Beyond the Bar: A Practical Guide to Your Early Legal Career
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Joe Stephens, J.D., is Steno's Director of Legal Solutions as well as a Clinical Lecturer at Texas Tech University School of Law. With over 15 years of experience in criminal defense and public service, he founded and led Texas' largest rural public defender office, which serves a 12-county area. A graduate of The University of Texas School of Law (cum laude) and Vanderbilt University (B.A.), Stephens currently serves as a Board Member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association (TCDLA) and sits on multiple State Bar of Texas committees. His expertise spans the intersection of legal practice and technological innovation in the justice system.
98 items published
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The Competence Paradox: AI Raises the Standard It Threatens To Undermine
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Trial Excellence: A Strategic Guide for Modern Paralegals
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Digital Tools to Streamline Your Day
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Mastering Modern Technology
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Practical AI Considerations for Litigators
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Press Play: Getting the Most Out of Deposition Video in Litigation
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Beyond the Bar: A Practical Guide to Your Early Legal Career
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Off the Record: A Steno Town Hall for Court Reporters #2
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Trial Ready: How the Best Paralegals Stay Three Steps Ahead
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Time vs. Value: Rethinking the Billable Hour in the Age of AI
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How to Partner with AI on Your Next Expert Witness Deposition
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5 Powerful AI Strategies That Winning Attorneys Actually Use
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The Post-Deposition Playbook: Using AI to Extract Maximum Case Value
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AI-Powered Trial Preparation: Using AI to Build a Winning Trial Binder
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From Intake to Resolution: Mastering the Case Lifecycle with AI
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Modern Litigation Strategy: How AI Powered a $15 Million-Dollar Settlement
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Turn AI-Powered Summaries Into Your Ultimate Case Advantage
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Prep with Purpose: How to Build Better Trial Binders
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Fresh Out of School: How to Become an Expert Paralegal
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The AI Mastery Path: Uncovering Hidden Evidence Patterns Across Multiple Transcripts
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Trial Prep: What Attorneys Really Want (And How to Deliver It)
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AI Prompts for Expert Witness Prep
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AI Power Plays: Insider Tips for Transcript Genius
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AI in Legal Practice: The Comprehensive AI Strategy Guide
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The $800K Dispute That Could Have Been Prevented ft. Kai Jacobs
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Why Trials Are Won Before the Courtroom ft. Gerardo “Jerry” Alcazar
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What Law School Should Teach in the AI Era ft. Patrick Baker
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Go Do Your Civic Duty: A Former Judge's Hottest Take ft. Brian Amero
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Innovation Is More Than AI ft. John Koss
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How AI Is Helping Lawyers Find Cases They’d Never Find Manually ft. Maxwell Weiss
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The Next Era of Between the Briefs
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Why Small Firms Can Move Faster Than Big Law ft. Nicole Brenecki
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Every Paralegal Needs The One-Step-Ahead Mindset ft. Christina Carter
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The Email That Ruined a $10M Lawsuit ft. Kat Mateo
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Where Are the Legal Leaders We Need? ft. Nicole Lester Arrindell
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Legal Tech Doesn’t Need More “Lamborghinis” ft. Kara Peterson and Richard DiBona
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Is Not Using AI a Malpractice Risk? ft. Shannon Boettjer
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Will AI Lower Legal Costs? Tim Fox Explains the Twist
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Everyone Wants AI to Think Like a Lawyer. That's the Problem. ft. Colin Levy
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Your AI Strategy Isn’t the Problem—Your Readiness Is ft. Elaine Barsoom
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The Man Who Helped Make eDiscovery Make Sense ft. George Socha
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AI Transformation Without Change Management is Useless ft. Mike Russell
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Why Is Legal Still Riding Horses in the Age of GenAI? ft. Umair Muhajir
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Why Paralegals Are Quietly Becoming More Valuable Than Associates ft. Michelle Pendleton
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Questioning Everything We Think We Know About AI in Law ft. Daniel Schwarcz
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Is the Legal System Every Lawyer’s Biggest Enemy? ft. Legal Futurist Sateesh Nori
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The Legal AI Game: Why Waiting Might be Better Than Rushing ft. Myah Bowermaster
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AI's Role in eDiscovery and Information Governance ft. Matthew Krengel
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Eric Friedman: Leading the Future of Law and Tech
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High Stakes, Human Impact: Brian Shapiro on Navigating Catastrophic Injury Litigation
