What happens when a former child actor, ERISA lawyer, and Fortune 500 in-house counsel walks into a coffee shop?

In this case, she orders a lavender chai latte* and starts reimagining what a legal career can look like.

*served best in an actual coffee mug, preferably with fancy foam art and enjoyed while sitting in a coffee shop

In this episode of Counsel Brew, we sit down with Misty Leon, who at the time of recording was serving as in-house counsel at Texas Instruments. Misty's career has taken her from private practice to the corporate legal department to founder and principal of the freshly launched Practical Counsel Advisors, with a few unexpected stops along the way, including a bread commercial, starring as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, and surviving meetings that involved more conversations with a dog named Mr. Barkey than actual legal work.

Because every legal career deserves at least one story that makes everyone ask, "Wait...what?"

We explore Misty's journey from aspiring child actor and ruby-slipper-wearing Dorothy to respected legal leader and in-house counsel. We talk about intentionally choosing a niche legal practice, navigating major career pivots, and the coaching and self-reflection that helped her discover what she wanted next. Misty shares insights on building meaningful professional relationships, overcoming the hesitation that often keeps talented people from pursuing new opportunities, and embracing growth even when it feels uncomfortable. We also dive into the future of AI and legal operations, the value of staying curious throughout your career, and why having a friend who occasionally tells you to "just do the thing" might be one of the most underrated professional advantages out there.

One of the themes we love exploring on Counsel Brew is that successful careers are built through a series of small decisions that often don't seem significant at the time.

Attending a bar association event.

Following up with someone you genuinely enjoy.

Trying something that feels uncomfortable.

Volunteering for the panel even when you'd rather hide behind the podium.

Misty's career is proof that those moments add up.

Also, if you ever find yourself sitting through a two-hour meeting while someone discusses dog treats with their pet, remember: someday it may become podcast content.

Listen now:

Find Misty at https://www.linkedin.com/in/misty-a-leon/

Learn more about Practical Counsel Advisors at https://www.practicalcounseladvisors.com/

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Explicit Rating is for the occasional use of colorful language.

Professor C. Paul Rogers III has spent more than four decades shaping lawyers, preserving baseball history, mentoring students, navigating college athletics, and collecting stories that somehow sound too good to be true — except they are. In this episode of Counsel Brew, Nicola and Shereen sit down with one of the most beloved and legendary figures from SMU Dedman School of Law just as he prepares to retire at the end of the semester after an extraordinary career.

Both Nicola and Shereen recently attended Professor Rogers’ final lecture at SMU, making this episode especially meaningful for two former students who were lucky enough to learn from him firsthand.

Professor Rogers’ formative years stretched from Wyoming and West Texas to the East Coast before he eventually landed at the University of Texas at Austin during the chaos and culture shifts of the late 1960s. He shares the unlikely path that led him into law, academia, and eventually into becoming one of the defining figures in SMU law school history. Along the way, he reflects on lessons learned working the graveyard shift in Vegas, realizing small-town life was not for him, and how a letter to a professor opened the door to a life-changing opportunity at Columbia Law School that launched his academic career and ultimately brought him to Dallas.

The conversation is packed with hilarious stories and classic Professor Rogers moments — including the infamous Playboy Bunny classroom interruption, students arriving to class in full costume presentations, bad margaritas at the AAC, and the reality that some of the best career advice boils down to one simple lesson: if you want something, you actually have to do something.

But beneath the humor is the story of a professor who genuinely loves teaching, deeply values his students, and never stopped learning. In this episode, Professor Rogers reflects on the evolution of legal education over the decades and the importance of mentorship and relationships in the practice of law. Along the way, the conversation wanders through baseball history, vintage baseball cards, West Texas sports culture, and the continuing importance of a properly made margarita.

An accomplished scholar, former dean, NCAA leader, baseball historian, published author, and mentor to generations of lawyers, Professor Rogers leaves behind an extraordinary legacy at SMU Dedman School of Law — though after hearing this episode, “retirement” sounds a lot more like a new chapter than a final inning.

Grab your favorite brew and join us for a conversation full of wisdom, humor, and unforgettable stories with the incomparable Professor C. Paul Rogers III.

Listen now:

Find Professor C. Paul Rogers at https://www.linkedin.com/in/c-paul-rogers-iii-5936ab45/

Find Professor Rogers last lecture at https://youtu.be/jM1vt-btYv8?si=e6UL2d88weJUEsNj

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Explicit Rating is for the occasional use of colorful language.

This conversation covers a lot of ground. From exploding matcha to stepping into leadership before you feel ready, Gabe keeps it real about what it looks like to operate under pressure.

In this episode of Counsel Brew, we sit down with Gabe Vazquez, Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Vistra Corp., to talk less about titles and more about how he works. His approach is simple on the surface. Gather. Organize. Optimize. Build the system. Trust the system. Then know when it’s time to throw it out. And yes, there’s a checklist or two in the mix.

Gabe guides us through how he thinks about productivity, including his very real commitment to the to-do list. If it’s on the list, it’s getting done. If it’s not, it’s probably getting added just so it can be checked off. And yes, that includes a running list of F/U reminders. Follow-up, technically.

