Episode 11: When Clients Google Their Lawsuit and It Backfires

Your first instinct after a diagnosis or a sudden injury is to open Google or an AI tool and start researching. It feels responsible. It feels like control.

Karen Koehler, Mo Hamoudi, and Mike Todd take on what that instinct can mean inside a personal injury lawsuit. What happens when defense attorneys ask for a plaintiff’s Google search history?

As more people turn to AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot to understand their situation and ask what their case is worth, a bigger question follows. If those interactions exist, who gets access to those chat logs? How might courts handle attempts to subpoena or even “depose” an AI assistant?

If you’ve ever Googled your situation while a case is pending, this one will make you think twice.

Follow the show, share it with someone who always Googles first, and leave a review with your take.

🎧 Stay Connected with The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast

Hosted by Karen Koehler and Mo Hamoudi, trial lawyers at Stritmatter Law, a nationally recognized plaintiff personal injury and civil rights law firm based in Washington State.

Produced by Mike Todd, Audio & Video Engineer, and Kassie Slugić, Executive Producer.

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📬 Questions or topic ideas? Email us at thevelvethammerpodcast@stritmatter.com

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Episode 10: To Take or Not to Take A Case

How do lawyers decide which cases to take and which ones they have to turn away?

In this episode of The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast, Karen Koehler and Mo Hamoudi discuss case selection inside a plaintiff law firm. Every week, people call after catastrophic injuries, medical mistakes, or the loss of a loved one. Most believe they have a case. The difficult reality is that many cannot be pursued.

Karen explains the economics of contingency litigation and why complex cases can require hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars to investigate and try. Mo walks through how lawyers evaluate credibility, evidence, and whether a claim can actually be proven in court.

And then there is the hardest part of the job. Saying no.

If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with someone interested in how these decisions are made, and leave a review telling us what surprised you most.

🎧 Stay Connected with The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast

Hosted by Karen Koehler and Mo Hamoudi, trial lawyers at Stritmatter Law, a nationally recognized plaintiff personal injury and civil rights law firm based in Washington State.

Produced by Mike Todd, Audio & Video Engineer, and Kassie Slugić, Executive Producer.

Watch full episodes on YouTube
Follow us on Instagram, TikTok & Facebook
📬 Questions or topic ideas? Email us at thevelvethammerpodcast@stritmatter.com

🔥 New episodes every Wednesday
Subscribe for bold takes, heartfelt moments, and the unfiltered reality of what it means to live and lead as a trial lawyer at Stritmatter Law.

Episode 9: Sanctions, Sexism, and Gender Bias in the Courtroom

A judge issued a sanctions order against a plaintiff attorney. But this was not about missed deadlines or discovery disputes. It was about gender bias, professionalism, and what happens when misogyny shows up in a courtroom.

In this episode, Karen Koehler, Mo Hamoudi, and Mike Todd break down the order, including allegations that a female defense attorney was told she lacked empathy because she did not have children and was treated drastically differently than her male counterpart during depositions. The court found the conduct inappropriate. The bigger question is why we are still talking about this in 2026.

Karen sits in the discomfort. She talks about the shock of being pulled out of what you thought was a professional exchange, what it means to “stuff it” when your primary job is protecting your client, and why silence only feeds shame. Mo reflects on bullying, allyship, and whether redemption requires acknowledgment. Mike pushes on accountability and consequences.

If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with someone navigating bias in their profession.

🎧 Stay Connected with The Velvet Hammer™ Podcast

Hosted by Karen Koehler and Mo Hamoudi, trial lawyers at Stritmatter Law, a nationally recognized plaintiff personal injury and civil rights law firm based in Washington State.

Produced by Mike Todd, Audio & Video Engineer, and Kassie Slugić, Executive Producer.

Watch full episodes on YouTube
Follow us on Instagram, TikTok & Facebook
📬 Questions or topic ideas? Email us at thevelvethammerpodcast@stritmatter.com

🔥 New episodes every Wednesday
Subscribe for bold takes, heartfelt moments, and the unfiltered reality of what it means to live and lead as a trial lawyer at Stritmatter Law.