ABA Journal Podcasts - Legal Talk Network

As violent crime in New York City peaked from 1988-1991, policy makers were desperate for ways to combat and prevent it. In 1994, a new theory was embraced by the NYPD: that by controlling low-level “quality-of-life” violations like vandalism, noise complaints, traffic violations and aggressive panhandling, the police would ward off violent crime and more serious property crimes. Violent crime num...

In the 45 years since Roe v. Wade was decided, it has been a focal point for both anti-abortion and pro-abortion rights groups. But the opinion in the 1973 case has also been used by activists of liberal, libertarian and conservative ideologies to develop privacy arguments for issues ranging from access to experimental drugs to euthanasia to personal data security to sex worker rights. In this epi...

Mike Dillon has seen a lot change over his career as general counsel to some of the nation’s largest technology companies. Working for Silver Spring Networks, Sun Microsystems and, most recently, Adobe Systems, he witnessed firsthand how digitization and globalization affected the operation and practice of a general counsel’s office. In this episode of the Legal Rebels podcast, he speaks with the...

Wellness is not just about eating health food and exercising, Jolene Park tells the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward in this episode of Asked Answered. It’s also getting enough time to relax, getting enough sleep and not being stressed out about your job or finances–and employers can play a big role in all of those things. Park is the founder of Healthy Discoveries, a corporate wellness compan...

When we think of civil rights movements, the first to spring to mind might be the battles against African-American segregation or for women's suffrage. But one of the longest, most successful–and least-known–of these movements in America has been made on behalf of corporations. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Prof. Adam Winkler, author of We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won...

Richard Granat–the creator of MyLawyer.com, SmartLegalForms and the People’s Law Library of Maryland–has joined Intraspexion, a new artificial-intelligence software company, as a strategic adviser. At 75, Richard Granat does not fit the stereotype of a startup entrepreneur. However, he says, although there may be bias against older entrepreneurs, his experience is a benefit, not a detraction.

For nearly two decades, Dr. Steven Hayne and Dr. Michael West were the go-to experts that Mississippi law enforcement and prosecutors relied on when there was a potential homicide. Haynes performed the bulk of the autopsies in the state, while West was a dentist who touted his skill in bite-mark analysis. But after years of investigations and countless testimonies from the men, their claims of exp...

You love technology, you love the law, and you want a career that combines the two. But what kinds of legal tech jobs will be the most in-demand, and how can you get them? E-discovery and privacy law should be two areas that legal tech jobseekers look into, Shannon Capone Kirk tells the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward in this episode of Asked and Answered. Kirk, who is e-discovery counsel at...

Being trapped on an elevator leads to romance for the hero and heroine in The Wedding Date, written by attorney Jasmine Guillory. When a pediatric surgeon impulsively asks the mayor's chief of staff to be his date to his ex-girlfriend's wedding that weekend, sparks fly. But can the two make a long-distance relationship work? In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Guillory tells the ABA Journal...

What will be a big legal trend for 2018? Mary E. Juetten is putting her hopes on legal technology improving access-to-justice problems.

As general counsel for the Teamsters Union Local 810, Mark Torres spends his days arguing for workers' rights. But another of his passions is writing; he published his debut crime novel in 2015. So when he was approached by Hard Ball Press to write a bilingual children's book explaining the importance of labor unions in ways that kids could connect with, Torres agreed. In this episode of the Moder...

Do you dread going to work? If so, maybe it's time to look at the other ways you can flex your legal skills, says Nancy Levit, co-author of The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law. There are many types of jobs for lawyers, and sometimes what you thought you wanted to do doesn’t work out, Levit tells the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward in this episode of Asked and Answered. She shares...

To Bryan Garner, editor in chief of Black’s Law Dictionary, Justice Antonin Scalia was a friend, a mentor, a collaborator and a fellow lover of words. In the wake of Scalia’s death on Feb. 13, 2016, Garner reflected back over their relationship, from their first brief introduction in 1988 to the trip they took to Asia together in the last weeks of Scalia’s life. In this episode of the Modern Law L...

Robert Litt has confronted cybersecurity and encryption issues for two presidential administrations. With Russian interference in the 2016 election as a backdrop, Litt, an ABA Journal Legal Rebels Trailblazer, says the U.S. has been facing online threats essentially since the internet's creation.

Confronting someone about a substance abuse problem--or owning that you have one--is not easy, but lawyers assistance programs can help.  Usually referred to as LAPs and offered by attorney regulation agencies, the programs guarantee confidentiality when attorneys reach out to them.  And if an attorney has committed an actionable offense, entering recovery before it comes to light and being able t...

You have reason to believe you’re being monitored by the government, that they are following you and cataloging everywhere you go and everyone you talk to. The knowledge haunts you, and has a chilling effect on everything you do. But can you sue to stop it? In this month’s episode, the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles speaks with Jeffrey Vagle about his new book, Being Watched: Legal Challenges to Governm...

In this month’s Modern Law Library, we read a thrilling tale of dueling toymakers, corporate espionage and a group of brats taking on the queen of the DreamHouse. Prof. Orly Lobel, author of “You Don’t Own Me: How Mattel v. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie’s Dark Side,” speaks to the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles about how an intellectual property dispute between the maker of Barbie and the creator of...

Adriana Linares considers it a badge of honor to work in the legal profession without being a lawyer. Linares co-founded LawTech Partners with Allan Mackenzie in 2004 after several years in the IT departments of two of the largest firms in Florida. Now she travels across Florida, throughout the country and sometimes abroad as a law practice consultant and legal technology coach. “Lawyers, as far a...

As a former federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., Paul Butler once worked to put people in prison. Now, he has come to believe that prisons should be abolished. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Butler speaks with the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles about the racial inequities built into the system; his advice for young black men interacting with the police; and his view that radical re-imagin...

True etiquette is behaving in a way that makes people feel comfortable, it's not about stuffy rules. But as social norms change, some people have a hard time separating personal from professional behavior. Before your firm's holiday party, it may be time to check in on what is­—and is not—appropriate. In this episode of Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Dr. S...

With resource-strapped police departments facing pressure to avert crime and end racially discriminatory police practices, many are turning to data-driven surveillance technology with the thought that it could be both more objective and more effective. But without transparency into what technology police are using and how the data is gathered, can the public have confidence that these tools will b...

Legal journalist and blogger Bob Ambrogi recounts his unorthodox path towards legal journalism, as well as where he sees the legal industry heading – especially as it relates to technology.

Switching law firms doesn’t only cause partner anxiety, it’s hard on clients too. Lawyers need to really evaluate whether a move will best serve the people and businesses they represent. In this month’s Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Karen Kaplowitz, a former BigLaw rainmaker who now leads a business-development consulting firm. Much of her work centers on...

Bruce MacEwen is both a doctor and an epidemiologist in the world of BigLaw firms. A Legal Rebels Trailblazer, the Adam Smith, Esq. founder can diagnose structural illnesses, including aspects of the partner-as-owner model, and he can point to unhealthy customs and practices, such as when aversion to failure becomes its cause. He also can give advice and guidance for getting better and surviving o...

Fifty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws against interracial marriage in Loving v. Virginia. But Richard and Mildred Loving were not the first American couple to love across race boundaries. The history of what we would now consider interracial relationships in America extends back to the first European explorations of the continent. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, the A...