Untying The Knot

What does a divorce coach actually do — and why is it one of the fastest-growing roles in the divorce space? Ryan and Julie talk with divorce coach Masha Rusanov about why emotional intelligence is becoming the real currency of divorce, how a flat-fee model serves both clients and the professionals collaborating around them, and what effective cross-disciplinary teamwork actually looks like in practice. Masha also shares her number one self-regulation tool — the one thing she tells every client before they sit down at the table.

Xavier Martine, the backward-hat-wearing owner of 7 divorce law firms, reveals how AI is about to completely transform family law — making most traditional firms obsolete while delivering faster, flat-fee divorces.He shares the brutal truths about billable hours, emotional hand-holding that AI can never replace, and his mission to deliver “steak for the price of a hamburger” in one of the most stressful areas of law.Whether you're a lawyer trying to survive the next 5 years or someone facing divorce, this episode exposes what the future of family law really looks like.

What if the key to resolving conflict was in a deck of cards? This week, Julie and Ryan sit down with Doug Richards — Edinburgh mediator, thistle enthusiast, and accidental tarot scholar — to geek out on why people fight, how they freeze, and what it actually takes to get them unstuck. We go deep on behavioral archetypes, brain states, Scottish stoicism, American pragmatism, French confrontation, and why the courtroom might just be an emotional escape route. Equal parts practical and a little woo — in the best possible way.

Fair question. Julie Thibault has spent her career navigating divorce inside the French legal system. Ryan McLaughlin has spent countless hours inside American mediation rooms, armed with research on how conflict works in the brain. Episode one is simple: who are they, why this podcast, and what do they actually believe about divorce that most people don't. A conversation worth having before anything else.