Does law firm culture actually matter — or is it just marketing fluff?

In this episode, we dig into one of the most uncomfortable questions in the legal profession: are the firms that reward aggression, intimidation, and “bulldog” behavior actually delivering better results for clients?

Drawing on real law-firm experiences, team-sport analogies, and high-stakes examples from outside the legal world — including Boeing, Tylenol, and Zappos — the conversation explores how culture is really formed, what behaviors firms reward (and punish), and whether strong culture improves performance rather than softens it.

This isn’t about being “nice” it’s about accountability, intensity, teamwork — and why law is a team sport, even when clients think they’re hiring a lone gladiator.

Conversation with MF&H partners, Etan Mark and José Ferrer.

What happens legally when a self-driving car causes harm—and no human was driving?

In this episode of Courtside, we dig into AI liability through a series of real-world scenarios and uncomfortable hypotheticals: a Waymo ride with no driver, passengers with no real ability to intervene, what “emergency response” looks like when there’s no human to call 911, and why the terms you clicked through may matter more than you think.

We also look ahead: Tesla robotaxi-style fleets, self-driving semis, and why the future of these cases may come down to data trails and “black box” forensics—changing how lawyers investigate, prove fault, and value cases.

Guest: Ashley Robinson

Key topics

• Waymo liability: pedestrians, property, and passenger injuries • Waivers, assumption of risk, and arbitration clauses • “Kill switch” / what passengers can do when things go wrong • Why the next era of litigation is data + forensic tracing

Disclaimer: Courtside episodes are for general information only and are not legal advice.

You pay for parking in good faith — estimate your time, use the app, go about your day. Then, days later, a letter arrives in the mail with a photo of your car and an “invoice” for $90–$115 because you overstayed by a minute or two.

Is that legal? How are private parking operators getting drivers’ home addresses? And what happens when hidden arbitration clauses and data access collide with federal privacy law?

In this episode, we sit down with MF&H litigator Charlie Garabedian, who is leading putative class actions against private parking operators that use license-plate cameras, mass-mail penalty invoices, and allegedly access DMV records in ways that may violate the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA).

We dig into: — How these systems track entry/exit times and auto-generate “gotcha” fees — The difference between a lawful ticket and a private invoice — Why arbitration clauses on tiny parking-lot signs may be unenforceable — The consumer privacy implications of pulling DMV data — Why these cases resonate so strongly with the public

As Charlie explains, these aren’t minor annoyances — for many people, a $115 charge means choosing between paying a notice and paying for groceries. And under the DPPA, improper access to protected driver information can trigger minimum statutory damages of $2,500 per violation.