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TrustCast Show

TrustCast Show

By: Zane Myers
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 The TrustCast Show features in-depth conversations with successful business leaders who are shaping their industries. Host Zane Myers sits down with top attorneys, physicians, plastic surgeons, and private practice professionals to uncover the real stories behind their success — what worked, what didn't, and the advice they'd give others building a practice. Each episode is 30 to 40 minutes of unfiltered conversation: backgrounds, unique approaches, and hard-won lessons from professionals at the top of their fields. New episodes published regularly across YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, and 20+ platforms. Produced by TrustCasting — done-for-you video marketing that helps professionals grow their practices through short-form video distributed across 10+ platforms.Copyright 2025 Trustcasting Podcast Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • Lorna Griffin on Getting Fired in Texas, What You Give Up When You Sign a Severance Agreement

    Lorna Griffin on Getting Fired in Texas, What You Give Up When You Sign a Severance Agreement
    May 2 2026
    What happens when someone who spent 16 years inside corporate HR — watching how companies document, how they protect themselves, and how they quietly push employees out after pregnancy leave — decides she has seen enough and goes to law school to take all of that insider knowledge to the other side of the table? In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Lorna Griffin, founder of L. Griffin Law in South Central Texas, about what at-will employment actually means and what it does not mean, why the first 48 hours after a termination can either protect or permanently destroy a legal claim, and what employees almost always get wrong about severance agreements — signing away every right they have, including a non-compete that bars them from their entire industry for two years, in exchange for a check they needed to cash anyway. Lorna explains why you have to file through the EEOC before you can ever get to court, what the difference is between plain vanilla retaliation and legally protected retaliation in Texas, and why the phrase legitimate non-discriminatory reason for termination immediately makes her suspicious. They also discuss what happens when an employee comes back from FMLA leave and gets put on a performance improvement plan two months later — and why that is not a coincidence to an employee-side employment attorney — how to negotiate a neutral reference so a former employer cannot torpedo your next job offer, what the severe and pervasive standard for harassment actually requires in Texas courts, why employers with attorney's fees exposure perk up and pay attention in ways they otherwise would not, and what proper medical leave administration under the ADA actually looks like versus what most HR departments are actually doing. Lorna Griffin is the founder of L. Griffin Law in San Antonio, Texas, serving employees in South Central Texas in employment discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, and severance matters. Connect with Lorna Griffin: info@lgriffinlaw.com lgriffinlaw.com San Antonio, Texas Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Lorna Griffin 00:38 Watching an employee get pushed out after pregnancy leave — the moment that changed everything 01:25 What 16 years in HR taught her about how employers actually think that law school never could 02:14 I just got fired and have no idea if it was legal — what do I do first 03:00 Texas is an at-will state — what that actually means and what it absolutely does not 03:50 How long do I have before I lose my right to do something — 60 days, 180 days, 300 days 04:42 Employees who are afraid to even call a lawyer because they think it will get back to the employer 05:57 Attorney-client privilege and why consulting an attorney while still employed is protected 06:50 Free consultations — what that process actually looks like at L. Griffin Law 07:02 Why you have to file through the EEOC before you can ever go to court 07:43 The fear that filing an EEOC charge will ruin your reputation with future employers 08:32 How to negotiate a neutral reference so a former employer can only confirm position and length of employment 09:38 The single most damaging thing employees do in the first 48 hours — resigning 10:20 Why taking company property or posting on social media can destroy a legal claim 10:53 I reported my boss to HR three months ago and now everything is different — is that retaliation 11:39 The difference between legally protected retaliation and plain vanilla retaliation in Texas 12:33 Hostile work environment claims in Texas — what qualifies and what does not 13:56 Is there such a thing as a hostile work environment in Texas — yes, but only in specific circumstances 14:39 My harasser is a peer and not my boss — does the company have to do anything about it 15:50 Rapid fire — Sunday mornings, Rottweilers and Pitbulls, the Griffin household on a loud weekend 17:07 The one phrase employers use that immediately makes Lorna suspicious 17:20 Severance agreement or wrongful termination lawsuit — which one to fight for 17:50 My employer said I have to sign by Friday — do I really have to decide that fast 18:17 Why employees over 40 get 21 days to consider a severance agreement under the ADEA 18:47 What you are actually giving up when you sign a severance agreement — every right, forever 19:32 Can a severance agreement actually waive rights for illegal termination — yes it can 20:11 The hidden non-compete buried in a severance agreement that bars you from your industry 20:53 How to ask for more time when an employer is pressing you to sign immediately 22:13 I took FMLA leave for a health issue, came back, and got put on a PIP — is that a coincidence #LornaGriffin #LGriffinLaw #EmploymentLaw #TrustcastShow #WrongfulTermination #TexasEmploymentLaw #SeveranceAgreement #EEOCFiling #WorkplaceDiscrimination #EmployeeRights
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    31 mins
  • Nathan Cole on the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Act, the Canestraro Case Before the SJC

