Gloves Off: A Legal Podcast

Gloves Off: A Legal Podcast

Gloves Off: A Legal Podcast is hosted by award-winning personal injury attorney Ven Johnson. We provide raw commentary and insight around some of the most-talked about legal issues & news stories happening in real time. Subscribe via your favorite streaming platform to catch every episode. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @VenFights.

Episodes

October 5, 2026 • 46 mins
The legal battle doesn’t end when a verdict is read. Ven is joined by Chief Appellate Attorney Chris Desmond and the Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Initiative, Eri Guajardo-Johnson Oak, to take a closer look at the appeals, arguments and legal decisions made in the following cases:


  • Oxford High School shooting
  • Edwards/Blasingame v. Grubbs
  • Novak v. FSS Technologies
  • McLain v. Roman Catholic Diocese of...
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Ven gets a birthday surprise as his daughter, Eri Guajardo Johnson-Oak, joins him for a candid daddy-daughter conversation. Then they turn serious, breaking down the Lindsay Clancy trial and the disturbing hazing allegations surrounding the University of Michigan hockey program.
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Gloves Off Podcast Episode 33:  UM vs. UIM Coverage - How to Protect Yourself Against the Auto Insurance Industry

In this episode, Ven sits down with Detroit Managing Partner Paul Doherty to break down the auto insurance coverage every Michigan driver should understand before they’re involved in a serious crash. They explain the critical differences between uninsured (UM) and underinsured (UIM) motorist coverage, ...
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June 17, 2026 • 36 mins
Description:
He had four years left on Michigan's Court of Appeals. Then he left.
Judge Christopher Yates joins Ven to reveal what led him to leave one of the state's highest courts and why he believes his next chapter with Ven Johnson Law will have an even greater impact.
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May 29, 2026 • 34 mins
Ven sits down with Ozan Baris to reflect on his four standout seasons of college tennis at Michigan State and the transferable skills he's learned along the way as he prepares for the next chapter of his life, including his aspirations of playing professionally. 

Follow Ozan's journey on Instagram @Ozan.Baris136.
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Ven Johnson, joined by special guests Jason Carr and Christopher Desmond, dives into key updates on the Oxford High School shooting and Samuel Sterling cases, calling for deeper investigations, fair compensation and real accountability. The discussion explores Michigan judicial decisions, the limits of immunity, systemic failures in Grand Rapids policing and the broader consequences of abuse of power and uneven justice.
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June 25, 2025 • 54 mins
In this powerful episode, Ven is joined by special guests Jason Carr, Steve Fishman and Chris Desmond to discuss the latest in the Patrick Lyoya case, including body cam footage, excessive force and troubling patterns in police stops and training. He tackles issues like racial profiling, immunity laws, prosecutorial decisions and the broader implications of bias in the justice system. Plus, Ven shares an update on the ongoing civil...
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January 2, 2024 • 48 mins
Civil attorney Ven Johnson and criminal lawyer Steve Fishman sit down with tv anchor Jason Carr to break down the various similarities and stark differences between civil and criminal trials.
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Attorney Ven Johnson chats with former tv anchor Jason Carr and clinical psychotherapist Tracey Stein about how cameras in the courtroom can impact public opinion, pulling examples from the OJ Simpson murder trial that was widely televised, and Heard v. Depp defamation case where clips went viral on social media.
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Attorney Ven Johnson, a Kalamazoo College grad and former tennis player, invites men’s tennis head coach Mark Riley on the podcast to chat about how K-College became the hotspot for the junior nationals - a 10-day tennis tournament that starts the first Friday in August.

Ven Johnson Law has been a sponsor of the tournament since the firm’s inception in 2011.
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Ven Johnson, Chris Desmond, Paul Doherty, and former Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Amy Ronayne continue the conversation on governmental immunity, including the difficulties plaintiff lawyers face to prove gross negligence and the proximate cause in a case. They also discuss the lawsuit against Oxford Community Schools following the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at Oxford High School, and how the district has an automatic right of appe...
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Ven Johnson, Chris Desmond, Paul Doherty, and former Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Amy Ronayne Krause discuss governmental immunity and times where it may make sense. They also discuss the different ways the government throws cases out to avoid being sued, including requiring a notice provision, where a plaintiff only has a certain window to warn the government that they are filing a legal claim. This episode also includes how th...
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In episode 23, attorney Ven Johnson, Tom Waun, Paul Doherty and Chris Desmond continue the conversation about governmental immunity. A large focus on this episode includes key differences between a proximate cause and THE proximate cause, which is defined as one of the most immediate, efficient and direct causes of a plaintiff’s injury. The four discuss ongoing cases including the Midland flood, Flint water, and Grosse Point...
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In episode 22, attorney Ven Johnson, alongside partners Tom Waun and Paul Doherty, as well as chief appellate lawyer Chris Desmond talk about what governmental immunity is, how it’s evolved over the years, and the hurdles one needs to overcome to get around it. Additionally, they dive into exceptions and instances where you can sue governmental entities or individuals who work for the government. They also discuss the key dif...
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In episode 21, attorney Ven Johnson, criminal law expert Steve Fishman and ‘Gloves Off’ producer Eri Johnson dive into some of the biggest trials over the past year, including many surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. They discuss various lawsuits and verdicts against police officers Kimberly Potter and Derek Chauvin, as well as teenager Kyle Rittenhouse.

Ven, Steve and Eri also touch on the high-profile ...
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In episode 20, Ven Johnson, Charlie Langton and criminal law expert Steve Fishman dissect the high-profile trial of Derek Chauvin, who was charged with the murder of George Floyd.

The panelists discuss the issue of pre-trial publicity, media transparency during trials, and how highly publicized cases can potentially taint a jury’s perspective on the case. They also discuss how surveillance, body cam, and dash cam foota...
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In Episode 19, Ven Johnson and Charlie Langton discuss the latest updates in the mid-Michigan flood litigation against state entities, including a recent ruling in favor of flood victims to move the lawsuit forward.

Ven and Charlie also dive into allegations that the University of Michigan and former football coach Bo Schembechler covered up years of sexual abuse by Dr. Robert Anderson following a press conference where Bo&r...
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Attorney Ven Johnson and legal analyst Charlie Langton interviewed former Flint reporter Drew Moore, who was in and out of the courtroom and speaking with Flint residents during the height of the Flint Water Crisis.

Episode 18 of “Gloves Off” dives into how the state of Michigan putting profits over people led to the poisoning of thousands in Flint, and how city residents brought these issues to light – not...
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In this episode, Ven speaks with Mari Copeny, also known as “Little Miss Flint” about the Flint Water Crisis.

The 13-year-old activist talks about the social injustices sparked by elected city officials six years ago, who neglected to treat water coming from the Flint River. This ultimately caused lead to be leached from old pipes, poisoning thousands of Flint residents and causing a widespread outbreak of Legion...
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February 9, 2021 • 40 mins
An unfortunate reality is that trauma and the law go hand in hand.

As personal injury is a major part of our practice, Ven invited Dr. James Zender, a psychologist, to join the Gloves Off podcast to discuss the impact of trauma as it relates to chronic pain, the loss of a loved one, the aftermath of sexual assault and/or domestic violence and more, and how these cases are often treated by juries.

Dr. Zender explains h...
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