Stepping into leadership early. Managing people with more experience. Navigating situations where there is no clean answer and no time to overthink it. No playbook. Just judgment, trust, and a willingness to move. When things go sideways, whether it’s a major weather event or an operational crisis, the focus shifts quickly. Not perfect answers. The right people in the room. Clear heads. Forward movement. As Gabe puts it, it’s go time.

What makes the conversation work is the balance. Discipline, but flexibility. Structure, but self-awareness. And just enough humor to admit that even the best systems don’t always survive contact with real life.

There’s also the matcha. Gabe is fully committed and does his best to convince us we’d like it if we just gave it a real shot. We remain unconvinced.

Listen now.

Find Gabe at https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabevazquez/

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Explicit Rating is for the occasional use of colorful language.

Jasmin Brand doesn’t just build businesses. She builds ecosystems. An award-winning marketer, speaker, and serial entrepreneur, Jasmin has made a career out of doing what most people just dream about: creating strategic partnerships, unlocking opportunity, and moving communities forward in real, measurable ways.

Born and raised in Dallas, with roots at Booker T. Washington and Southern Methodist University, Jasmin’s path has never been linear. From launching her first creative agency in 2009 to stepping into the startup world and eventually founding HerTexas, she has consistently followed one instinct: build what is missing. Not what is trendy. Not what is safe. But what is needed. And when the startup bro culture did not fit for her, she didn’t shrink. She pivoted, recalibrated, and built something better.

Enter HerTexas, a statewide platform that started as a casual connection and evolved into a movement focused on economic impact, not just networking. Jasmin is laser-focused on one thing. If you are bringing women together, it better do something. That mindset led to initiatives like Fork & Femme, where the ask is simple but powerful: show up, spend money at women-owned businesses, and track the impact. No fluff. Just dollars, data, and real results, with tens of thousands in a single day and growing.

What makes Jasmin stand out is not just what she has built, but how she thinks. She is unapologetically direct, deeply intentional, and constantly evolving. She talks openly about designing your own career, rejecting boxes others have tried to put her in, and staying open to opportunity, even when it does not look like the plan. Whether she is leading innovation for an organization, mentoring the next generation, or challenging what supporting women actually means, Jasmin operates with a level of clarity and conviction that is hard to ignore.

Also: hot coffee only, no ghost tours, and absolutely no patience for performative support. If you are going to show up, show up with purpose. We hope you enjoy!!

Listen now!

Find Jasmine at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasminbrand/

Find Her Texas at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hertexas/

https://linktr.ee/hertexas

https://www.instagram.com/hertexasco/

Fork & Femme $100K Spring Challenge is April 22, 2026 - Register and track your spend at women owned businesses here: Fork & Femme 100K Spring Challenge Tickets, Wednesday, April 22 • 6:30 AM - 11:30 PM | Eventbrite

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Explicit Rating is for the occasional use of colorful language.

Fifty episodes in and we have started to recognize a pattern: the most interesting people don’t follow straight lines—they pivot, rebuild, and end up somewhere better.

Enter Kathy Wise. A former attorney turned award-winning journalist, Kathy is now the Editorial Director of D Magazine and the founder of MÄHJ the Magazine, a quarterly mahjong publication that’s equal parts culture, connection, and beautifully curated storytelling.

But before all of that, Kathy was in the trenches of legal practice doing the work, winning the cases, and ultimately realizing that success doesn’t mean much if it costs you everything else.

So she walked.

What followed wasn’t a neat, pre-planned transition. It was a leap that was sparked by her instinct, sharpened by her experience, and ultimately rewarded Kathy with a career built on curiosity, storytelling, and a willingness to chase what actually feels right.

In this episode, we cover:

• Texas State Fair cake judging
• How a chance connection through her therapist led her into publishing
• Building a career at D Magazine
• The launch of MÄHJ the Magazine, a quarterly release inspired by the winds and seasons of mahjong, designed to connect a fragmented global community
• Safari coffee (instant, unapologetic, and apparently amazing)
• Why mahjong isn’t just a game

Kathy has written about everything from wrongful convictions to pickleball to drag racing. Her writing is always about people and the stories worth telling.

And for our 50th episode, we are pretty excited to tell part of hers.

👉 Listen now:

Find Kathy at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-wise-5b8b4340/

Explore more of Kathy’s work: https://www.dmagazine.com/writers/kathy-wise/page/3

How to subscribe to MÄHJ the Magazine https://mahj.com/products/mahj-magazine

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Explicit Rating is for the occasional use of colorful language.

​​On this episode of Counsel Brew, we sit down with Eunice Nakamura, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Texas Rangers, for a conversation that proves the path to a dream role rarely follows the plan you laid out for yourself.

Eunice didn’t set out to work in professional sports. Like many lawyers, she started with a clear plan—be a litigator, build the career, hit the milestones. But along the way, a secondment with the Rangers, a move in-house, leadership roles across industries, and the relationships she built over the years quietly set the stage for an opportunity that would eventually bring her back to baseball in a much bigger way leading to her own personal homerun.

