Illinois MCLE Podcast

Deepfakes, AI-generated documents, and machine-assisted analysis are arriving in courtrooms faster than the rules of evidence can adapt. Judge Paul Grimm joins TalksOnLaw to discuss how courts should authenticate and evaluate AI-generated evidence — and what judges and litigators can do now to prepare. How to Earn CLE Credit MCLE certificates are eligible only for TalksOnLaw Premium or Podcast mem...

What happens when machines make life-and-death targeting decisions? Professor Mitt Regan joins TalksOnLaw to examine the law of autonomous weapons — how international humanitarian law applies to weapons that select and engage targets, and where human judgment must remain in the loop. How to Earn CLE Credit MCLE certificates are eligible only for TalksOnLaw Premium or Podcast members. To earn credi...

The criminal and civil cases surrounding Donald Trump have raised a range of professional responsibility questions — for prosecutors, defense counsel, and the lawyers who found themselves in the middle. Legal ethics professors Bruce Green and Rebecca Roiphe survey the ethical issues raised by the Trump trials and what they teach about the rules governing lawyers. How to Earn CLE Credit MCLE certif...

The legal profession has long been defined as a high-performance environment characterized by competition and long hours. While dedication and hard work remain hallmarks of successful lawyers, there is a growing recognition of the tension between these professional demands and attorney mental health. Dean David Jaffe, Associate Dean for Student Affairs at American University, offers a unique persp...

For more than a decade, Brad Karp has led Paul, Weiss during a period of significant growth and change, including its emergence as one of the most profitable firms in BigLaw. In this episode, Karp describes how large law firms are built, governed, and sustained over time. Karp discusses how Paul, Weiss evolved from a litigation-heavy firm into a more diversified platform spanning private equity, p...

For more than two centuries, the American legal system has operated on a core assumption: lawyers are not punished for the conduct or politics of their clients. In this episode of New Law Order, Jeffrey Toobin examines what happens when that premise is tested by executive power. The interview is co-hosted by Joel Cohen, founder of TalksOnLaw, and John Morley, a Yale Law School professor whose scho...

Free speech has long been a constitutional cornerstone in the United States—but in recent years, calls for censorship have surged. Whether in response to hate speech, misinformation, or online harm, efforts to restrict expression are on the rise. In this provocative conversation, former ACLU president and NYU Law Professor Nadine Strossen mounts a powerful defense of the First Amendment. Drawing f...

When a string of 2025 executive orders barred select law firms from federal buildings, revoked security clearances, and threatened to cancel their clients’ government contracts, Big Law took notice. Yale Law professor John Morley—author of Why Law Firms Collapse—joins Talks On Law host Joel Cohen to explain: how the orders leverage client pressure to destabilize even thriving partnerships; the “ba...

Growing evidence links heavy social‑media use to rising anxiety, bullying, and sextortion among kids, and state lawmakers are racing to respond. In this interview, Harvard Law School’s Leah Plunkett—reporter for the Uniform Law Commission’s child‑influencer act—and University of Virginia family‑law scholar Naomi Cahn examine how new statutes seek to verify age, require parental consent, and redesi...

Digital platforms now enable the near-instantaneous distribution of information, including misinformation and disinformation, to vast audiences. Disinformation refers to false or manipulated information deliberately created to deceive, whereas misinformation is inaccurate or misleading information that is sometimes shared without harmful intent. Professor Barbara McQuade—a former U.S. attorney and...

As artificial intelligence systems become increasingly expensive and resource dependent to develop, a question arises: Are we witnessing the emergence of AI as a natural monopoly? In this conversation, Berkeley Law Professor Tejas Narechania explores how the market forces driving AI consolidation create both efficiency and significant legal risks. Professor Narechania explains the structural condi...

The legal profession faces alarmingly high rates of substance abuse and mental health challenges. In this conversation, Brian Cuban, attorney, author, and addiction recovery advocate, explores the systemic and cultural factors contributing to addiction among lawyers and provides actionable strategies for prevention and recovery. Cuban shares his deeply personal journey of battling addiction and re...

