Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

After working as a teacher, then shifting to a career as a paralegal, Amy Johnson made the leap to creating her own business. Marrying her passions for educating and continual learning, she founded The Angle Solutions, a company that gives her a platform for helping others succeed. In her interview with host Jill Francisco, Johnson details her path to entrepreneurship, shares war stories about lif...

As the verdict loomed, Professor Schultz talked with us about tactics deployed by the prosecution and defense. In addition we discussed what influence the death of Daunte Wright might have over jurors as well as why the judge decided to admit certain types of evidence over others. Stay tuned for our predictions on when the jury would return its verdict. {Spoiler... We got it wrong}. Special thanks...

Leading a law firm throughout the pandemic has been no easy task, but the lessons learned have helped many attorneys position their firms for a more tech-focused, efficient approach to business. Jim Calloway and Sharon Nelson talk with Mary Vandenack about how she has managed her law firm through the many changes wrought by the pandemic. She describes their transition to remote work, ways to suppo...

Counselor, author, and speaker, Rachel Ann Dine, talks to us about anxiety, high achieving personalities, and how to find a balance with it all. If today’s podcast resonates with you and you haven’t read The Small Firm Roadmap yet, get the first chapter right now for free! Thanks to Termageddon, SweetProcess, TextExpander, Postali, and ESQ.Marketing for sponsoring this episode. Learn more about yo...

A Supreme Court expansion proposal is officially out there. It's not going to pass, it's not a particularly good idea, but might proposing it be a smart tactic? Meanwhile, as we get new insights into Biglaw finances from the Am Law 100 release, we got a hefty clue into Covington & Burling's business plan when we learned Eric Holder's hourly rate. Is this too much to bill a client or are people ove...

The show must go on! Professor David Schultz joins us for another installment of The State vs. Derek Chauvin. As the verdict loomed, we discussed the cases presented by the prosecution and defense regarding use of force and the medical cause of death. We also talk about the style of the attorneys in the trial. Who was the most affable and who was the most aggressive? Special thanks to our sponsor ...

Sen. Mazie Hirono's newly released book, Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter's Story, is part political memoir and part love letter to her family and the state she represents. As Hawaii's first female senator, and the only immigrant currently serving in the U.S. Senate, Hirono had a set of unique obstacles to overcome. One of Hirono's strongest influences is her mother, Laura Hirono, who passed a...

In the daily onslaught of news from all corners of the globe, it is sometimes difficult to decipher the implications of current events within our own country. From the pandemic, to cybersecurity, to international relationships, linking current events and national security interests to law helps us understand our country’s responses to the things we see in the media. ABA Law Student Podcast host Me...

Don’t overexert yourself, but maybe start being just a tiny bit more aggressive with your business plan. Jared Correia talks through the current state of law firm businesses, highlighting the fact that the hiring pool is bigger than ever, the distributed workforce is on the rise, and that even small steps toward rethinking how you run your firm and look for new talent could yield some very positiv...

David Hudson from the Freedom Forum Institute and a First Amendment expert joins us to talk about a high school student’s mission to protect her right-to-gripe on the weekends. Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Sources: ABA Journal article by Erwin Chemerinsky ‘Chemerinsky: SCOTUS weighs whether freedom of speech applies to students off campus using social media’ The Free Speech Center article b...

In a Daily Beast article published on April 13, 2021, Julia Davis writes that, “the head of the Kremlin-funded RT and Sputnik news agencies believes Russia will invade Ukraine, sparking a conflict with the U.S. that will force entire cities into blackouts.” Also, according to a White House produced readout of a recent call between Presidents Biden and Putin, the leaders discussed a potential upcom...

In this Part 4, our coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial continues with Professor David Schultz as we discuss timelines, use of force, and what it means if Morris Hall (who was with George Floyd) does not testify at trial. Professor Schultz from the University of Minnesota Law School and Hamline University returns! Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

In this edition, host Trisha Rich and co-host Bob Glaves are joined by the new Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Emanuel "Chris" Welch, who was elected on January 13, 2021, and became the first Black lawmaker to hold the position. He shares the inside story of the whirlwind process of being elected and stepping into the role famously held by Mike Madigan since 1983. He also previews...

