Episode 65: The Outhouse Lawyer: Todd Higey on FCRA Compliance, and Building a Background Screening Law Practice

Episode 68: How Timothy Baxter Built Baxter Research Into the Gold Standard of Criminal Research

Timothy Baxter is the CEO and founder of Baxter Research, a wholesale criminal research firm he built from the ground up in San Francisco in the mid-1990s and has since grown into what many in the industry consider the gold standard for court-based criminal research. He is currently rolling out a fully rebuilt AI-based system after four years of development, and splits his time between Florida, Reno, and West Virginia.  Pro Conversation You Don't Want to Miss! * How Tim went from calling in criminal court results from a phone booth to building an AI-based research system, and why he scrapped four years of work and started over to do it right * The grandfather story that shaped Tim's entire worldview: a Depression-era decision made in a cornfield that ended with retirement at 50 and a quarter million dollars * What Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance taught him about not sacrificing your life for the rice, and why that stuck with him since he was 20 * Tim's landmark Massachusetts work: why the fractional search misses 326% more felony convictions than a countywide search, and how Baxter Research was the first to deliver volume countywide searches in that state * The superbike school at Laguna Seca, the motorcycle trip through Iceland to the filming location of Oblivion, and what it looks like when you spend decades actually doing the things you said you would   I've been in this industry a long time, and Tim Baxter was the very first person I ever met in it. So this one was personal for me, and I have to say, even after all these years, I learned things about this man I never knew.Tim's path to founding Baxter Research is one of the great origin stories in this industry: a pager, a phone booth, a trifold mailer with a Sherlock Holmes logo, and a trip to the library to find phone books from Fort Lauderdale and Texas. Before any of that, though, he spent his teens and early twenties traveling to more than 70 countries with just a backpack, a tie, and a jacket — courtesy of his mom's airline benefits. The same curiosity and grit that took him around the world is what built Baxter Research into a household name, and this conversation covers all of it. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss a conversation. Thanks to our sponsor, PreemploymentDirectory.com [http://PreemploymentDirectory.com], publisher of Background Buzz and numerous other resources. And a special thanks to W. Barry Nixon.

Episode 67: The Background Screening Collective with Izzy Stapleton, Jamie Frankos, Megan Martinson & Robin Shaffer

I have to be honest with you, I was not sure what to expect going into this one. Four guests, a panel format, all of them colleagues and friends with each other. But within the first few minutes I knew this was going to be one of my favorite episodes. In this panel episode, Les Rosen sits down with the hosts of the Background Screening Collective to hear how the podcast got started, what it's really like to operate on the wholesale side of the industry, and why community, not competition, is the defining culture of background screening. The conversation covers career origin stories, the realities of regulatory frustration, why AI is reshaping entry-level roles, and the life lessons that keep them grounded through all of it. Pro Conversation You Don't Want to Miss! * How the Background Screening Collective started from a PBSA conference moment when SAS realized almost no one in the industry knew who they were * The wholesaler perspective on county criminal work being devalued, court access issues, and the Whac-A-Mole reality of government regulations affecting real people trying to get jobs * Megan's candid advice that entry-level verifier roles are at real AI risk, and why now is the time to pivot toward product, sales, or operations * Robin on personal brand: your stock travels with you from company to company and industry to industry, so never stop building it * Four very different fun facts: Jamie moved 18 times as a Navy brat, Robin can recite all English prepositions in alphabetical order, Megan has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and is impressively flexible, and Izzy speaks three languages and has a motorcycle license Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss a conversation. Thanks to our sponsor, PreemploymentDirectory.com, publisher of Background Buzz and numerous other resources. And a special thanks to W. Barry Nixon.