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How Judge Paul Raleeh Disrupted Texas Courts Without a Law Degree
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Why the Legal AI Revolution is Actually a Good Thing for Appellate Law ft. David Coale
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How Victoria Schall is Beating the Corporate Shell Game in Nursing Home Litigation
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Trust and Human Judgement Are the Legal Currency of Today ft. Bill Ryan
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Law is About to Grow 50x and Most Lawyers Don’t Know It ft. David Cowen
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How AI is Exposing Decades of Legal Incompetence ft. Nicole Black
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The Kelly Firm, LLC Proves Why Small Firms Beat Big Law
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What’s Going to Happen When the AI Dust Settles? Ft. Kyle Poe
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Most Lawyers Are Ignoring AI’s Biggest Risk: Insights from Steve Embry
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A Trial Lawyer’s Guide to Preserving the U.S. Justice System ft. Eric Weitz
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Getting People to Change is the Hardest Part About Legal Tech Adoption ft. Carolyn Humpherys
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Retaining Top Legal Talent in 2026: The Playbook by Karen Mesmer
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Why Law Firms Reject Innovation and How Ted Theodoropoulos Is Making Change Happen
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AI Can’t Take a Lawyer’s Job. We’re Going to be Okay. ft. Christina Natale
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Adam Maxwell on Why Employment Law Is About to Explode
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AI Doesn’t Just Produce Faster Legal Work, It Produces Better Work: Insights from Daniel Schwarcz
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How Legal Tech and Grit Inspire $7-Figure Personal Injury Verdicts: Tyler Barnett’s Story
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AI Won’t Replace You. But Lawyers Using AI Will: Game-Changing Insights from Kellam T. Parks
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A U.S. Magistrate Judge’s Guide to Win the Legal AI Game: Insights from Judge Allison Goddard
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Why Building a Law Practice Makes You a Better Lawyer: Eye-Opening Perspectives from Scott C. Pappas
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A Paralegal’s Journey Into the Multi-Million Dollar Cannabis Industry with Samantha Misch
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How AI Is Re-Engineering Knowledge Management in Law Firms with Evan Shenkman
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How AI Is Transforming Employment Law and What You Need to Know to Ride the Wave with Michael Sigall
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No-Nonsense Perspectives on Building a 236-Partner Virtual Law Firm with Joel M. Ferdinand
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Why Data Beats AI in the Legal Tech Revolution with Ashley Gibbs
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Why Law Firms Need COOs to Survive: The $1B Mid-Market Revolution with Amanda Koplos
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How AI Is Forcing Lawyers to Confront Law’s Biggest Hidden Crisis with Marla Crawford
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Break the Spine of Legal Tech: Why Innovation Means Destroying Old Ways of Work with Katie DeBord
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Is This the End of Junior Associates? How AI is Disrupting Legal Career Paths: Insights from JP Son
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How Gen AI Will Transform the Legal Industry Faster Than You Think: Insights from David Cohen
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Why 85% of Law Firms Fail at AI Adoption And How to Join the Elite 15%: The Playbook by Todd Itami
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Breaking Culture Barriers in Corporate Law & Driving Impact with Asari Aniagolu
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Leveraging AI’s Potential to Optimize Legal Research with Sean Fitzpatrick
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Diffusing the Ticking Time Bomb of Data Protection: Actionable Insights from Patrick Austin
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Providing High Value Representation, While Keeping It Personalized with Daniel Forouzan
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Why Traditional Fee Models Are Dying and What AI Can Do About It: The Playbook by Kaweh Resasade
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How Prohibition Still Shapes Alcohol Laws Today with Jaci Flug
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Why Diverse Legal Teams Are An Advantage, Not a Checklist Item: Insights from Diana-Marie Laventure
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Why Lawyers Need to Chase Value Creation, Not AI: Strategic Insights from Neel Chatterjee
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From Legal Technology to Prohibition Law: A Between the Briefs Retrospective with Adrian Cea & Joe Stephens
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Why Lawyers Need to Use AI to Get Their Marketing Right: Strategic Insights from Diana Khan
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The Human-First Approach to Trial Excellence with Jesse-Justin Cuevas
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Mastering the Human Dynamics of Construction Law: Insights from James Bremen
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The Soft Skills of a Pioneering Lawyer: Empathy, Storytelling and Persuasion with Shahrad Milanfar
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Why Youth-Led Activism is What America Needs with Sarah Medina-Camiscoli
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Why Experience Is the Best Teacher: The Power of Application with David Fish
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How AI Is Reshaping Law Firms with Alex Shahrestani
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The Power of Courtroom Storytelling: Insights from Andrew Finkelstein
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