Michelle Risley is the founder and managing director of The Cassandra Group, a business intelligence and investigations firm. She is an expert in public records research and a licensed private investigator. Michelle's commercial acumen and investigative expertise were honed during her fifteen years in corporate investigations, including nearly a decade at FTI Consulting. She has managed hundreds of complex investigations, fraud cases, and asset traces on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, and law firms. She entered the investigations field after working as a journalist and reporting for niche financial publications. Michelle is a graduate of Brandeis University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and the London School of Economics. Learn more: https://www.thecassandragroup.com
Austin is an employment law and civil rights attorney and litigator serving clients in Austin, Texas and surrounding communities. Austin represents individuals in a wide range of employment and civil rights matters, including claims for breach of employment contract, breach of noncompete agreements, discrimination, overtime violations, wage and hour violations, whistleblower retaliation, FMLA violations, and marriage equality matters. Austin spends most of his days litigating cases for the Firm’s clients in state and federal court. Ryan has practiced employment and civil rights law exclusively since 2013 and devoted his practice to advocating for employee rights. Ryan has represented clients harmed by workplace discrimination, retaliation, unpaid wages/overtime, and contractual disputes. Ryan has handled all aspects of litigation, including drafting complaints, arguing motions in court, questioning high-level executives at depositions, and cross-examining witnesses before a jury. Ryan’s favorite experiences as an attorney have been the multiple times the jury has found in his client’s favor after difficult trials.
Marne Smiley is CEO of Bumper Lanes a digital marketing, strategy and branding agency based in the Chicagoland Area. Marne helps companies and people become better versions of themselves through marketing and technology. Learn more: htt[s://bumperlanes.com
This week Amit and Max talk about changes to federal policies from the new administration.
Michelle Risley is the founder and managing director of The Cassandra Group, a business intelligence and investigations firm. She is an expert in public records research and a licensed private investigator. Michelle's commercial acumen and investigative expertise were honed during her fifteen years in corporate investigations, including nearly a decade at FTI Consulting. She has managed hundreds of complex investigations, fraud cases, and asset traces on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, and law firms. She entered the investigations field after working as a journalist and reporting for niche financial publications. Michelle is a graduate of Brandeis University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and the London School of Economics. Learn more: https://www.thecassandragroup.com/
This week Amit and Max talk about some interesting recent cases.
Amit and Max cover end of year changes to state and federal laws with the coming administration. Also, some spicy sports lawsuit updates.
Barbara J. Bell, Attorney at Law, fills a valuable niche helping police officers, firefighters and municipal employees gain access to retirement pensions. Ms. Bell works with individuals as well as with labor unions. In addition, she provides professional estate planning services for individuals and assists family members through the probate process. Learn More: https://www.bjbelllaw.com/
Bryan has practiced employment law in Chicago his entire 20+ career, representing predominantly employees for over half that time. He has helped employees successfully transition jobs and recover for their losses without ever filing legal claims. He also has helped employees win multi-million dollar verdicts and awards after litigating vigorously as part of a team of attorneys. And he has helped companies comply with employment laws and defended wrongful termination actions. Bryan quit his first grocery store job after being refused a raise up to minimum wage and being told he was still expected to (illegally) operate the meat grinder (he was underage). He later drafted the employee handbook at his college grocery store job – working his way up from stocker to shift supervisor. He’s always been passionate about ensuring equality and civil rights – studying those issues extensively in college. Learn More: https://www.jbryanwoodlaw.com/ Learn More: https://kaplanlawatx.com/
The managing partner of Dinolt Becnel & Wells Investigative Group LLC and the author of two investigative books, Philip Becnel has been a private detective for twenty-five years. His first book, Introduction to Conducting Private Investigations, is on its third edition and has sold over 10,000 copies. His second book, Principles of Investigative Documentation, came out in its second edition in January 2024. Philip’s firm specializes in plaintiff-side employment litigation and qui tam investigations, but he investigates “anything worth investigating.” He has testified as an expert witness, including about the reasonable standards of documenting an internal investigation. He has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from George Mason University and a master’s in criminal justice from Boston University. He is a licensed private investigator in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Links: Dinolt Becnel & Wells Investigative Group LLC: https://dinolt.com Principles of Investigative Documentation: Get the book
