Charleston trial lawyer Roy T. Willey IV traces a path from a skinny, freckled kid who hated seeing people pushed around to a courtroom advocate who measures success by the lives he can improve — not by the percentage of policy limits recovered. Raised largely by a single mom, Roy carried a simple vow into adulthood: don’t let people be taken advantage of.

Roy describes his “trial ready process” — building every file like it will be tried, even though, as he notes, most will settle. It forces clarity on themes early and keeps leverage real. And it keeps promises to clients.

He then walks us inside the wrongful-death case that produced a $700 million verdict for the mother of a 17-year-old abducted and murdered in South Carolina — a case as much about truth-telling as it was about compensation. The path was long: a missing-person investigation, the FBI’s eventual involvement, a confession corroborated by recovered remains, and civil suits targeting not just the perpetrator but institutional actors who enabled harm. Roy emphasizes that juries understand money cannot restore a life; damages are our non-barbaric alternative to eye-for-an-eye justice. The verdict — historic in scale — functions as moral accounting and public accountability than a bank deposit.

Roy is candid, too, about what comes next. He may one day trade trial travel for a pulpit, but the vocation — serving people in their worst moments — won’t change.

In his "Closing Argument," Roy reminds us that justice is chosen, daily — that our greatest asset isn’t doctrine but humanity — and that worthy fights, not easy ones, are where trial lawyers prove their value.

Learn more about Roy at Anastopoulo Law Firm and www.roywilley.law.

• Service-first lawyering — not profit-maximization — can shape case selection, strategy, and impact.
• Building every matter to be trial-ready strengthens leverage, storytelling, and client trust.
• Damages are society’s imperfect but necessary substitute for eye-for-an-eye justice.
• Historic verdicts can be about truth and accountability even when collectability is limited.
• Faith, empathy, and disciplined preparation can coexist with hard-edged advocacy.

The Trial Lawyer's Journal is Presented by CloudLex and Lexvia.ai.

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Yale Spector, founder of Spector Law Group, was raised in a family of attorneys — his grandfather serving as a Hague-appointed legal officer after WWII, his parents both practicing in Baltimore, and his brother pursuing the same calling — Spector grew up at a dinner table where debate was constant and justice was considered a family responsibility.

In this episode of "Celebrating Justice", he traces that path from early years at big plaintiff firms, where he handled complex medical malpractice cases across state lines, to becoming a trusted litigator known for representing clients that others turned away. He built his reputation on catastrophic injury and birth injury cases, often traveling far from Maryland under pro hac vice admissions. Those experiences gave him a front-row view of how a few seconds in medicine — or law — can change an entire life.

The Exxon groundwater litigation in Maryland consumed years of his career and left him questioning the structures of Big Law. Burnout and disillusionment pushed him to reimagine his practice. What emerged was bold: Spector bought a 30-foot RV, transformed it into the LAW Truck (Legal Assistance on Wheels), and began offering free legal advice in grocery store lots, church parking lots, and community events.

Spector also shares two cases that shaped his understanding of law’s true weight: a catastrophic birth injury case where the child, once expected not to live past six months, went on to graduate high school and college because of the resources secured in court; and a case where a perfectly healthy baby suffered brain damage due to dehydration — a reminder of how quickly negligence can shatter expectations.

In his "Closing Argument," Spector turns to scripture. He explains that Proverbs 31:8–9 has been his anchor, a reminder that justice isn’t abstract but a calling — to speak up, to stand firm, and to ensure that those most vulnerable are not forgotten.

Key Takeaways

• Justice must meet people where they are — accessibility is itself a form of advocacy.
• Seconds in medicine and law can change lives; precision and timeliness matter in both.
• Burnout can spark reinvention — innovation in law practice often comes from struggle.
• Faith and family legacies can deeply shape a trial lawyer’s path and endurance.
• Cases are not just legal battles but human stories, often reshaping what is possible for families.

The Trial Lawyer's Journal is Presented by CloudLex and Lexvia.ai.

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From billion-dollar deals in Dubai to billion-dollar settlements in Texas, Murtaza Sutarwalla’s legal journey is anything but ordinary.

In this episode of Celebrating Justice, Murtaza traces his path from elite corporate law to the frontlines of human trafficking litigation. Early in his career, he represented governments and major corporations, drafting M&A contracts and shaping foreign law — but he ultimately traded prestige for purpose. Now a founding partner at ESS Law Partners in Houston, Murtaza applies his insider knowledge of corporate defense to fight for the vulnerable.

Listeners will hear how Murtaza helped craft and later litigate Texas’s landmark biometric privacy law — culminating in a historic $1 billion settlement against Meta. He also opens up about his firm’s focus on labor and human trafficking cases, and how undocumented workers and vulnerable teens are too often exploited in silence. For Murtaza, law is more than advocacy — it’s a divine responsibility. “Every client that walks through my door was sent by God,” he says.

In his powerful Closing Argument, Murtaza reflects on the dual roles listed on his bar license — attorney and counselor at law— and why both titles define his mission: “If I do my job as an attorney and a counselor at law, to me, that means that I have done the best job possible for my clients… and helped them heal.”

Key Takeaways

• Experience in corporate law can be a major asset in plaintiff litigation, especially against large institutions
• Human and labor trafficking cases are becoming central to the modern fight for justice.
• Strategic venue selection can shift power dynamics in high-stakes litigation
• Trial lawyers can and should help clients heal— not just win.
• Laws written decades ago can resurface as vital tools in present-day litigation.

The Trial Lawyer's Journal is Presented by CloudLex and Lexvia.ai.

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