Mediator Peter Taaffe and trial lawyer Kyle Herbert host a "diet" edition of The Dirty Verdict with a powerhouse guest: Imrana Manzanares, former ICU nurse turned trial lawyer at Abraham Watkins.
Imrana walks through her journey from the Texas Medical Center to the courtroom, what it's really like doing ICU nursing in Houston, how she pivoted into law school, and how her medical background gives her a serious edge in personal injury cases. She also opens up about raising kids while building a career, surviving floods and tornadoes at the firm's iconic building, and why yoga and fitness are non-negotiables for lawyers' mental health.
00:00:40 – "Diet Dirty Verdict" intro
Peter and Kyle kick off a slimmed-down episode, joke about hot yoga, matcha, and introduce guest trial lawyer and former nurse Imrana Manzanares.
01:27 – From ICU nurse to medicine snob
Imrana talks about working as an ICU nurse at St. Luke's and Methodist in the Texas Medical Center, handling pulmonary and surgical ICU patients, and seeing world-class care up close.
03:07 – Growing up in Houston & education path
She shares about growing up in Alief, moving to Sugar Land, bouncing between Second Baptist and Hastings, then heading to UH, UTB for nursing, a psychology degree, and finally law school at Thurgood Marshall (TSU).
05:04 – The pivot from nursing to law
Imrana explains how she knew bedside ICU nursing wasn't a lifelong fit, looked at NP and MBA programs, then on a whim took the LSAT, earned a scholarship to TSU, and followed that door when it opened.
07:26 – Moving to LA, graduating early & joining Abraham Watkins
She describes finishing law school in 2.5 years to join her husband in Los Angeles, coming back to Houston during the 2009 recession, and landing at Abraham Watkins after a Christmas party invite—and staying for 16 years.
09:12 – Building a career while raising young kids
Imrana talks about starting at the firm with a toddler, getting pregnant with her son, and how the firm let her work 9–3 for years so her career could grow alongside her children.
10:22 – Teenagers, growth spurts & mom life
She shares where her kids are now (15 and 17), the 4.5" summer growth spurt, and a moment when her son officially became taller than her.
11:29 – Husband the builder: arenas, rails, and high-rises
Imrana explains her husband's career building major projects like the Spurs' arena, convention centers, the Houston light rail, and a downtown LA high-rise that once housed Soulja Boy.
13:16 – Leaving the bedside & how hard ICU really is
She opens up about why she didn't want to stay at the bedside forever, how emotionally and physically brutal ICU work can be, and why we should be grateful for doctors and nurses.
15:21 – Medical background as a superpower in PI
Imrana and the hosts dive into how her nursing background helps her read records, understand medical jargon, and go toe-to-toe with medical experts in depositions.
16:35 – Translating doctor/nurse shorthand
She explains how she can "read between the lines" in nurses' notes and build a more accurate damages model from medical records.
19:10 – The brutal reality of med-mal in Texas
Imrana breaks down why she mostly moved away from medical malpractice: tort reform, causation fights, non-economic caps that haven't budged in 20+ years, and why most med-mal cases just don't make economic sense anymore.
22:03 – Steering the kids: engineering & debate team
She talks about guiding her daughter toward chemical engineering and her son toward law via debate, plus a hilarious "llama haircut vs. Sephora products" argument that shows how sharp he is.
24:26 – Work–life balance, networking & "lady who lunches"
Imrana explains learning the importance of networking in law (vs. healthcare), juggling lunches, happy hours, mom life, and why her supportive husband and family make it possible.
27:18 – Flexible schedules & long-term loyalty
She describes how being allowed to work part-time created a win-win: she stayed present for her kids and the firm gained a long-term, loyal trial lawyer.
28:21 – Post-Covid remote work & opportunity for women lawyers
Imrana shares why she thinks Covid changed the game—Zoom, remote work, and how a little flexibility can unlock huge value from talented moms and caregivers.
30:02 – Floods, tornadoes & the legendary Abraham Watkins building
The crew recaps multiple floods at the downtown building, converting the flooded first floor into a parking garage, then getting hit by a tornado, and plans for a new three-story expansion.
32:59 – Memorable Metro bus case
Imrana talks about a tough case against Metro involving a pedestrian client and disputed liability, how many lawyers turned it down, and how she fought through video and liability issues to get a meaningful result.
42:15 – Premises tragedies: manhole death & gym shooting
She walks through two heartbreaking cases:
A woman found in an uncovered, brush-covered manhole behind her home
A man randomly shot in the back of the head at a gym
and how premises liability is often brutally hard when third-party crime is involved.
45:00 – Dump truck crash & finding extra coverage
With only a $500k CSL policy and ten claimants, Imrana dug deeper, discovered the dump truck was overloaded, and brought in another responsible party with more coverage to get a better outcome.
48:08 – Gas explosion wrongful death case
She describes a Dallas-area home gas explosion case where her client was severely burned and later died, litigating against the gas company, and working with experienced explosion lawyers to resolve it.
53:59 – Growth & diversity at Abraham Watkins
Imrana reflects on the firm's evolution—from an older, mostly male shop to ~30 lawyers, a fully diverse roster, and expansion that just keeps filling up.
55:25 – Covid productivity, Zoom practice & remote staff
The team talks about how much work they got done during Covid, how Zoom changed depositions and hearings, and how remote work lets them keep talented staff who move or need flexibility.
57:32 – Yoga, Peloton & staying healthy as a lawyer
Imrana shares how she transitioned from running to yoga in 2017, why yoga is her "end-of-day massage" for desk-job shoulders, uses Peloton and yoga apps, and the importance of movement as lawyers age.
58:56 – Yoga culture, crowded studios & Black Swan shout-out
They trade stories about sweaty, mat-to-mat classes, shirt-on vs. shirt-off yoga guys, and Imrana shouts out Black Swan Yoga and her favorite studios.
1:07:18 – Final takeaways: second careers, flexible firms, and move your body
Peter recaps the themes: law as a powerful second career, firms embracing flexible schedules, and the importance of exercise. Imrana closes with her "nurse attorney" perspective on why working out, not self-medicating, is critical for lawyers' mental health.
1:08:52 – Outro & where to follow
The Dirty Verdict team signs off and reminds listeners to follow and subscribe on Instagram, Spotify, LinkedIn, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TikTok, Facebook, and more.