AI is changing how lawyers do their work and raising questions about how lawyers can harness artificial intelligence consistent with their professional responsibilities. Georgetown Law Professor Tanina Rostain answers questions about the transformative impact of AI on the legal profession and how the rules of professional conduct apply to the new ways that attorneys use AI to conduct research, dra...

The sale and production of lab-grown meat have been criminalized in Florida and Alabama, with other states considering similar legislation. Food law expert Professor Michael Roberts from UCLA Law School explains what the new laws do as well as how they fit into the federal regulatory framework and the historical context of food law and politics in the United States. How to Earn CLE Credit MCLE cer...

Prosecutors have full discretion as to both which charges to bring as well as to whether or not to bring charges at all. The power of prosecutors extends far beyond the courtroom, shaping the trajectory of countless lives through their decisions. Legal experts Bruce Green and Rebecca Roiphe delve into this immense authority in an insightful interview, exploring the nuances of prosecutorial discret...

The law of self-defense permits the use of deadly force under a strict set of conditions: the threat must be both imminent and unlawful, and the response, both necessary and proportionate. But what of the murkier scenarios where multiple parties, ensnared in the throes of perceived danger, believe themselves justified in their fears? Consider the tragic case of George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin—...

Forensic science, when applied rigorously, has the power to catch and convict criminals, but when mishandled, can lead to tragic miscarriages of justice. In this eye-opening interview with Professor Brandon Garrett (Duke Law School) and Dr. Peter Stout (Houston Forensic Science Center), explore high-profile exoneration cases like those of Josiah Sutton and George Rodriguez and the systemic issues...

The legal profession is known for its high-stakes, high-stress lifestyle. The dangers of stress to mind and body are similarly well known. However, as one endocrinologist famously put it, “It is not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” In a time of heightened stress, we explore one potentially powerful strategy that lawyers can use to more effectively combat stress and improve their pr...

In the volatile conflict between Israel and Gaza, the line between legitimate military action and war crimes is often blurred. Professor Michael Newton, an expert in the laws of war, begins with a brief history of war crimes and how these international laws were codified. He then turns to the violence in Gaza and Israel, using real life examples from bombings to kidnapping to better understand wha...

When you die without a will, the default rules of inheritance law kick in, allocating assets based on established formulas and hierarchies. In this conversation, Professor John Morley (Yale Law School) explains basic inheritance law and delves into the default rules that come into play when a person dies without a will (“intestate”) and how these rules both vary significantly from state to state a...

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College signals a radical shift in how the Supreme Court views favoring racial diversity and affirmative action in higher education. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing the majority opinion in SFFA v. Harvard, rejects the use of race as a factor in college admissions, asserting that this practice, previously accepted under prior cases such as Bakke and Fishe...

Law firm failures do not merely fall off into bankruptcy - they are spectacles of grand implosions. American law firms suffer from unique structural risks that can drive these formidable institutions to not just falter, but to rapidly collapse even when their balance sheets and profitability would suggest more durability in another industry. This phenomenon, far from random, stems from the fragile...

Police commands are the cornerstone of law enforcement, at once projecting the authority of the state and instantly creating legal obligations for which the failure to comply can result in arrest, detention, or even the use of deadly force. But what are the limits of police commands? When are they lawful and what rights do we have to disobey them when they are unlawful? Professor Rachel Harmon, a...

Diversity and inclusion are laudable goals, but how can change be created in an industry driven by tradition and financial return? This interview explores the concept of using economic incentives and data to encourage diversity within the legal profession. The conversation also explores controversial topics such as diversity spin, partner compensation, and the impact on the legal profession of cha...

The role of women in the legal profession is more bigger than a statistic, or headcount. Journalist Dahlia Lithwick shares insights from her beat (American courts and the law) about the insurgent role women are on the cutting edge of developing law. In an interview that reflects upon her recent book, Lady Justice (Penguin Press, 2022), Dahlia explains how gender diversity is also about women shari...