Elawvate: The Trial Lawyer Podcast

Try Good Cases, Be Great Teammates, with Pat Salvi II

The list of wins is long: $363 million on a toxics exposure case; $148 million on a paralysis case, $79 million on a police pursuit case; $75 on a brain injury case. But the philosophy at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard is short: “We want to try good cases and be great team members,” says Managing Partner Pat Salvi II as he visits with hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi. Tune in as Pat reflects on turning down $35 million before achieving a $148 million verdict, making first impressions, and preparing for trials through what some may call a “grueling” process. “There's no silver bullet,” he says. “There's no shortcut.”Learn More and Connect☑️ Pat Salvi II | LinkedIn☑️ Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube | TikTok ☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Produced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Gideon Asen Record $25M Med-Mal Verdict, with Ben Gideon and Meryl Poulin

In med-mal cases, the defense often argues that a defendant couldn’t have anticipated a patient’s unusual problem. When a 15-year-old girl died from complications of undiagnosed lymphoma, the plaintiff’s team turned that argument on its head. “I think people think, ‘Well, if someone comes in with a really unusual set of circumstances, you ought to look into it pretty carefully, especially if it can be concerning or life threatening, right?’ It's not a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card,” says co-host Ben Gideon, who tried the case with trial partner Meryl Poulin. The defense didn’t get out for free in this case. The jury awarded $25 million, Maine’s largest med-mal verdict. Tune in as co-host Rahul Ravipudi moderates this case breakdown.Learn More and Connect☑️ Meryl Poulin | LinkedIn☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Produced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

“Best Of” 2025: A Visit with Inner Circle Legend Charla Aldous

Earlier this year, hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi welcomed a “force of nature” to “Elawvate.” She’s also known as Charla Aldous, founder of Aldous Law. The episode remains one of the podcast’s most popular conversations. Tune in as Charla reflects on her legendary career, offers advice to younger lawyers, and revisits the victories that have placed her firmly in the upper echelon of trial lawyers.Learn More and Connect☑️ Charla Aldous | LinkedIn☑️ Aldous Law☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Produced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.

Truths about Leaving a Firm, with Ben Gideon & Jeff Wright

"Anybody who tells you that leaving a law firm is an easy process is lying to you," says Ben Gideon. To lay out the unvarnished truth, Ben shares his experience leaving a 17-year partnership to launch Gideon Asen. In a conversation guided by Jeff Wright, the firm’s COO, Ben explains why departing from one firm to start your own can feel like a divorce. The duo discusses critical decisions around choosing business partners, financial realities of starting a firm at midlife, and essential first hires needed to maintain operations while building a practice. Tune in for their insights about minimizing friction during the transition, having clear exit agreements, and preserving valuable long-term relationships by taking a little less money upfront. Learn More and Connect☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Jeff Wright☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | X ☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTubeProduced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by Supio, VisionSpark, and 1% for the Planet.

When Your Experts Get It Wrong, with Chuck Hehmeyer and Elizabeth Kayatta

“We had to say, ‘Hey, we're going to be honest with you here. For a long time, we had this wrong, and our experts had it wrong.’” That’s the theme that Chuck Hehmeyer and Elizabeth Kayatta emphasized in their med-mal case on behalf of a 4-year-old boy who was brain-injured after a routine surgery. As the boy recovered, experts initially diagnosed him with autism. That changed to a diagnosis of cortical visual impairment (C.V.I.), a condition that mimics autism. Hosts Ben Gideon and Rahul Ravipudi explore how the duo turned this potential disaster into a $10.5 million verdict through honesty, demonstrative evidence, and a powerful courtroom moment. Learn More and Connect☑️ Chuck Hehmeyer | LinkedIn☑️ Elizabeth Kayatta | LinkedIn☑️ Berman & Simmons on LinkedIn | Facebook ☑️ Ben Gideon | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram☑️ Gideon Asen on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Instagram☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Produced and Powered by LawPodsSponsored by SmartAdvocate, Hype Legal, Expert Institute, Filevine, and Steno.