Higher Callings

The act of governing is an exercise of power. Part of the genius of the United States Constitution is that it does not place all the power in a single ruler, but distributes it across three branches – the legislative, which is Congress, the executive, which is the President and federal departments and agencies, and the judicial, which is the federal courts. This is what we call the separation of p...

When you hear the word “lawyer,” what adjectives come to mind? Obnoxious? Over-priced? Untrustworthy? Or maybe skillful? Smart? Respectable? How often when you think of lawyers do you think “loveable?”   Danny Karon is a Cleveland-based lawyer who has branded himself as “Your Loveable Lawyer.” To know Danny is to know that that description works. More familiar to some of us as an accomplished clas...

In some courts, when a judge retires, their law clerks or others get together and pay an artist to paint the judge's official portrait. When the portrait is ready, there is a ceremony at the courthouse attended by the judge and the judge’s family, the judge’s clerks, other courthouse staff, and the judge’s friends and colleagues. After a number of speeches honoring the judge, the portrait is...

When a person becomes a lawyer, they take an oath. The oath is often administered in a formal bar admission ceremony. Each year in Massachusetts, many such ceremonies take place at historic Faneuil Hall. The new lawyers and their families hear speeches from judges and bar leaders, and the oath they are required to recite dates back to colonial times. Through it, they pledge to “do no falsehood, no...

Running the Marathon: A Conversation with Tom Grilk Tom Grilk is a lawyer who began his career in private practice at a major Boston law firm, then worked as in-house counsel at several area tech companies, and, from 2011 until 2022, served as President and CEO of the Boston Athletic Association, the non-profit organization that runs the Boston Marathon. Tom was in that position on April 15, 2013,...

The phrase “The Rule of Law” is one we often hear and many of us invoke, but do we have a shared understanding of what it means? And even if we can arrive at a common definition, why does the Rule of Law matter? If it does matter, how well is it faring today in the tumultuous times in which we find ourselves? And where it needs to be defended, who are its champions?  In this episode of Higher Call...

Renee Landers is a Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. She teaches Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Health Law, and Privacy Law, among other academic pursuits. She also has served in a number of other impressive positions, including a term as President of the Boston Bar Association and another as Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Administrative Law...

Lauren Stiller Rikleen is a force of nature. An accomplished lawyer and author, past President of the Boston Bar Association, and holder of several leadership positions in the American Bar Association, she now has her own leadership institute and serves as Executive Director of an organization of lawyers devoted to defending American democracy. Lauren also recently served as editor of an inspiring...

I recently had the privilege of interviewing retired Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Margot Botsford and Boston attorney Denise Murphy about the important work they and others have been doing to promote lawyer well-being in Massachusetts. During that interview, we talked briefly about an organization called the Committee for Public Counsel Services, or CPCS. According to its website, CPCS prov...

In February, I interviewed Boston IP attorney Chinh Pham, a former colleague of mine and current President of the Boston Bar Association. At the beginning of the interview, Chinh told me the remarkable story of his family’s rescue from Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975 in the final days of the Vietnam War, and his recent renewed contact with the American naval personnel from the U.S.S. Duluth...

The American legal system is only as healthy as the lawyers and judges who populate it. Yet, the system as it’s structured places enormous stress on many of them, which not only affects their personal happiness and career satisfaction, but also can diminish the level of service they provide to their clients and the public who depend on them.  In 2017, a National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being iss...

Democracies are fragile things. Many of us who pay attention have watched democracies rise and fall. So far, American democracy has survived attempts to weaken it, but no one can guarantee its continued survival. Two of the pillars of democracy are a free press and an independent judiciary. Those pillars often are the first targets of world leaders who want to weaken their countries’ democracies a...

Pro bono publico , a Latin phrase meaning “for the public good,” is most often associated with free legal services lawyers provide to people who need help but cannot afford to pay for it.  No lawyer I know better reflects that commitment than Boston lawyer Susan M. Finegan, a Partner and Chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Mintz law firm.   In this episode of Higher Callings , I asked Sue about...

When Chinh Pham was 10 years old, he and his family, like thousands of others, fled the chaotic capital of what was then South Vietnam on the final day of the Vietnam War. They were rescued by the 7th Fleet of the U.S. Navy, and eventually landed in the United States, where they began a new life. Today, Chinh is a successful intellectual property lawyer in a large international law firm, and is at...

Lawyers wear many hats. Some go into private practice, some into government service, and others represent the poor. Among those who choose courtroom work, some lawyers become prosecutors, some become criminal defense attorneys, and some become civil litigators. And of course, let’s not forget lawyers who become law school professors and those who become judges.   Of all the lawyers I’ve known thro...

This episode is an abridged version of the previous episode, picking up the story from the time Professor Babcock entered academia, and quickly focusing on the fascinating and important work she and her students have done and continue to do in the African country of Malawi. You can learn more about Professor Babcock and the work of the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide here and here. Y...

Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa. It is one of the poorest countries in the world. Like many countries, Malawi still applies the death penalty for capital crimes, although the death penalty is no longer mandatory in capital cases and may be abolished entirely in Malawi soon.  Several years ago, a law professor named Sandra Babcock took an interest in the Malawi penal system af...

Welcome to the new year! As we prepare for Season 4 of Higher Callings, we are pleased to offer this sampler of highlights from the five episodes of Season 3. We will be back soon with the new season, featuring more great guests from the world of law and other backgrounds who have dedicated their time and talents to the common good. Please enjoy this bonus episode and stay tuned for more to come i...

As Higher Callings begins planning its next season, we’ve decided to post an excerpt from our very first episode. Don's guest was David Hoffman, founder of the mediation firm, the Boston Law Collaborative. After clerking for Justice Stephen Breyer when Justice Breyer was still a judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals, David joined the venerable Boston law firm, Hill & Barlow. This mo...

Solomon Oliver is a United States District Judge based in Cleveland, Ohio. Born and raised in the segregated South, he moved north to attend college and, after years of working as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and teaching at both the college and law school levels, was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the federal bench in 1994.   In this episode of Higher Callings, I talk with Judge Oliver abou...

What does it take to find our callings? Some people know their callings at an early age, some discover their callings as they progress through school and career, and others may find their true callings much later in life. Whether in search of a job that fulfills us or an opportunity to advance in the job we have, many of us need help to find our callings. That help often takes the form of a career...

The clinical education offered in law schools can play an important role in preparing future lawyers to pursue their callings, while also empowering students and faculty in real time to provide critical legal services to clients who would otherwise have no access to them. In this episode, I speak with Jens Ohlin, the Dean of Cornell Law School, and Beth Lyon, the law school's Associate Dean f...

Too often, the adherents of one religion understand very little about the traditions of another. In our efforts to promote peaceful coexistence, we often refrain from discussing our religious beliefs and traditions with members of different faiths. Our silence in explaining our religious upbringings and practices to people of different backgrounds perpetuates a lack of understanding and imposes ba...

What compels someone who has had a successful career in the private sector to suddenly leave it for a completely different foray into public service, and more specifically into serving their country? How does the child of immigrants raised in a small working-class city rise to become the representative of the President of the United States in an important European country? And while we hear about...

My most recent guest for Higher Callings is Stephen Seckler. After graduating from law school, Steve took a job with Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, where he organized hundreds of educational programs for lawyers over several years. He then formed his own business, helping lawyers learn how to market their services, serving as a legal recruiter, and serving as a career coach for lawyers....