While serving as General Counsel at Susan G. Komen, Eunice was diagnosed with breast cancer herself, an experience that completely reframed how she thinks about ambition, priorities, and what defines success. Today, she leads the legal function for one of Major League Baseball’s most recognizable teams while also navigating life as a baseball mom to a travel player who had very strong opinions about whether she should take the Rangers job.

And because no Counsel Brew conversation stays entirely on script, we also cover:

• why Eunice still does multiplication in Korean
• her quest to recreate the perfect Japanese coffee machine experience at home
• the unmatched luxury of Toto toilets, and
• why the best career advice might come from the valleys, not the peaks.

Eunice brings thoughtfulness, perspective, and a sense of humor to this conversation emphasizing that the careers we’re most proud of are often built through relationships, resilience, and a willingness to embrace the unexpected.

Grab your favorite brew (almond milk latte, if you’re taking Eunice’s recommendation) and join us for Episode 49.

👉 Listen now:

Find Eunice at https://www.linkedin.com/in/eunicenakamura/

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Explicit Rating is for the occasional use of colorful language.

Sterling Miller knew he wanted to be a lawyer when he pulled the lawyer card while playing Life.

That early realization turned into a remarkable legal career spanning private practice, in-house roles at American Airlines and Sabre, and ultimately General Counsel positions at Travelocity, Sabre, and Marketo. Today, he serves as COO, General Counsel, and Senior Counsel at Hilgers PLLC and is still very much in the game of life.

Fueled by black coffee and Diet Coke (alternating, unapologetically caffeinated), Sterling has become widely known for something beyond his GC titles: his writing. In 2014, he launched Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel after realizing there was little practical, digestible guidance written specifically for in-house lawyers. What began as advice shared with younger lawyers over drinks quickly evolved into one of the most followed and respected in-house resources in the profession.

The formula is straightforward and effective: take complex issues and distill them into ten things you actually need to know. That approach didn’t just build a following; it led to multiple books, including The Productive In-House Lawyer: Tips, Hacks, and the Art of Getting Things Done, where Sterling dives into time management, focus, and how to operate at a high level without burning out.

In this episode, Sterling talks about what it really takes to build a career with momentum. Not in a motivational-poster way — but in a practical, unglamorous, “raise your hand for the hard stuff” way. Want to be General Counsel? Volunteer for the budget work. Build the board deck. Learn how the business actually runs. Don’t just be technically strong. Be indispensable.

He also reflects on how in-house has evolved. What was once seen as a quieter alternative to law firm life is now a destination role. But he’s clear about the tradeoffs and the importance of real training early in your career. Being in-house isn’t easier. It’s different. And leadership requires more than legal acumen — it requires business judgment, credibility, and trust.

And because no career is one-dimensional, Sterling has also played in a band called Big Wheel (guitar, bass, harmonica, piano), writes cookbooks, devours history podcasts, and builds Halloween displays ambitious enough to require multiple storage units.

Through it all, one theme keeps surfacing: persistence.

If you know what you want, move toward it.
If someone helped you along the way, pay it back.
And if you’re going to do something — whether it’s writing a blog, leading a legal department, or learning a new instrument — commit to it.

👉 Listen now!

Find Sterling at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sterlinglmiller/

Check out his Blog: Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel at https://tenthings.blog/

Find links Sterling’s Books at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sterlinglmiller/details/publications/

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Explicit Rating is for the occasional use of colorful language.

This episode is fueled by a lot of coffee.

We’re joined by Alana Matthews, former BigLaw litigator, trailblazing sports executive, and founder & CEO of Alautus. She’s a woman who runs on instinct, grit, and an impressive amount of caffeine. The girl whose mother cut her hair short and snuck her onto a boys’ hockey team at age seven has never waited for permission since.

After graduating from law school, Alana began her career in BigLaw litigation, but a Google search for “how to become a general manager” led her to buy a $150 hockey history book from what looked like a sketchy website with a single “buy now” button. The book was written by the Dallas Stars’ COO. Six months later, she was hired.

Alana spent over eight years with the Dallas Stars, rising to Executive Vice President of Business Operations and General Counsel and becoming the youngest GC in major league sports. From leading operations through COVID to navigating the pressure of a Stanley Cup run, her career has been built in high-stakes environments where preparation, confidence, and endurance matter.

Today, Alana is channeling that same energy into Alautus, a women’s personalized clothing company born from her own experience returning to work as a new mother and executive when finding clothing that actually fit, functioned, and felt powerful proved harder than it should have been.

Building Alautus hasn’t exactly been all glitz and glamour — more like pallets of fabric overtaking her garage and costly trial-and-error moments — but a 15-espresso train ride across Italy to meet her fabric supplier is the kind of caffeine-fueled highlight we respect.

☕️ Favorite Brew
Black coffee (almond milk optional), British tea from heirloom cups, and Italian espresso—sometimes in quantities that raise eyebrows (but who’s counting?)

This episode is about stamina, instinct, and backing yourself even before you feel “ready.”

“Go for it.”

👉 Listen now.

Find Alana at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alana-c-matthews-82257839/

Learn more about Alautus at https://alautus.com/

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Explicit Rating is for the occasional use of colorful language.