Episode 66: Jamie Pelchat on Compliance, Operations, and Leading With Fairness

In this episode, Jamie walks us through her career path at GIS and HireRight, from her early days testing a national database to leading compliance and operations teams, and now stepping into delivery transformation. She shares the mentors who shaped her, the hard-won lessons she still carries, and how PBSA gave an introvert a surprisingly comfortable on-ramp into leadership and community.  Pro Conversation You Don't Want to Miss! * The mom-given advice that shaped how Jamie shows up at work every single day — assertive, not aggressive * Why "you can't make everybody happy, but you can be fair" is the leadership principle that keeps her grounded * How she went from being terrified of networking to sitting on the PBSA Board, one task force at a time * The certifications she hated studying for and is proudest of earning — including a Nevada PI license she had to fly out to get * Practical advice for newcomers who want to grow but don't know where to start   Pro Conversation You Don't Want to Miss!Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss a conversation. Thanks to our sponsor, PreemploymentDirectory.com [http://PreemploymentDirectory.com], publisher of Background Buzz and numerous other resources. And a special thanks to W. Barry Nixon.

Episode 65: The Outhouse Lawyer: Todd Higey on FCRA Compliance, and Building a Background Screening Law Practice

Todd Higey is a background screening attorney based in Birmingham, Alabama with 28 years of legal experience. After a decade and a half of litigation work and nearly a decade as in-house counsel for ESS and Global HR Research, he now runs his own solo law practice serving CRAs, wholesalers, and data brokers across the country.  In this episode, Les sits down with Todd for a conversation that covers the full arc of a legal career built on background screening. From the day a class action lawsuit landed on his desk and he walked it right back out the door, to the data-driven compliance strategy he has spent years building and sharing at PBSA, Todd brings the kind of hard-won perspective you only get from someone who has actually done the work.  Pro Conversation You don't want to miss! * Good compliance work often feels like proving a negative. You set up the infrastructure, the procedures, the forms and you never really know if it holds until the day it gets tested. * Tracking FCRA lawsuits filed in federal court year over year is one of the smartest things an in-house lawyer can do. Data tells you what the plaintiff's bar is focused on. Anecdotes do not. * Transparency with clients is not just good practice. It prevents the hard conversations later. If a client buys the more economical package, make sure they know exactly what that means before anything goes wrong. * Before you hire a lawyer for your new screening company, hire someone who has actually worked the queue. Operations experience is the foundation everything else is built on. * Get involved in PBSA government relations. The legislation being worked on right now affects every company in this space, and the people doing that work need support.  Subscribe on Spotify or wherever you listen, and follow us on YouTube. Thanks to our sponsor, http://preemploymentdirectory.com PreemploymentDirectory.com [http://preemploymentdirectory.com], publisher of Background Buzz and numerous other resources. And a special thanks to W. Barry Nixon.

Episode 64: The Queen of Screen: Tammy Cohen on Building Infomart, PBSA, and 35 Years in Background Screening

Tammy Cohen is the founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Infomart and one of the most celebrated names in background screening. Known across the industry as the Queen of Screen, Tammy has spent over 35 years shaping how screening companies are built, led, and run. In this episode, Les sits down with Tammy for a conversation that is part origin story, part industry history, and completely entertaining. From quitting her job over a Glock handgun to writing one of the first checks to fund NAPBS, Tammy shares the real story behind Infomart, the lessons, the people, and the philosophy that has kept her going for decades. Pro Conversation You don't want to miss! * Being invited to the founding table of NAPBS was a defining moment for Tammy. Validation from industry peers early on can shape your entire career trajectory. * Go to every single booth at PBSA. You leave with industry knowledge and a new friend every time. * Rub it and run. When problems hit, deal with it and keep moving. Dwelling on setbacks will not get you down the road. * You do not have to know how to run a business before starting one, but you must learn fast. The operation side alone will not sustain a company. * Building experts within your team is its own form of legacy. Infomart's average team tenure is 10 years, and that depth of experience is a real competitive advantage. Subscribe on Spotify or wherever you listen, and follow us on YouTube. Thanks to our sponsor, PreemploymentDirectory.com, publisher of Background Buzz and numerous other resources. And a special thanks to W. Barry Nixon.