You Believe Your Client But Can You Prove It? ft. Erica T. Healey-Kagan

November 9, 2026 Adrian Cea

Believing your client is one thing. Proving what happened to them is a different battle entirely.

In this episode of Between the Briefs, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Erica T. Healey-Kagan, Managing Partner of the Manhattan office at Filippatos PLLC, to discuss what nearly two decades of employee-side advocacy have taught her about discrimination litigation, retaliation, evidence gathering, and the deeply personal nature of representing employees.

What You'll Learn:

What proving employment discrimination really requires
How documentation, timing and corroborating witnesses strengthen discrimination and retaliation cases
Why attorneys need to examine changes in employee treatment after protected complaints
How LGBTQ+ employment protections evolved from varying state and local laws to federal protection under Title VII
How Erica's background in LGBTQ+ advocacy shaped her employee-side litigation practice
Why remote work adds new complications when evaluating audio recordings and digital evidence
What makes age discrimination particularly difficult to establish when employers cite legitimate business reasons
How attorneys can investigate claims when critical evidence remains in the employer's possession
How to manage client expectations when financial compensation cannot deliver every form of accountability they want
How to maintain empathy and professional boundaries when handling emotionally difficult cases
Where AI can help prospective clients prepare for legal consultations, and where it creates risks
When the client has a compelling story but the evidence is incomplete, how to build a case that can stand up to scrutiny

Want to watch this episode of Between the Briefs instead? Get the full video on YouTube.

About the Contributors

Adrian Cea

Adrian Cea is Steno's Social Media Manager, leading content strategy, audience engagement, and digital brand-building across platforms. He also produces and co-hosts Between the Briefs, Steno's podcast covering the intersection of legal technology, court reporting, and the future of litigation. With a background spanning content creation, field marketing, and sales at companies like Sell Better and Chili Piper, Adrian brings a multi-disciplined lens to making complex legal tech topics accessible and engaging.

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Joe Stephens

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.

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