Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

Joe and Kathryn chat about the lawsuit against George Mason University brought by GMU Law School -- better known by their unfortunately chosen name "ASSLaw" -- law professor Todd Zywicki over his refusal to get vaccinated. It's a remarkably unimpressive complaint. Cravath, in the midst of many changes, announces a new flexible office work policy based around a floating 6 remote work days per month...

There’s a business case to be made for hiring attorneys with ADHD, autism, learning disabilities and other neurological differences. Businesses have long touted out-of-the-box thinking, but cookie-cutter hiring practices don’t tend to result in diversity of thought. A legal professional who quite literally thinks differently can be an invaluable part of a team. In her book Great Minds Think Differ...

As venture capital investment continues to sweep the legal market (and our news segment), Gyi and Conrad celebrate the $2 million seed round funding for Hello Divorce. Yay! In the segment, “Dumb Sh*t Lawyers Do,” the two discuss the case of a lawyer reprimanded for raking an unhappy client over the coals. They also discuss a Streisand Effect case in which a roofing company sued a couple because of...

In this episode of Talk Justice, host Jason Tashea sits down with Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5), co-chair of the Congressional Access to Civil Legal Aid Caucus; Karen Lash of the American University Justice Programs Office and former official at DOJ’s Office for Access to Justice; and Elizabeth Werner, managing attorney at Legal Aid of West Virginia to discuss what President Biden’s execu...

From the FDA’s emergency use authorization of vaccines, to federalism concerns, to employee/employer relationships, to schools, and much more—legal issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to crop up at a rapid pace. To help law students make sense of these evolving matters, Meg Steenburgh welcomes Harvard Law professor Glenn Cohen to share valuable insights on a wide variety of pandemic-e...

Jared shares the story of Ken Burns’ surprisingly thorough autograph style and, for those without the expertise, offers up his top documentary recommendations so you’ll have something to watch for the next… 10 years or so. (1:58) Then, things get meta with Steve Fretzin as he and Jared talk podcasts on a podcast. They discuss how podcasting could benefit your legal practice and offer tips for gett...

Mathew Kerbis, of the ‘Financial Wellness Minute’, talks about a topic near and dear to his heart (legal education) with Kyle McEntee, the co-founder and executive director of Law School Transparency. Together they discuss the inputs and outputs that can impact a career before it gets started. Issues like cost, school ranking, and licensing can all play a part in those early job options but what c...

Is it now easier to discharge student loans in Bankruptcy? A recent class action case, ‘Homaidan vs. Navient’, from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit opens that door. What does that mean for debt holders around the country? Jason Johnson from the law firm of Roetzel and Andress walks us through it. Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

As a lawyer, developing your personal brand may actually have the potential to improve your legal practice in more ways than you realize. On Balance hosts JoAnn Hathaway and Molly Ranns talk with Katy Goshtasbi about how lawyers can build a personal brand by identifying the unique things they have to offer their clients. Katy outlines her formal research on stress and self-confidence and explains...

The collapse of the Champlain Towers was a horrible tragedy killing nearly 100 people in Surfside, Florida. When events like this are caused by mistakes from the HOA and their property managers, where does the blame fall? Will there be criminal charges? Who will bear the financial losses as the lawsuits mount? Michael Kennedy from Berding & Weil joins us. Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Learn...

After failing to form a bipartisan committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol Complex, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi instead formed a select committee. However, accusations of partisanship have been leveled at the committee, particularly after Pelosi eliminated House Minority Leader McCarthy's offered committee members - representatives Jim Banks of Indiana an...

Lawyerist Lab member Deena Buchanan shares what she did in her firm to get things rolling and growing in no time. Thanks to LEX Reception, Rankings.io, TextExpander, and Postali for sponsoring this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosted by Juan Thomas (former National Bar Association President), this episode features an in-depth conversation with future American Bar Association President Reginald Turner. Together they discuss the value of mentors, his vision for leadership, and the importance for young lawyers to get involved with the ABA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pandemic forced the legal profession to innovate and modernize its operations. With minds now open to change, this is the perfect time to implement much needed adjustments to help close the access-to-justice gap. This episode features host Patrick Palace (past Washington State Bar Association President) interviewing Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack from the Michigan Supreme Court. Together...

Utah Supreme Court Justice Constandinos "Deno" Himonas updates us on the regulatory changes aimed at closing the access-to-justice gap nation-wide. Hosted by Thomas Rombach (former State Bar of Michigan President) and Joe Sullivan (former State Bar of Montana President), this episode delves into sandbox programs, non-lawyer ownership of law firms, and new advertising rules as well as the process f...

We’re headed back to our offices, bar associations, and the courts, but what does that mean for the future? While some wish to go back to the way things were before the pandemic, others recognize a big opportunity to improve the legal profession and move the needle forward. Hosted by Jayne Reardon from the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, this episode talks about those issues...

If you work in the rap industry, are you less likely to get a fair trial? Can your stage presence and social media profile indict you in the court of public opinion? If you’re a performance artist or know one, you might want to tune in. Dr. Charis Kubrin from the University of California, Irvine joins us to answer these questions plus much more. Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Learn more about...

Joe and Kathryn discuss bar exam horror stories. The last -- hopefully -- pandemic bar exam continued to bring calamity and examiners seem largely unfazed that applicants are being put through glitches and computer crashes over it. Amy Chua remains in the headlines, but this time because rumors suggest that the school might punish students for meeting with her. And we talk about more Biglaw firm r...

Sustained bouts of stress can have short and long-term impact on your health, relationships, and ability to serve clients. If you’re eating lots of junk food or drinking more-than-average, you might be trying to cope with something that will eventually catch up with you. Don’t be a statistic. Learn better ways to manage inbound stress as it comes up. Dr. Deborah Topol and Lawrence Rosenberg, co au...

Developing informants can be a tricky process for law enforcement. Even with the best of intentions, some relationships can turn inappropriate and ruin an investigation. How do the police avoid that from happening and where is the line drawn? Adam Banner from the Oklahoma Legal Group joins us. Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It might alarm you that New York City businesses are collecting and sharing your biometric data (e.g. facial recognition, retina scans, etc.). A new law is supposed to curtail that practice but as you will hear, it won’t stop it. Michael Graif from the Mintz Law Firm joins us. Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How exactly are we supposed to keep all this information in our lives organized and recallable? Hide things in folders? That’s probably not the best course. Dennis and Tom dive into the subject of tagging, both in terms of its strengths and weaknesses, so that all the information you need is available when and where you need it. In the “Hot or Not?” segment, the guys explore the current climate of...

Workers’ compensation law is full of doctrines, some easier than others to understand. To help clarify the specifics of two particular doctrines 一 the “going and coming” rule and the “level floor” doctrine 一 Judson Pierce takes the opportunity to interview Alan S. Pierce to get a detailed look at how these two doctrines operate. Special thanks to our sponsor, PInow. Learn more about your ad choi...

Managing IOLTA accounts is challenging for both new and established law firms, so what can they do to make sure all their ducks are in a row? Sharon and Jim welcome Paul Garibian of Nota to talk through common mistakes lawyers make, the serious consequences of mismanaging these accounts, and the best practices lawyers need to know.  Paul Garibian is a fintech expert, entrepreneur, and current CEO...

Guest Marie Stockton is an estate planning lawyer laser-focused on making sure her clients understand what they’re signing. She’s mastering document prep tools to assure they have the look and feel that encourages reading and comprehension.  Topics: Making the shift from WordPerfect to Microsoft Word Paying attention to the little things, like fonts Designing and creating styles for formatting Com...