Elawvate: The Trial Lawyer Podcast

Hosted by Benjamin Gideon & Rahul Ravipudi

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134

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Where personal growth meets the practice of trial law, and where trial lawyers learn, share and grow to elevate their trial law practices, law firms and lives. Produced and Powered by LawPods.com

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60 recent

June 1, 202647 min

What a Trial Consultant Knows that You Don't, with Jessica Brylo

Trial strategist and consultant Jessica Brylo built her career by shadowing jury selection pioneer David Ball throughout law school and watching videos of a rare 1996 study in which cameras were placed inside actual jury deliberation rooms. “Give us all the advice and philosophy that you can,” co-host Rahul Ravipudi asks to launch the episode alongside co-host Ben Gideon. “That's a big open question,” she says – but she’s up to the task. Tune in as she shares insights about prehabbing jurors against corporate bias, selecting jurors who will give the “right verdict for the right reason,” and navigating Big Data, knowing that data isn’t always predictive.Learn More and Connect☑️ Jessica Brylo | LinkedIn☑️ Trial Dynamics on YouTube☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | SpotifyProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, and Steno.

May 18, 20261 hr 0 min

The Case We Had to Take: A $6.5M Med Mal Win, with Meryl Poulin and Ben Gideon

Host Ben Gideon invites co-counsel Meryl Poulin to break down their $6.5 million med-mal verdict on behalf of a client who was paralyzed after a 20-hour delay in surgical care for cauda equina syndrome. With host Rahul Ravipudi moderating the conversation, Ben and Meryl explain why cauda equina syndrome cases are notoriously difficult to win and why they put their client, who has developmental disabilities, on the stand despite these challenges. They wanted the jury to fall in love with him. They did.Learn More and Connect☑️ Meryl Poulin | LinkedIn☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | SpotifyProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, and Steno.

April 6, 202651 min

Win Big on Appeal: The Plaintiff's Appellate Playbook, with Deepak Gupta

Washington, D.C.-based Gupta Wessler holds the highest win rate among the top five most active firms practicing before the 6-3 conservative U.S. Supreme Court firms. And they’re large, corporate firms “representing corporations that have done bad stuff,” says founder Deepak Gupta. “How do we do that? We do it by appealing – sometimes it's methodologically – to conservative commitments.” In this conversation with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi, Deepak unpacks how his firm wins and how trial lawyers can protect damages that may go on appeal. Tune in for his description of taking on Uber when it wanted to cap contingency fees in Nevada.Learn More and Connect☑️ Deepak Gupta | LinkedIn☑️ Gupta Wessler on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | SpotifyProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

March 23, 202647 min

You Need to Know This Principle to Pick a Jury, with Bo Fraser

"Bad is stronger than good" is a widely cited principle in social psychology – and one that trial consultant Bo Fraser has built his jury strategy around. “You're not going to win them with, ‘We're the good guy and here's why’ story,” Bo explains to host Ben Gideon. Bo considered a career in marketing before earning a PhD in social psychology and joining his mother at the consultancy firm she founded, Trial Psychology Institute. Tune in as he delves into “bad vs. good” and other psychological themes that plaintiffs’ lawyers can leverage to pick the best jurors. Results speak for themselves: He and Ben recently worked together on a case that won the highest injury verdict in Maine history. “Getting that news about that record-setting verdict, that was a highlight of my 2025 for sure,” Bo says.Learn More and Connect☑️ Bo Fraser | LinkedIn☑️ Trial Psychology Institute☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | SpotifyProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

March 11, 20261 hr 0 min

Special Preview: The Entrepreneur’s Top 10, with Ben Gideon and Jeff Wright

Live from Portland, Maine, it’s Ben Gideon and Jeff Wright, the team from Gideon Asen taping a special edition of “Elawvate: Build and Grow Your Law Firm.” Ben and Jeff walk through 10 proven strategies for building a financially successful law firm, covering everything from dominating a niche and making data-driven decisions to scaling without losing your culture and building systems designed for the law firm of the future. They also take audience questions. If you’ve had a question about being a law firm entrepreneur, tune in; someone else may have wondered the same thing – and Ben and Jeff may have answered it on the air.Learn More and Connect☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Jeff Wright☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | SpotifyProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

