NEXT LAWYER UP

I am a fan of a number of podcasts that are done by comedians where they talk to other comedians. These podcasts mostly feature comedian friends and acquaintances that have known one another over the years. It is interesting to me since they are in the same world and the discussion centers more around their lives and history, rather than what they do. Many of the lawyers that I know have interesting backgrounds and lives. Rarely does that information get divulged since most lawyers spend a majority of their time engaged in what is, pretty often, the stressful practice of law. It occurred to me to reach out to some of these lawyers to try and have a one-on-one discussion with them about how they got to where they are now. These lawyers are well-respected in their communities, both professionally and socially. These Next Lawyer Up podcasts are also available for free at Itunes, Stitcher, and at "PlayerFM Player FM – Internet Radio Done Right.
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For our next iteration of this podcast, in addition to lawyers, of course, I am also doing a "sub-podcast" under this title with my non-lawyer friends called "Ronnie and Friends." These are friends that I have gotten to know over the years that have had a meaningful impact on my life and memory. You will see them sprinkled in periodically as the podcasts come out.
Below is a list of all of the podcasts to date and you can simply click on the individual’s name below that will link directly to the podcast episode where they are featured.
Enjoy!
Brad Botes Amy Tanner Tommy Siniard Dave Philipps Allen Brinkley and John Brinkley
Derek Simpson Taze Shepard III Doug Martinson II Scott Berry
Amber James Gary Conchin Pete Barry Joan-Marie Sullivan
Hon. (Ret.) Martha Lynn Sherrod Cary Flitter Jere Beasley O. Max Gardner
Doug Jones Larry Heinkel Steven N. Peskind Tom Ryan Harvey Morris
Bill Baxley Greg Reeves Greg Gunter Clint Butler Teri Mastando
Dan Aldridge Morris Lilienthal Robert Bailey Stan Miller Joel Robbins
Andy Segal Frank Caprio Mike Brodowski Kevin Gray Alexander Shunnarah
Michael McCormick Judge Bob Vance Judge Dennis O’Dell Chris Attig
Nicole Schroer Joe Ritch Frank Ward William ‘Matt’ Hancock
Henry ‘Hank’ Hildebrand Jeff Bennett Rebekah McKinney Andy Sieja
Chris Hinson Connie Glass John Steinkamp Judge William Houston Brown
Judge David Puckett Tyler Mann Robert ‘Bernard’ Harwood Rebekah Graham
Mary Scott Hunter 104.3 WZYP’s MOJO Bernard Nomberg Stuart Maples
Chris Keith Nesha Wright Stephen Williams David Martin
Henry ‘Hank’ Sherrod III John Strohm Joe King Will League
Laurence ‘Larry’ Guggino, Jr. Patricia ‘Tricia’ Baxter Joshua Baron
Benjamin ‘Ben’ Crump Jim Parkman Richard Raleigh
Bartley Loftin Maureen ‘Mike’ Cooper Thomas ‘Tom’ Malicki Raphael ‘Rafi’ Stern
G. Rick Hall Alexa Stabler Seth Price J. Barton Warren
J.W. ‘Terry’ Freiberg Jay Jump Tara Twomey Jason Lazarus
Coby Boswell Ben Meiselas Penny Hays Cauley Brett Weiss
Ron Burdge Barton ‘Bart’ Stichman Joey Jackson Joshua Cohen
Phillip ‘Phil’ Price Brian LaBovick Judge (Ret.) Keith Lundin
Holly Ray Daco Auffenorde Andrew Jennings David Meyer
Joe Patrice Henderson Cole Michael Forton Morgan King Ali Katz Bart Siniard Stephen Heninger Carl Cole Kenny Cole Michael Timberlake Angie Robertson Michael (Mike) Leonard Patrick Slaughter Mac Martinson Laura Terrell Joe Milowic Robert Lockwood Mark Zaid Elie Honig David Holt David Hodge Jonathan Lusk Jeff McKinney Brendan Prince Laura Harper Roy Black Robert Geller Chris Comer Eric Artrip Todd Farmer Eron Epstein Will Pylant Andrew Walker Michael Harrison William Messervy Luke Homen Philip "Flip" May Sam Givhan Mark Zuckerberg Kevin Gregg Martin Conway Bruce Wolf Erik Clark Michelle Cross Reed Allmand Richard Jaffe Kevin Heard Zach Guyse Judge Patty Demos Judge Carol Ricciardello George Smith George Flowers Charles Brinkley Kenya Rothstein Robin Wolfe Adrienne Hines Darren Wurz Rho Thomas Lieutenant General (LTG Ret) Stuart Risch Brian White Ralph Hornsby, Jr. Tim Semelroth Jack Duncan Heath Brooks Karen Hall Judge Richard (Rico) Bartolomei
Episode 179 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Retired U.S. Immigration Judge Richard (Rico) Bartolomei
Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Rico has been a very close friend of mine who I have known since we were young U.S. Army JAG First Lieutenants at Fort Bliss, Texas. Beyond that, Rico introduced me to my wife of 36 years, Patty, as we all lived in the same apartment complex on the west side of El Paso. As I always describe to people, Rico is the closest individual to being a “Renaissance man” that I have ever met. Everything that he does, he does great!
