Lawyers Without Billboards
Real lawyers, real talk—without the billboards. Lawyers Without Billboards is an unfiltered look at family law, hosted by the partners of Shewmaker & Lewis: Steve and Patty Shewmaker, and Jimmy and Alexa Lewis.
With decades of experience in divorce, custody battles, child support, alimony, and criminal law, they break down legal myths, share expert insights, and dive into real cases (sometimes with a side of humor).
Expect candid conversations, legal deep dives, and the occasional sidebar on pop culture, legal movies, and life as family law attorneys. Whether you're navigating a family law issue, practicing law yourself, or just enjoy courtroom drama, this podcast offers valuable insights with a dose of levity.
New episodes every two weeks
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Lawyers Without Billboards
What Lawyers Can't Fix: How Erica McCurdy Guides Families Through Conflict | Lawyers Without Billboards - Ep 40
In this episode of Lawyers Without Billboards, Steve, Alexa and Jimmy sit down with Erica McCurdy, a nationally recognized Master Coach, mediator, and founder of McCurdy Solutions - known for helping families, executives, and high-conflict individuals navigate some of life’s most complicated challenges.
Erica brings decades of experience working with blended families, co-parents, divorcing spouses, entrepreneurs, and professionals in crisis. Her work centers on building emotional intelligence, restoring communication, and helping people take responsibility for their part in a conflict - even when they believe the other side is the problem.
This powerful conversation pulls back the curtain on:
• What emotional intelligence really means in family conflict
• Why highly educated people still make disastrous decisions in divorce
• How Erica helps clients move from “reactive mode” to clarity
• The difference between therapy, coaching, and mediation - and when each is appropriate
• How families sabotage themselves by outsourcing emotional work to lawyers
• Raising resilient teens in a world that doesn’t teach resilience
• Co-parenting mistakes that escalate cases (and how to stop them)
• Why some people “won’t hear you” until they develop internal accountability
• The psychology behind high-conflict personalities
• The myths parents believe about custody battles
• How to prepare a child emotionally for divorce without weaponizing them
• Why doing the inner work often changes the entire legal trajectory
Erica offers practical tools, honest insights, and a refreshingly direct approach to helping families break destructive patterns - and create healthier outcomes inside and outside the courtroom.
🕒 Chapters
00:00 – Intro
00:43 – Welcoming Erica McCurdy
02:00 – What Is a Master Coach?
04:00 – The Most Common Emotional Roadblocks in Family Conflict
06:00 – High-Conflict Behaviors: Why They Happen
08:00 – Therapy vs. Coaching vs. Mediation
11:00 – When Clients Outsource Emotional Work to Lawyers
13:00 – Raising Resilient Kids in a Fragile Culture
15:00 – Coaching Teens Through Change
17:00 – Co-Parenting Mistakes & Emotional Sabotage
20:00 – Accountability: Why Some Clients Get “Stuck”
23:00 – Helping Clients Create a New Narrative
26:00 – What to Do When Only One Parent Will Do the Work
29:00 – How Erica Prepares Families for Mediation
32:00 – The Surprising Role of Self-Awareness in Custody Outcomes
35:00 – What Erica Wishes Every Parent Knew Before Divorce
38:00 – Closing Insights
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📩 Contact: alewis@shewmakerandlewis.com
🌐 Website: https://www.shewmakerandlewis.com
🎧 Podcast Library: https://shewmakerandlewis.com/lawyers-without-billboards
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🎼 Music by Ben Hernandez at Dragonsong Productions
🎥 Produced by: Bleeding Edge, Inc.
🎬 Audio & Video Production: Rob Burgner
📍 Recorded at: Shewmaker & Lewis, Atlanta, GA