Episode #16
Why the Best Plaintiff's Attorneys Start on the Defense Side
Stolle Voigt was never supposed to be a lawyer. She grew up quiet, horse-obsessed, and far from any courtroom, until a cancer diagnosis at eighteen put her family in the middle of an insurance fight they didn't know how to win. The attorney who stepped in to help, a defense lawyer named Micah, became a mentor and close friend, and reshaped the entire direction of her life. Today Stolle is a partner at DLL Law, a Texas firm handling personal injury and commercial litigation out of Plano and Houston. She ran the trial advocacy program at Pepperdine Law School, finished second in the country in mock trial, and made partner faster than almost anyone Rob has interviewed on the show. What sets her apart is the path she took to get there: she worked plaintiff's side, then insurance defense, then came back to plaintiff's work, carrying the inside knowledge of how adjusters think with her the entire way. In this conversation, Stolle and Rob talk about why she believes plaintiff's attorneys with defense experience are simply better at the job, how a cancer diagnosis taught her patience she couldn't have learned any other way, and why she thinks the phrase "everybody hates us, so they need us" captures exactly what her profession gets wrong and right at the same time. She's honest about the reputation problem plaintiff's attorneys face, the difference between chasing a settlement and fighting for someone, and what it actually takes to market a firm without becoming the lawyer on the billboard. If you handle personal injury work, manage a firm, or want a clear-eyed look at what separates a good plaintiff's attorney from a bad one, this is a conversation worth your time.
