Next Lawyer Up Podcast with Attorney Ron Sykstus

Hosted by Ron Sykstus

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100

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Lawyers talk to lawyers about lawyering and how they got into law.

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60 recent

June 9, 2026Episode 19242 min

Episode 192 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Dee Miles

When you listen to this podcast with Dee Miles, it is no wonder why he has had the successful and admired career that he has. Also, as you'll hear, he has no plans on slowing down, which is something he has taken to heart from his mentor and law partner, Jere Beasley. In fact, Dee and I talk a good bit about Jere Beasley on this episode and here is the podcast I did with Jere several years ago. Dee is described as a cornerstone of the Beasley Allen Law Firm since 1991. He oversees the firms' Consumer Fraud and Commercial Litigation Section. This is a quote from Dee from the 2013 Super Lawyer magazine: "People will find a way to cheat." Because of this blunt fact of human nature, Dee has built a thriving law practice over the years. This is a lawyer who is at the top of his profession, and I think you'll like hearing his story on this episode of the podcast.

May 15, 2026Episode 19151 min

Episode 191 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Lauren Clark

Attorney Lauren Clark has an upbeat personality and a positive outlook so it is no wonder that she has all of the clients that she can handle! Lauren has been practicing consumer bankruptcy law since she graduated from law school at the University of South Carolina. She lives in the Charleston area and remotely serves debtors across the state of South Carolina. In addition to her law practice and her family, Lauren also finds time to host a couple of podcasts, Remote Reality and a new one that she has recently started as well, The Bankruptcy Files. I enjoyed getting to know Lauren on this episode of the podcast.

May 13, 2026Episode 19040 min

Episode 190 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Bill Hall

Attorney Bill Hall is the founder and principal of Bill Hall and Associates, located in Huntsville, Alabama. Bill has focused his law practice exclusively on domestic relations cases since he founded his law firm in 2009. Prior to that, Bill was a long-time partner with an old, established firm in Huntsville. Bill is highly respected for the work that he does and, as we discuss on the podcast, his main focus these days is on contested domestic matters. You also might like my podcast with Bill's wife, retired Madison County Circuit Court Judge Karen Hall, that we did together a day or two after her retirement from the bench. I enjoyed getting to know Bill's story on this episode of the podcast.

April 13, 2026Episode 18937 min

Episode 189 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Brian Beck

Attorney Brian Beck is a highly respected criminal defense lawyer who has been practicing law for a long time. He is located in Huntsville, Alabama. Growing up in both Birmingham and Huntsville, Brian practices criminal defense throughout the state of Alabama. I enjoyed getting to Brian's story on this episode of the podcast and learning about his circuitous route to law school that included a year living abroad and tending bar in Ireland!

April 6, 2026Episode 18853 min

Episode 188 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Dean Emeritus Eugene Milhizer

Eugene (Gene) Milhizer is the Dean Emeritus at Ave Maria School of Law. He has served at that law school as a law professor for over twenty years and he ultimately rose to the position of president of the law school, in addition to his teaching role. If there is one person I have ever met that should be a law professor, it is Gene Milhizer. I first got to know him when he was a law professor at the U.S. Army's JAG school in Charlottesville, Virginia. While on active duty, I followed his career for several years since he was some years ahead of me in the Army. It was not hard to follow Gene's career because, for probably a six year period, I never read a monthly Army Lawyer magazine or the quarterly Military Law Review that didn't feature a scholarly legal article written by Gene. When I say he was and is a prolific writer, that phrase doesn't really do justice to the sheer volume of material that Gene has written. It is now really no surprise that he has turned into a novelist and he has written several books. Here is a link to his website so if you get a chance to pick up his books, please do so. I can't think of many better writers on a nationwide scale that I know and I like to think that I'm pretty well read! I enjoyed getting to know Gene's story on this episode of the podcast.

March 23, 2026Episode 18754 min

Episode 187 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Robert Ingalls

The practice of law is a tough and stressful career and, oftentimes, not very enjoyable. Many lawyers try to use their law degree to find a different and more fulfilling way to make a living. Attorney Robert Ingalls is a great example! In his bio, Robert describes himself as a "recovering attorney." He practiced law for a while but wanted to start his own business not in the practice of law. After searching for a period of time, Robert created and founded LawPods, a podcast marketing agency for lawyers. In this episode, you can hear Robert's passion and happiness about the work that he does. I enjoyed getting to know him on this episode of the podcast.

March 18, 2026Episode 18641 min

Episode 186 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Matt Carter

Attorney Matt Carter is a partner with Fuller, Willingham and Carter located in Cullman, Alabama. Matt's law firm is the largest firm in Cullman, and they handle a broad spectrum of legal matters for their clients. A Cullman product where he was born and raised, it is hard to imagine Matt living anywhere else. He tells a funny story about promising his wife that they would move to Cullman for just a couple of years at most after Matt finished law school. And now, here they are still living in Cullman some twenty-five years later! Matt is highly respected, personable and smart so it is no wonder that he has all of the work that he can handle. I enjoyed getting to know Matt on this episode of the podcast.

February 20, 2026Episode 18554 min

Episode 185 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Maurice Scott

Attorney Maurice Scott is the founder of United Legal Team, a consumer law firm located in Huntsville, Alabama. Maurice handles consumer law claims for financial justice. As part of his consumer practice, Maurice focuses on helping consumers under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which is the federal law that controls everything that can or cannot be on an individual's credit report or background check. An entrepreneur, Maurice has pretty much always run his own businesses and been his own boss, from growing up in Detroit to making his way to Huntsville to play football at Alabama A&M University. Many people also know Maurice as one of the stars of "Love and Marriage Huntsville" on the Oprah Winfrey Network. I enjoyed getting to know Maurice's story on this episode of the podcast.

February 10, 2026Episode 18449 min

Episode 184 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Chip Schwartz

Attorney Chip Schwartz is a co-founder of Zarzaur and Schwartz, a well-known and highly regarded law firm based in Birmingham, Alabama. The primary focus for Chip and his law firm is debt collection in several states to include Alabama, and he has been doing this work for almost fifty years. Obviously, my work is on the other side of debt collection, but I always tell my clients that this law firm does its work in a professional and respectful manner and is widely respected by both debtor and collection attorneys in the South. I enjoyed getting to know Chip's story on this episode of the podcast and to learn how he made his way down to Alabama from Cincinnati, Ohio to create this esteemed law firm.

January 14, 2026Episode 18354 min

Episode 183 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Nathan Hill

Attorney Nathan Hill is a lawyer practicing with the highly respected Huntsville law firm of Lanier Ford. In fact, I have previously done podcasts with Lanier Ford lawyers Andy Sieja, Laura Harper, Alabama State Senator Sam Givhan and Robert Bailey, a retired lawyer and now full time author. As I learned on this podcast, Nathan diverted into the practice of law after a realization that his lack of a 90 plus mile an hour fastball would probably prevent him from getting to the major league! Nathan has made quite a name for himself in the time he has been practicing law to include receiving many accolades and serving as the past president of the Huntsville Bar Association Young Lawyers Section and as a chosen member of Class 19 of the Alabama State Bar Leadership Forum. I enjoyed getting to know Nathan on this episode of the podcast.