Episode 178 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Madison County, AL Circuit Court Judge (Ret) Karen Hall
Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Thursday, November 13, 2025
Judge Karen Hall was the longest-serving judge in Madison County, Alabama history, when combined with her time on the bench as a District Court Judge followed by her long tenure as a Circuit Court judge, until her recent retirement. And when I say retired, I mean just retired as in this podcast was done on her first day off after working for a lifetime! Judge Hall was instrumental in starting and then continuing the long tradition of judges in Madison County who are smart, compassionate, and considerate of both lawyers and litigants in their courtrooms, which is just the type of judge anyone wants deciding his or her case.
Episode 177 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Heath Brooks
Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Monday, November 10, 2025
Heath Brooks is a highly respected personal injury attorney with the Huntsville law firm of Timberlake, League and Brooks. You can also listen to previous podcast episodes with Heath’s law partners Michael Timberlake here, Will League here and William Messervy here. In addition, this law firm sponsors the popular LawCall show on WAAY/ABC 31 on Sunday nights at 10:30pm. As you’ll hear, Heath has been working at this same law firm for almost two decades, following a fortuitous concert featuring the Drive By Truckers.
Episode 176 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Jack Duncan
Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Attorney Jack Duncan is an exceptional creditors rights lawyer who is highly respected throughout the state of Alabama. Jack is a partner at the large regional firm of McCalla Raymer. As an aside, here is a previous podcast I did with another McCalla partner, Mike McComick.
Episode 175 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Tim Semelroth
Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Monday, September 8, 2025
As I learned on this episode of the podcast, Attorney Tim Semelroth is an Iowa boy through and through! We talked a lot about wrestling because, if you grow up in Iowa, wrestling is pretty much in your blood. Tim has an interesting career arc and an impressive pedigree. He runs one of the largest personal injury practices in the state of Iowa.
Episode 174 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Ralph Hornsby, Jr.
Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Monday, August 25, 2025
Ralph Hornsby, Jr., is a highly respected attorney who has been practicing law in North Alabama for a long time. He comes from great stock and he has an impressive pedigree!
Episode 173 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Brian White
Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Monday, August 11, 2025
Attorney Brian White is a highly respected attorney located in Decatur, Alabama where he has been practicing law for many years. I have known Brian by reputation, but this is my first opportunity to get to speak with him. He works throughout North Alabama and concentrates his practice especially in the counties of Morgan, Lawrence, Limestone and Cullman.
Episode 172 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Lieutenant General (LTG Ret) Stuart Risch, 41st U.S. Army Judge Advocate General
Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Wednesday, July 9, 2025
I have known LTG (Ret) Stuart Risch since we were both first lieutenants in the U.S. Army JAG Corps. We met as students in the 116th JAG Basic Course at the Army's law school in Charlottesville, Virginia. It is an understatement to say that Stu has had a spectacular career with his 40 years of uniformed service with the U.S. Army -- 36 of which were on active duty, while another 4 were spent in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Field Artillery officer -- rising to the pinnacle of the Army’s military law leadership as The Judge Advocate General.
Episode 171 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Rho Thomas
Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Thursday, June 26, 2025
Attorney Rho Thomas has an impressive pedigree which led her into practicing “big law” with a large law firm in Georgia after she received her law degree. After an introspective search by her and her husband, a practicing doctor, following the birth of their first child, the pair dove into learning about money and transformed their personal finances, paying off a significant amount of student loan debt. Later, Rho completely morphed and changed her career into helping lawyers deal with their finances and get out of debt just like she and her husband were able to do.
Episode 170 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Darren Wurz
Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Thursday, May 8, 2025
Darren Wurz is a certified financial planner with a master’s degree in financial planning. He specializes in financial planning for lawyers and law firm owners. Darren is the author of the book, “The Lawyer Millionaire: The Complete Guide for Attorneys on Maximizing Wealth, Minimizing Taxes and Retiring with Confidence published by the American Bar Association.

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