Guests: Taly Goody is a personal injury lawyer, and Michelle Fonseca-Kamana exclusively practices lemon law. Both immersed themselves in social media, successfully leveraging the platforms as free marketing channels. Topics: Using social media to market a practice Their process for creating videos “The Power of Planning” Why they use YouTube and Facebook and not LinkedIn or Twitter Repurposing the...

Author and speaker, Dr. Stefanie Johnson, shares her best practices to forge strong relationships between leaders and teams, inspire greater productivity, and create a positive environment for everyone. If today’s podcast resonates with you and you haven’t read The Small Firm Roadmap yet, get the first chapter right now for free! Thanks to ESQ.Marketing,  SweetProcess, TextExpander, and Postali fo...

In this part three, our coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial continues. Professor David Schultz from the University of Minnesota Law School and Hamline University returns. We talk about the witnesses, their emotional testimony, and distrust of the police as well as the importance of timing and vantage point for interpreting what was going on during George Floyd’s arrest. Special thanks to our spons...

When Yale suspended one of its high profile professors for two years citing a pattern of sexual harassment, one wondered if the penalty went far enough considering former students believed Rubenfeld's wife Amy Chua bore some responsibility for the events and remained on the faculty. Fast forward and now Chua is publicly battling with the administration after students told the school that Chua was...

Autonomous killer robots have certainly grabbed a lot of screen time over the years, but is our world really going to end in an AI-fueled war? Sharon Nelson and John Simek welcome Brigadier General Patrick Huston to discuss his role at the Pentagon and dispel some of the most common myths about AI and its military applications. As a self-described “near pacifist,” General Huston shares his perspec...

Joyce Tong Oelrich and Zohra Tejani, the founders of Tong Tejani, which specializes in government contracts and has mainly technology-sector clients, kept initial client feedback about subscription pricing in mind when they formally launched their firm in May 2020. Special thanks to our sponsors, Alert Communications and Nota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google takes center stage in news updates as Gyi and Conrad discuss two moves that may diminish opportunities for free lawyer advertising on the platform. Top billing goes to Google’s Local Pack change from a three-pack to a two-pack. The two also shift gears on earlier advice about Google My Business Messaging. Eek. Google is sending messages to your competitors when potential clients use the for...

New Hampshire vs. Massachusetts is a monster case about taxes and federalism that could impact employers all over the United States. Who’s going to win and who’s going to lose? Sam Megally from K & L Gates joins us to law-splain. Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Sources: JD Supra article from K&L Gates by William LeDoux, Sam Megally, Cindy Ohlenforst, and Macie Wagner ‘New Hampshire v. Massachu...

To continue demystifying the attorney grievance and discipline process, On Balance hosts Molly Ranns and JoAnn Hathaway welcome Mark Armitage of Michigan’s Attorney Discipline Board (ADB). Mark explains how complaints move from the Attorney Grievance Commission to the ADB, outlines the types of cases that often require disciplinary action, and clears up common misconceptions about the relationship...

The pandemic impacted the practice of law in unpredictable ways, especially for new lawyers. Host Sonia Russo taps into the lessons learned by James Liu, Michelle Garcia, and Shawn Hoover on how to manage their careers and ensure clients have adequate representation during a time of scarce resources and more limited access to justice. Stay tuned for the Financial Wellness Minute when show contribu...

Dealing with a rude, difficult, or offensive person can be a real challenge. But what happens when that person is a client, a co-worker, or even worse, your boss? It might be tempting to simply tell them off or quit but that could derail your career. Host Sonia Russo delves into the workplace experiences of Melissa Lessell, Eric Sternberg, Melanie Senosiain, and Professor Heidi Brown to find const...

Why should clients care about who owns their lawyer’s law firm? Does it matter? Are the clients still being taken care of? We answer these questions and more about the new Alternative Business Structures for law firms taking root around the country. Andy Halaby from Greenberg Traurig joins us. Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Sources: ABA Journal article by Debra Cassens Weiss ‘First Law Firm O...