community college in her new Florida home – until the college rescinded its acceptance because of her immigration status. Fast forward years later. Today, she is a personal injury attorney at the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin and the incoming chair of NCAJ's Hispanic/Latino Legal Issues Division. In this conversation with host Amber Nimocks, Rosa explains how national and local legislation affecting the Hispanic commu...

“Somebody told me, ‘Hey, if you want to do criminal defense, you really need to join NCAJ.’ And they were absolutely right.” The year was 2008, and Lindsey Granados had just begun practicing law. Fast forward to 2025. She owns Granados Law Group and is a newly elected member of NCAJ’s Board of Governors. In this conversation with host Amber Nimocks, Lindsey reflects on her journey to criminal defense law, the early jury verdict that convinced her she was in the right job, and her goals on the NC...

Taking the leap from employee to firm owner requires courage, but having the right partner makes all the difference. Jacob Morse and Spencer Fritts discovered their partnership potential through NCAJ's NEXT leadership program, where they bonded as classmates despite barely knowing each other at Campbell Law School. In this conversation with host Amber Nimocks, they discuss their journey from fellows to co-founders of Morse Fritts, their Raleigh-based personal injury firm. As leaders in NCAJ's Ne...

As chair of NCAJ’s political action committee, Jon Moore is committed to expanding NCAJ's political influence through strategic relationships across party lines. In this conversation with host Amber Nimocks, he explains how PAC contributions have been instrumental in recent legislative victories, including major insurance reforms. As Convention 2025 co-chair Jon also cherishes the unique professional camaraderie that sets NCAJ apart from other legal organizations. He urges younger and older atto...

“What we do is tough, and Convention can be really cathartic,” says Kristen Dewar, co-chair of NCAJ's upcoming Convention 2025 in Charlotte. Speaking with host Amber Nimocks, Kristen previews the event, highlighting the return of the Masters in Criminal Defense program and the location of the Friday Soiree at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. A Charlotte resident, Kristen also shares her journey from Toronto to North Carolina, where she's built a criminal defense career she's dreamed of since age 4. Now ...

After wrongful conviction, exoneration brings freedom but not healing. Chris Mumma, Executive Director of the NC Center on Actual Innocence, joins host Amber Nimocks to discuss the unique challenges faced by those released after years of wrongful imprisonment. Inspired by Joseph Sledge, who took his own life five years after being exonerated following 37 years in prison, the center is creating the Joseph Sledge Houses of Healing—a first-of-its-kind transitional sanctuary where exonerees can deco...

From bartender to high school English teacher to senior claims counsel, Warren Savage’s winding career path brings valuable skills to his role at Lawyers Mutual. He sits down with host Amber Nimocks for a conversation about supporting small and solo practitioners, including lots of NCAJ members. Drawing from his insurance defense background, Warren offers a unique perspective on bridging divides between opposing counsel. He and colleagues from Lawyers Mutual will share insights during NCAJ’s Sid...