Tools of the Trade

Hosted by Mayer Brown

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Tools of the Trade is a Mayer Brown podcast dedicated to topics they don't teach in law school. Each episode focuses with candor and humor on challenges that lawyers and other law firm professionals face in their daily work.

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26 recent

November 19, 202518 min

Andy Stewart Affirms the Importance of Mental Health

Former Mayer Brown partner Andy Stewart joins Sally Davies for the next installment of Tools of the Trade's series on retirees. Andy, who retired in July 2025, reflects on his long legal career, which spanned more than 40 years. He began his journey with our legacy firm, Rowe & Maw, as an articled clerk in 1984 before becoming a Corporate & Securities partner in 1994. He also pioneered the London Corporate group's mentor scheme long before formal mentoring programs gained widespread acceptance. Tune in as Andy discusses his secondment experience (03:55), mental health in the legal industry (09:28) and advice for young professionals (14:02).

October 10, 202517 min

Why You Should Call a Lawyer After a Cyber Incident

Recognizing Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Jon welcomes Ana Bruder and Stephen Lilley, partners in Mayer Brown's Cybersecurity & Data Privacy practice, to the firm's Tools of the Trade podcast. The guests discuss why clients call Mayer Brown first after a cyber incident and the legal risks of breaches (2:05). Ana and Stephen outline regulatory reporting obligations and evolving regulator responses (5:54). The conversation shifts to law enforcement coordination and how companies engage the FBI or other authorities (9:24), before moving to the issue of responding to ransomware demands, legal considerations, and reputational impacts (11:45). The episode closes with advice on preventative steps such as spotting phishing emails and following internal security protocols (14:36).

May 20, 202514 min

How It Works: Legal Opportunities in Space

As world powers increasingly turn their attention to space, lawyers will be called upon to address an array of issues. London partner Rachael O'Grady reminds us that extraterrestrial legal matters will, in many respects, parallel what we're already doing on earth. Rachael is a co-leader of Mayer Brown's Space & Satellite practice—which launched in 2022—alongside partner Paul Whitfield-Jones. Rachael and Paul join us to discuss exciting opportunities around space exploration. Futurist Dr. Pippa Malmgren covered one of these areas at Mayer Brown's 2025 Global Partners Meeting: the potential for mining natural resources from asteroids in the very near future (04:08). Tune in as Rachael and Paul discuss the origins of their initial interest in space (01:46), how a global consensus is yet to be achieved in the evolving legal framework (05:36), clients seeking advice on space-related matters (07:55) and where legal work in the space industry could "lift off" in the future (10:17).

March 27, 202521 min

Distilling Lessons: From Whiskey-Making to Tax Law

Russell Nance joined Mayer Brown's New York office as a tax partner in 2006. In recent years, many colleagues and clients have come to know him also as the co-owner of a whiskey distillery nestled in the mountains of Virginia. Opening a farm-to-bottle distillery was no easy feat and quickly turned into a master class in the hospitality industry (02:21). After a lot of "learning as they went," Russell and his two co-founders can now proudly call Ragged Branch a successful venture. Tune in as Russell reveals the steps behind making, and properly aging, whiskey (08:19), along with the business skills he's picked up along the way that can be applied to building a legal practice (16:53).

October 29, 202424 min

Five Questions with Legal Recruiter Patrick Tomic

A life-changing incident as a teenager didn't stop Patrick Tomic from playing sports (04:48). In fact, it only propelled his passion and ultimately led him to pursue a career in recruitment after taking a shine to recruiting student athletes at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (16:20). Outside of working for Mayer Brown's Chicago Human Resources team, Patrick is active in wheelchair basketball and has competed all over the US and beyond (07:01). Tune in as Patrick tells the story of how a rare staph infection transformed the course of his life and opened unexpected doors (06:08).

September 30, 20249 min

What Election Security Means in Today's Cyber World

In the lead-up to the United States presidential and congressional elections in November, the security of our election infrastructure is top of mind. During Adam Hickey's 15-year tenure at the US Department of Justice, he handled high-profile national security matters, which included the significant responsibility of managing the US responses to foreign interference with US elections. Now a partner in Mayer Brown's Washington DC office, Adam joins Tools of the Trade to discuss election security (01:32) and how threats are proliferating as an activity globally (03:12). Adam explains how election security affects clients (04:34), what makes this a challenging policy problem (06:42) and how Mayer Brown is positioned to deal with governmental investigations (08:04).

September 9, 202412 min

How It Works: Receivables Financing in Singapore

There are several ways to obtain financing using a company's receivables, one of which is known in the trade as "accounts receivables financing." As part of the "How It Works" series, Janelene Chen—Mayer Brown's only Singapore-qualified partner in Global Trade Finance—describes the logistics and benefits of using such a structure (02:44). Later, Janelene explains how Singapore came to be the primary financial and trading hub for Southeast Asian lending activity (06:42) and a diverse cultural destination (08:04).

July 22, 202423 min

The Balancing Act of Being a Paralegal and an Olympian

23-Minute Listen: Keenan Horne is not your average jurist. Outside his international arbitration work in Mayer Brown's Paris office, he is an Olympic athlete. Keenan competed on the South African field hockey team at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games and is a part of the 16-player squad competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Learn all about Keenan's path to the world's foremost sporting competition—from backyard cricket in Cape Town (03:08) to professional field hockey clubs across Europe, overcoming a broken foot and virtual Pilates sessions during the pandemic (05:15), and how he manages to balance the equally demanding roles of paralegal and pro athlete (10:50).

May 7, 202416 min

How It Works: Private Credit

Private credit is a growing market—and one that may be a little mysterious to listeners. Mayer Brown partners Matt O'Meara, who leads the Firm's Private Credit practice, and Andy Kolacki help distinguish private credit from public-market bank debt (02:00). The guests talk about the "limitless" nature of the private credit market, which has grown to around $1.7 trillion in outstanding loans (05:16); the operational function and how staffing works (07:05); and the regulation of private credit funds (09:56). Host Jon Van Gorp ends with a game to better understand where banks and private credit funds "play" (11:21).

March 26, 202414 min

How It Works: "Chevron Deference" at the US Supreme Court

In a departure from our regular format, Mayer Brown partner Mike Scodro breaks down an important US Supreme Court doctrine known as "Chevron deference." A decision overruling the precedent set by Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council would have a broad impact on all Americans, as it would affect which federal agencies hold regulatory power under federal statutes. Before diving deeper into Chevron (04:31), Mike takes listeners back to the 1990s when he was a clerk for the late Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (02:06), including what role he played in reviewing amicus briefs (08:56) and drafting opinions (09:50).