    Nathan Cole on the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Act, the Canestraro Case Before the SJC
    May 2 2026
    What happens when a first-generation college student who got his Coast Guard captain's license the day he turned 19, watched a tornado touch down from a Plymouth Harbor tour boat, worked as a deckhand from age 13, and then decided he was better suited for a courtroom than a federal ethics desk builds a trial practice that ends up arguing before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on a case that could change how every subcontractor in the state gets paid? In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Nathan Cole, founding partner of Cole Law Partners, about the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Act — what it requires, what happens when a general contractor ignores a payment requisition or fails to certify a rejection in good faith, and why that failure is far from a trivial technicality. Nathan walks through the Canestraro v. Columbia case in detail — a nearly million-dollar lost productivity claim by New England's largest mechanical subcontractor, litigated through years of arbitration, won at summary judgment, escalated to the trial court, and now before the SJC with a ruling that could set precedent on both the Prompt Pay Act and the standard for vacating arbitration awards in Massachusetts. He also explains the order of operations argument at the heart of the case: that a general contractor cannot hold onto disputed money, force a sub through years of litigation, lose at summary judgment, then pay under court order and immediately claw the money back — because if that is allowed, the Prompt Pay Act means nothing. They also discuss what subcontractors should do before a fight ever starts — including the one contract clause Nathan says is a no-brainer that most subcontracts are missing right now, why ambiguity is the single biggest enemy of any contractor who wants to avoid litigation, how to build a lost productivity claim before ever filing suit using MCAA factors and expert witnesses, when a business divorce becomes a legal claim and how forensic accountants help determine whether the fight is worth having, and how Cole Law Partners went from four lawyers and no staff in October 2025 to fourteen people in seven months. Nathan Cole is the founding partner of Cole Law Partners, a boutique litigation firm based in Massachusetts specializing in construction law, business disputes, and employment matters. Connect with Nathan Cole: LinkedIn: Nathan Cole Cole Law Partners Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Nathan Cole 00:38 From whale watching boats and a federal ethics desk to deciding he needed a courtroom 02:20 Clerking for a Massachusetts Superior Court judge as a career reboot 03:26 Subcontractor finishes a job and the GC goes quiet — what do they do in the first 30 days 04:47 What makes something a Prompt Pay Act job versus any other classification 06:07 What the GC is required to do within 22 days and what happens when they ignore it 08:31 The three things a rejection must include — written, contractual basis, factual basis, and good faith certification 10:27 What a savvy subcontractor can do strategically when the GC blows the deadline 11:15 Can a sub legally stop working if they're not getting paid — and should they 12:53 Negotiating construction contracts — getting to yes without wasting money on redlines 15:45 The top things Nathan always pushes for in a subcontract negotiation 18:12 Coaching the subcontractor to have the conversation versus formally redlining a contract 19:34 Ambiguity is the client's biggest enemy — why elimination of ambiguity saves more than any clause 21:00 Risk allocation — why a sub should not be responsible for what it cannot control 22:13 When trade stacking and GC mismanagement create schedule damage the subcontractor absorbs 24:01 Rapid fire — tornado on the harbor tour, Ragged Mountain versus hiking, where did the Boston accent go 29:27 Construction crisis call at 5 p.m. on a Friday — what Nathan does first 30:07 One clause every contractor should add to their subcontract right now — attorney's fees 30:40 The Canestraro case — plumbing sub, nearly a million dollars, years of fighting — what happened on that job 32:16 What a lost productivity or cumulative impact change order actually is and why it is hard to execute 33:25 How Canestraro documented the claim before litigation using MCAA factors and an expert witness 34:51 Columbia's rejection that was missing the good faith certification — and why that was fatal 36:43 Why the arbitrator correctly ordered payment at summary judgment — the Tachi decision context 37:42 The order of operations argument — you cannot hold the money, force the litigation, lose, pay, and then claw it back 39:34 The case goes from arbitration to the trial court to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court #NathanCole #ColeLawPartners #PromptPayAct #TrustcastShow #ConstructionLaw #MassachusettsLaw #CanestraroCase #SubcontractorRights #BusinessDivorce #...
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    1 hr
  • Jennifer Higgins on Defending Physicians, Why the Truth Does Not Just Come Out in Court

