ABA Law Student Podcast

Matthew Wallace explains two of the resolutions up for consideration before the ABA House of Delegates.

Host Kris Butler sits down with Hilarie Bass to discuss her career highlights and advice for today’s law students. Together, they explore her chosen path and what led her to become president of the American Bar Association. In addition, Hilarie reviews some of her notable cases, encourages young lawyers to pursue pro bono work, and offers insight into the issue of mental well-being in the legal pr...

The story of Adnan Syed has become one of the most famous criminal matters of recent American history. This meteoric rise into the popular consciousness can be largely credited to the tireless advocacy of Adnan’s friend Rabia Chaudry. Join ABA Law Student Podcast hosts Kristoffer Butler and Negeen Sadeghi-Movahed as they talk with Rabia about Adnan’s case, the role of discrimination in our crimina...

Raising awareness is helping to remove the stigma surrounding lawyer well-being. In this episode, host Kris Butler talks to Terry Harrell and John Berry about mental health and well-being in the legal profession and law schools. Terry and John talk about how they became involved with mental health awareness in the legal community and explain the types of support available through lawyer assistance...

In law school and as they enter the legal profession, law students need to have the ability to understand and appropriately interact with diverse groups. Host Ashley Baker talks to Kennedy LeJeune, Miosotti Tenecora, and De'Jonique Carter about the importance of developing cultural competency as a law student. They discuss the need for more training for all legal professionals and offer their stra...

In this episode, host Kristoffer Butler talks to Jerome Crawford and Tiffany Buckley-Norwood about how the legal profession can become more welcoming for attorneys of color. They discuss what real efforts for diversity should look like in law firms and encourage all legal professionals to create truly inclusive and accessible firms. They also talk about how law students can reach back into their c...

In this episode, host Ashley Baker talks to Shawnita Goosby, Crystal Taylor, and Meghan Matt about how they manage their lives as mothers in law school. They offer advice on how to create support systems that can help parents handle the stresses of law school and encourage other parents to take heart and know that it can be done!

Host Kristoffer Butler talks to Dr. Maria-Vittoria Carminati and Dr. Michael Foerster about the future of space and telecommunications law. We are fundamentally a people of exploration and adventure, and our attempts at reaching further into space create a need for forward-thinking laws that will protect other planets and our own. Dr. Carminati and Dr. Foerster discuss this exciting area of the la...

Having difficulty navigating your hectic law school schedule? You’re not alone! Your new hosts, Ashley Baker and Kristoffer Butler, talk to Negeen Sadeghi-Movahed, chairwoman of the ABA Law Student Division, about law student life and her goals as chair. They discuss tips for handling a busy schedule, give internship advice, and talk about prioritizing what matters during finals.

Host Caitlin Peterson talks to Melissa Waugh about her experience as a mother to hyphenated kids and a part-time lawyer specializing in special education law. She discusses how being a mother helps her connect with her clients and and the advantages of specializing in a niche area of the law. She also shares a plethora of resources for young lawyers who are interested in special education law incl...

Judge Wilhelmina Wright is the first African American woman to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court. Host Caitlin Peterson talks to Judge Wilhelmina Wright, who shares advice with young, aspiring judges about building confidence, taking responsibility, and overcoming barriers in their careers. She also shares what it was like growing up with the lingering effects of segregation and the support she...

The documentary RBG explores the quiet rise of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg into a pop culture icon and, more importantly, a powerful voice in the nation’s highest court. Hosts Caitlin Peterson and John Weber talk about the movie with the people who made it, Betsy West and Julie Cohen. They discuss what makes the film unique, from music choice to why they chose the subject, as well as what makes Ju...

It can be hard to maintain mental wellness as a law student because of established stigmas and a lack of available resources. But, because wellness helps with success, students are taking action to change how law schools approach this subject. We discuss how students are collaborating with their schools to bring attention to mental health issues and how other schools, divisions, and firms can help...

The rhetoric of the Trump administration has brought a lot of attention to the topic of immigration and refugees. In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast , host John Weber talks to Carl Hernandez about the immigration clinic at Brigham Young University. Their clinic is managed mainly by students and meets a great need in the Utah community which has a large immigrant population. Carl discus...

When you think of a law professor you probably imagine whiteboards, textbooks, and a red pen, but the life of a law professor is often not confined to the classroom. In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast , host Caitlin Peterson talks to professor Benjamin Davis about his experience as a law professor including the process of research, the important experiences he gained through his ABA me...

The end of bar exam season results in many happy law grads, an exciting future of career paths, and a new ABA Law Student Podcast host! In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast , host Kareem Aref talks to new host John Weber about why he chose to run for the Law Student Division’s delegate of communications and why it’s important that law students get more involved with the division. John al...

Immigration is a hot topic both in and outside of the legal realm, but for Thomas Kim it’s more than just a popular subject. Having been taken advantage of by his own immigration lawyer, he has become a passionate immigration rights activist. In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast , host Kareem Aref talks to Thomas Kim, the new chair of the ABA’s Law Student Division, about what motivates...

Law school is essential to becoming a successful lawyer but it doesn’t come cheap. Public Service Loan Forgiveness was a program put in place to entice young lawyers to take public service positions which have historically paid less than private sector positions. After ten years of making on-time, full payments while in a public service role, the loan would be forgiven. Recently, though, the Depar...

Young lawyers are needed to fill public service roles but often law school debt funnels them into higher paying positions. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was aimed to help this issue by forgiving student debt after ten years of qualifying employment at the local, state, or federal level. In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast , host Chris Morgan talks to ABA President L...

The O. J. Simpson trial is still heavy on people’s minds, especially with the release of shows like “O. J. Simpson: Made in America” and FX's “American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson.” In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast , host Chris Morgan talks to F. Lee Bailey, defense lawyer in the O.J. Simpson case, about his most notable cases and the definition of proof beyond a reasonable...

It’s a question that has haunted the nation: did Steven Avery kill Teresa Halbach? The Netflix series Making A Murderer has brought the Steven Avery case to the forefront of everyone’s minds and, in doing so, has also brought attention to the lawyers involved. In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast , host Chris Morgan talks to Dean Strang, one of Steven Avery’s defense lawyers, about the c...

Labeled the “trial of the century” by many, the O.J. Simpson case brought forth issues of race, celebrity, and police dishonesty. In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast , host Chris Morgan talks to Carl Douglas, one of the defense attorneys in the O.J. Simpson murder case, about the case itself and the circumstances that ultimately lead to the controversial verdict. Their discussion includ...

Research may not be the most exciting part of law school, but there are ways to make it easier, more interesting, and (perhaps most importantly) free. In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast , hosts Sandy Gallant-Jones and Chris Morgan talk to Sheila Hollis and Barbara Bavis about the Law Library of Congress. While most law students know the Library of Congress exists, few know just how man...

Law school is essential to becoming a successful lawyer but it doesn’t come cheap. Public Service Loan Forgiveness was a program put in place to entice young lawyers to take public service positions which have historically paid less than private sector positions. After ten years of making on-time, full payments while in a public service role, the loan would be forgiven. Recently, though, the Depar...

Law school provides many young attorneys with the critical thinking and analysis skills necessary to be a successful lawyer in today’s legal marketplace. In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast , hosts Chris Morgan and Sandy Gallant-Jones speak with Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) Executive Director Kelly Lake about the disruptive effects of legal technology and why continued learning...