About Steph Weber
Steph Weber is an award-winning journalist specializing in healthcare, business, and law. She has written for Physicians Practice, Medscape, and Rheumatology Network and created content for several other industry publications, companies, and colleges. As a frequent Super Lawyers contributor, she enjoys drilling down complex legal topics into bite-sized, actionable advice for readers and interviewing the nation’s leading attorney voices, highlighting their most memorable achievements and lessons learned. She lives in Northern Indiana.
Articles written by Steph Weber
Faster, Cheaper and In Control
Settling business disputes through ADRHaving a shipment of decaf instead of regular beans show up at a coffee shop might sound like a very specific problem, but for attorney Linda Klein of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz in Atlanta, it’s a handy way to explain how a business owner can fix an issue through alternative dispute resolution (ADR). “The first thing you can do is engage in the simplest, most common form of ADR—negotiation,” she says. “You call the salesperson at the vendor’s company and talk …
Managing Mayhem
How Jessica Ragno Sprague eased Passaic County’s family court crisisPassaic County’s family court was beginning to rebound in 2019, when family law attorney Jessica Ragno Sprague became president of the county Bar association. For four years, Passaic had faced severe judicial shortages, worse than most counties in the state. Motions in family matters often sat unresolved for months, sometimes more than a year. In 2015, the county’s only sitting matrimonial judge was the late Judge John Selser, for whom Sprague had clerked in 2006. What followed his …
‘Fear Is the Overarching Theme Right Now’
Emily Reber-Mariniello reflects on current immigration law policiesFor the elderly Iranian couple, traveling from Tehran to Abu Dhabi for a visa interview was neither easy nor inexpensive. But it was one of the final steps toward reuniting with their only son in the United States. Unfortunately the interview took place in early 2026. Shortly afterwards, on Jan. 14, President Trump issued a proclamation indefinitely freezing visa processing for dozens of countries, including Iran. Their case was put on hold. “If their interview had been a week earlier, they …
Back Home in Batesville
An unexpected DOJ pit stop led B.J. Kelley back to his Indiana rootsWhen FBI agents knock on doors in a quiet town like Batesville, pop. 7,000, word travels fast. Fortunately, longtime resident B.J. Kelley wasn’t in trouble. He was being vetted for a spot in the Department of Justice’s prestigious Attorney General’s Honors Program. Kelley hadn’t been aiming for the DOJ. During his second year at Georgetown Law, he was volunteering for Sen. Richard Lugar and eager to make a little money. When the guidance office shared that the government agency was …
Lighting a Fire
Why Andrew Dansicker takes cases others won’tAndrew Dansicker still remembers the case early in his career that pulled him from the trenches of document and discovery reviews and into the trial spotlight. But it didn’t involve a high-paying client or a corporate legal battle. It was a fight over a farmer’s barbecue grill. The farm had been in the family for generations. When police found marijuana stashed in a barbecue grill on the property, they seized not only the drugs but the entire farm under Maryland’s forfeiture laws at the …
Relationship Building
P. Douglas Barr gives Kentucky businesses a voice in the halls of governmentIn Kentucky’s General Assembly, the clock runs fast, with sessions lasting only 30 or 60 days, depending on the year. Legislative agendas can change overnight, leading to policies that directly affect the state’s key industries—from bourbon and public utilities to horse racing and healthcare. But while the session is intense, much of the groundwork happens before lawmakers convene. Attorney P. Douglas Barr of Stoll Keenon Ogden has likely spent months tracking bills, mapping out …
Changing Course
Josh Verde launched his career as a pilot, then touched down on a different pathJosh Verde was the kid always glued to the window seat on flights with his family from their Boca Raton home to visit relatives in Michigan. Everything about air travel fascinated him. “I always wanted to be a pilot,” he recalls. That conviction intensified at age 10, when his family took their first international trip—to Europe. “Flying over the ocean sealed it for me,” he says. “I’m like, ‘I have to do this.’” Verde earned his pilot’s license in high school, attended …
When Hazing Causes Harm
Joleen Youngers’ quest to end toxic culture in college sportsThe longer Joleen Youngers practices, the more she rejects the early career advice she was given: “Be a dispassionate advocate, fight for your clients without emotional involvement.” To her, that mindset never felt quite right. This was especially true when student-athletes from the New Mexico State University men’s basketball program alleged that teammates had assaulted them during the 2022-2023 season. “What started as hazing, as the school likes to characterize it, went far beyond an …
Legal Help for Veterans Accessing Veterans Benefits
Former U.S. service members—and often their families—are eligible for such an array of benefits and programs from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that it can be overwhelming. “When I see a new client, I always ask if he or she’s a veteran, when and where they served, and if they have a service-connected disability,” says elder law attorney Felicia Pasculli with Rivkin Radler in New York City. A veterans law or elder law attorney can help veterans obtain the benefits they’ve …
New York Lemon Laws: What To Do if Your New Vehicle Is a Dud
Not every New Yorker owns a car, but that doesn’t mean the millions who do should be out of luck if they purchase or lease a faulty vehicle. In most cases, the state’s lemon law can help salvage your investment. “People just don’t feel safe keeping problem vehicles,” says attorney Jacqueline Herritt of Kimmel & Silverman, whose lemon law work spans several states, including New York. According to the law, if you’re a buyer or lessee experiencing repeated repair attempts of the …
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