    Jennifer Higgins on Defending Physicians, Why the Truth Does Not Just Come Out in Court
    Apr 30 2026
    What happens when a Queens DA prosecutor who spent six years trying domestic violence and sexual assault cases pivots to the civil side — and discovers that everything she learned about how to break an expert witness, prepare a deponent, and anticipate an adversary's next move translates directly into defending physicians accused of malpractice — and then teams up with a partner who grew up in a medical family, came out of Hofstra already thinking in medicine and science, and built a specialty in appellate strategy and motion practice that plants the seeds for every appeal before the trial even starts? In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Jennifer Higgins partners co-leading the Medical Malpractice Defense Division at Abrams Fensterman, about what actually happens inside a physician's mind the morning they open a summons, why talking to a colleague who has also been sued is one of the most legally dangerous things a doctor can do, and why the belief that the truth will simply come out at trial is one of the costliest assumptions in this entire field. Jennifer walks through the Perry Mason moment she actually got in a courtroom — where the plaintiff's expert, who had edited the Bible of his specialty, was forced to admit the book was authoritative and then announced he didn't care about the book and sent his water cup flying — and explains why she used pasta to teach a jury the difference between an arteriovenous malformation in the lung versus elsewhere in the body. Jennifer walks through the causation defense that won a case on appeal after losing summary judgment — a rheumatic fever claim where even a correct diagnosis on the day of the visit could not have changed the patient's outcome. They also discuss how Jennifer structure every case as a chess match — Jennifer thinking in the moment at trial while Melissa thinks long-term about the appellate record — why a hospital or employer is not automatically on the physician's side in a malpractice lawsuit, what the standard of care actually means to a jury versus what most physicians think it means, and why Abrams Fensterman's one-stop-shop model gives physicians something most malpractice defense firms cannot — a partner down the hall who handles OPMC licensing issues, another who does wills and trusts, and another who handles employment agreements and practice mergers. Jennifer Higgins are partners co-leading the Medical Malpractice Defense Division at Abrams Fensterman in Lake Success, New York. Connect with Jennifer Higgins: abramslaw.com Phone: 516-328-2300 Lake Success, New York Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Jennifer Higgins 00:51 Jennifer's path — six years as a Queens DA prosecuting domestic violence and sexual assault, then pivoting to physician defense 02:20 What pulled her out of the DA's office — student loans, but also a love of complex medicine 03:23 Working with DNA experts and medical experts as a prosecutor — and how that prepared her for retaining defense experts 03:53Jennifer's path — growing up in a medical family and going straight into healthcare defense 05:09 What is going through a physician's mind the first 24 hours after receiving a summons 05:28 The first call to the insurance carrier — notify immediately and request preferred counsel 06:00 Doctors who don't even know who the plaintiff is — how that happens and how the team handles it 08:05 Over 95% of physicians experience significant emotional distress when sued — what Jennifer sees across the table 08:44 Hand-holding through every step of litigation — soup to nuts, weekends included 09:30 When malpractice claims lead to OPMC licensing issues — and how the full-service team handles both simultaneously 10:00 Jennifer as the litigator counsel — how the two roles work together 11:25 How many cases actually reach trial — and why preparing every case for trial is the standard anyway 11:47 The discovery process — medical records, depositions, summary judgment motions, and the path to resolution 12:30 If we choose path A, where do we end up — thinking through every litigation decision in advance 13:32 Planting the seeds for appeal during trial — why having appellate counsel in the room matters 00:31 The physician deposition — talking too much is the single biggest mistake 01:10 How deposition differs from trial — open-ended questions versus controlled cross-examination 02:06 How Jennifer and Melissa prepare physicians for deposition — you don't throw them to the wolves 15:18 The cardinal rule — only talk to your carrier and your lawyer, nobody else 03:00 How to take apart a plaintiff's medical expert — cross-examination and prior contradictory testimony 04:37 The Perry Mason moment — the expert who edited the Bible of his specialty and then said he didn't care about the book #JenniferHiggins #AbramsFensterman #MedicalMalpracticeDefense #TrustcastShow #PhysicianDefense #HealthcareLaw #NewYorkMalpractice...
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    42 mins
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