His perfect morning is surprisingly simple: a couple cups of black coffee, one decaf to round out the trio, and then it's off to tackle whatever impossible challenge lands on his desk. Somewhere between leading a national tax practice, advocating for thousands of Texas tenants, and occasionally grabbing a karaoke microphone, he's also managed to build one of the largest eviction advocacy organizations in the country. This week on Counsel Brew, Nicola and Shereen sit down with attorney and pub...
Jul 10
1 hr 15 min
This week on Counsel Brew, we sit down with Noelle LeVeaux — strategic marketer, civic brand-builder, cancer survivor, TEDxSMU speaker, children’s author, entrepreneur, and currently the Chief Marketing Officer helping lead North Texas’ FIFA World Cup 26™ moment onto the global stage. If you’ve lived in Dallas long enough, chances are you’ve already experienced Noelle’s work without even realizing it. From launching the award-winning BIG campaign that helped reshape Dallas’ identity to leadin...
Jun 19
1 hr 13 min
What happens when a former child actor, ERISA lawyer, and Fortune 500 in-house counsel walks into a coffee shop? In this case, she orders a lavender chai latte* and starts reimagining what a legal career can look like. *served best in an actual coffee mug, preferably with fancy foam art and enjoyed while sitting in a coffee shop In this episode of Counsel Brew, we sit down with Misty Leon, who at the time of recording was serving as in-house counsel at Texas Instruments. Misty's career ...
Jun 5
58 min
Professor C. Paul Rogers III has spent more than four decades shaping lawyers, preserving baseball history, mentoring students, navigating college athletics, and collecting stories that somehow sound too good to be true — except they are. In this episode of Counsel Brew, Nicola and Shereen sit down with one of the most beloved and legendary figures from SMU Dedman School of Law just as he prepares to retire at the end of the semester after an extraordinary career. Both Nicola and Shereen rece...
May 22
1 hr 10 min
This conversation covers a lot of ground. From exploding matcha to stepping into leadership before you feel ready, Gabe keeps it real about what it looks like to operate under pressure. In this episode of Counsel Brew, we sit down with Gabe Vazquez, Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Vistra Corp., to talk less about titles and more about how he works. His approach is simple on the surface. Gather. Organize. Optimize. Build the system. Trust the system. Then know when it’s time to...
May 1
1 hr 9 min
Jasmin Brand doesn’t just build businesses. She builds ecosystems. An award-winning marketer, speaker, and serial entrepreneur, Jasmin has made a career out of doing what most people just dream about: creating strategic partnerships, unlocking opportunity, and moving communities forward in real, measurable ways. Born and raised in Dallas, with roots at Booker T. Washington and Southern Methodist University, Jasmin’s path has never been linear. From launching her first creative agency in 2009 ...
Apr 17
1 hr 17 min
Fifty episodes in and we have started to recognize a pattern: the most interesting people don’t follow straight lines—they pivot, rebuild, and end up somewhere better. Enter Kathy Wise. A former attorney turned award-winning journalist, Kathy is now the Editorial Director of D Magazine and the founder of MÄHJ the Magazine, a quarterly mahjong publication that’s equal parts culture, connection, and beautifully curated storytelling. But before all of that, Kathy was in the trenches of legal pra...
Mar 27
1 hr 9 min
On this episode of Counsel Brew, we sit down with Eunice Nakamura, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Texas Rangers, for a conversation that proves the path to a dream role rarely follows the plan you laid out for yourself. Eunice didn’t set out to work in professional sports. Like many lawyers, she started with a clear plan—be a litigator, build the career, hit the milestones. But along the way, a secondment with the Rangers, a move in-house, leadership roles across industrie...
Mar 13
1 hr 9 min
Sterling Miller knew he wanted to be a lawyer when he pulled the lawyer card while playing Life. That early realization turned into a remarkable legal career spanning private practice, in-house roles at American Airlines and Sabre, and ultimately General Counsel positions at Travelocity, Sabre, and Marketo. Today, he serves as COO, General Counsel, and Senior Counsel at Hilgers PLLC and is still very much in the game of life. Fueled by black coffee and Diet Coke (alternating, unapologetically...
Feb 27
1 hr 7 min
This episode is fueled by a lot of coffee. We’re joined by Alana Matthews, former BigLaw litigator, trailblazing sports executive, and founder & CEO of Alautus. She’s a woman who runs on instinct, grit, and an impressive amount of caffeine. The girl whose mother cut her hair short and snuck her onto a boys’ hockey team at age seven has never waited for permission since. After graduating from law school, Alana began her career in BigLaw litigation, but a Google search for “how to become a ...
Feb 13
1 hr 14 min
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