March 9, 202650 min

Win Your Case at Voir Dire, with Todd Schafer

A jury once told Todd Schafer that they had decided the case in his favor before he stood up for opening statement. Why? Todd pulls back the curtain on his success with picking juries in this conversation with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi. A second-generation trial lawyer and partner at Schafer & Schafer in Indiana, Todd reflects on that case – at the time, he was a young lawyer who “right away recognized voir dire is important.” Since then, he’s developed a systematic approach to talking about money and a strategy for overcoming Indiana’s verdict form that doesn’t allow for damages to be broken down. As for persuading that jury before he stood up? Tune in to learn how it unfolded.Learn More and Connect☑️ Todd Schafer | LinkedIn☑️ Schafer & Schafer on Instagram | Facebook☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | SpotifyProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

February 23, 202652 min

Trial Excellence and Effecting Change, with Shanin Specter

Shanin Specter’s $25 million verdict against Boeing last November is just one example of his approach to tort: It’s not just about compensation and deterrence. It’s also about sharing important public information. The son of former Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter, Shanin weighs the different avenues for effecting change – whether it’s in public service, like his father, or in the private sector – in this conversation with host Ben Gideon. Tune in for Shanin’s thoughts about the role of lawyers today (find opportunities to litigate against the Trump administration) and his advice to law students (you don’t have to get swallowed up by BigLaw).Learn More and Connect☑️ Shanin Specter | LinkedIn☑️ Kline & Specter on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | SpotifyProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

February 9, 202647 min

View from a Former JAG: Our “National Emergency,” with Margaret Donovan

A former JAG officer and federal prosecutor, Margaret Donovan is now an associate at Koskoff, Koskoff and Bieder and proud to promote her firm’s work suing the administration – including in this conversation with hosts Rahul Ravipudi and Taylor Asen. Leaning on her JAG experience, she dismantles the administration’s shaky legal argument for its strikes on alleged drug boats and explains why the administration will have a difficult time defending its attempt to censure Sen. Mark Kelly. Tune in as she breaks down why she believes we’re in a “national emergency” – and what lawyers can do about it. “Anybody who knows how to bring a case needs to be putting those skills to work.”Learn More and Connect☑️ Margaret Donovan☑️ Koskoff, Koskoff and Bieder on LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Taylor Asen | LinkedIn☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | SpotifyProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

January 26, 202645 min

Big Law IP Strategy and Activism, with Neel Chatterjee

From running a radio station in undergraduate school to running an “IP litigation ambulance” as a young lawyer to running a platform that fights the Trump administration’s attacks on law firms, Neel Chatterjee has had a remarkable journey. In this wide-ranging conversation with host Rahul Ravipudi, Neel shares insights about developing his nationally recognized IP practice, litigating in Big Law, and leveraging his background in social media to create “Law Firm Partners United” on LinkedIn.Learn More and Connect☑️ Neel Chatterjee | LinkedIn☑️ King & Spalding on LInkedIn | Instagram | X☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | SpotifyProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

December 22, 202549 min

Try Good Cases, Be Great Teammates, with Pat Salvi II

The list of wins is long: $363 million on a toxics exposure case; $148 million on a paralysis case, $79 million on a police pursuit case; $75 on a brain injury case. But the philosophy at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard is short: “We want to try good cases and be great team members,” says Managing Partner Pat Salvi II as he visits with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi. Tune in as Pat reflects on turning down $35 million before achieving a $148 million verdict, making first impressions, and preparing for trials through what some may call a “grueling” process. “There's no silver bullet,” he says. “There's no shortcut.”Learn More and Connect☑️ Pat Salvi II | LinkedIn☑️ Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | TikTok ☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Produced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.