Trial lawyers live in a constant state of problem-solving, competition, and high stakes – exactly the kind of environment that can quietly push the brain into chronic fight-or-flight. In this episode, host Amy Gunn sits down with University of Denver law professor and lawyer-wellbeing expert Dr. Debra Austin, author of The Legal Brain, to unpack what stress actually does to the lawyer’s mind—and how to reverse the damage.

Never Too Late newsletter: Never Too Late by Debra Austin JD, PhD | Substack

Newsletter on how cats improve well-being: Cats Improve Well-being

Newsletter on how dogs improve well-being: Gratitude for Dogs - Never Too Late by Debra Austin JD, PhD

The Legal Brain: A Lawyer’s Guide to Well-being and Better Job Performance, is available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Host Vince Citro welcomes San Francisco attorney Jim Brosnahan to discuss a career shaped by formative childhood illness, early reading struggles, and an outsider’s sense of empathy. He describes his path from Boston College athlete to Harvard Law School, where he met his wife, Carol – later a judge – and reflects on early work as a federal prosector that affirmed his love of the courtroom. Brosnahan offers an inside account of his role as the lead prosecutor in the Iran-Contra case against Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger, and how President George H. W. Bush’s last-minute pardons abruptly ended the case. He also discusses representing John Walker Lindh and how client abuse disclosures shaped the defense, as well as the broader duty of lawyers to defend constitutional principles. Throughout, Brosnahan highlights the value of civility, public service, and trial advocacy—grounded in preparation and a commitment to continual learning.

Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California joins host Renée Rothauge to reflect on how his civil rights-era upbringing in Mississippi, his clerkship for U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas – where he contributed to Roe v. Wade and Sierra Club v. Morton – and his experiences as a trial attorney all shaped his judicial philosophy. He discusses his transition from private practice to the federal bench, his belief in the jury trial, and his enduring respect for the United States District Court. Alsup also shares insights from his novel The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald and his memoir Won Over, revealing a lifetime devoted to fairness, truth, and the pursuit of justice.