Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

Becoming a lawyer in the United States is a complicated process, particularly for foreign trained attorneys or international students. In this episode, we are joined by Edzyl Magante, who shares his journey of taking the bar exam in the US, as well as the challenges and barriers he faced as an international lawyer. Throughout the conversation, Edzyl shares valuable insights and advice for foreign-...

Have you considered a podcast for your firm? What are the pros, cons, benefits, and challenges? While podcasting may be a lot of work, it can bring tremendous benefits and rewards to your positioning within your industry, as well as showcase you as the go-to lawyer in your niche. Joining me for this conversation is Robert Ingalls, a recovering attorney, speaker, and the founder of LawPods, one of...

On April 6th, 2023, ProPublica released a report titled, Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire, detailing Justice Clarence Thomas’ failure to report years of lavish trips paid for by Republican billionaire Harlan Crow. Justice Thomas’ actions led U.S. Senate Majority Whip and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin and other Senate Judiciary Committee Democratic members to send a letter...

Quite a few bar associations have practice management advisors (or perhaps someone in a similar role), but a whole lot of lawyers aren’t aware of how this free member service could help them change their practice for the better. Adriana Linares chats with fellow practice management professional Catherine Sanders Reach about the services they provide to attorneys — from consulting on technology and...

Pain points in your legal practice might just be easily solved with a little automation. Jim Calloway and Sharon Nelson chat with Greg Siskind about his firm’s leading-edge relationship with AI and automation technologies. Greg’s simple, straightforward insights help listeners understand the ethics of AI use in law and how to leverage it to improve your firm’s workflows and client experiences. Gre...

Legal technologies wait for no one, including you. Guest Joy Murao is the Founder and CEO at Practice Aligned Resources, a legal tech support firm that offers a blend of services including e-discovery consulting and advisory, case planning and implementation, vendor and software selection guidance, and trial and war room setup and management. Murao turned her background as a paralegal professional...

Are you or your team lifelong learners? Maybe the thought of training exhausts you? In this episode, Zack talks to senior consultant and Lab coach Danielle DavisRoe about training at your firm and why it’s important to make this part of your culture. They discuss how to improve your firm’s process with technology, how to know when it’s time to train, and much more. New Hire Assessment If today’s p...

If you know exactly how all your clients found you, then you know exactly how to market your firm to keep driving more growth. But, a whole lot of firms aren’t tracking the process from need to lead to paying client. Jared chats with Patrick Carver about how collecting the right data on leads eventually converts into more clients and bigger profits. Later, Patrick sticks around for the Rump Roast...

LHLM - ✭✭✭✭✭ - The best podcast ever made! (At least within the practice, ethics, and law of fake Google reviews). Plus, how you reviewing other local businesses is good Business Karma for you. ----- The guys bring on local search guru Joy Hawkins from Sterling Sky to share her hot take on the scourge of fake reviews on Google Business Profiles. Fakes aren’t hard to spot, but what can you do when...

Yes, there's still more to say about Clarence Thomas. On this week's episode of Thinking Like A Lawyer Kathryn and Chris go back to the Clarence Thomas ethics well as Ted Cruz decides to weigh in. The New York Bar Exam was kind of a debacle, or at least the process of revealing the results was a debacle. And the Supreme Court gave reproductive freedom advocates a small victory last week, which pro...

One key goal of our podcast is to mentor and inspire the next generation of attorneys. This week’s encore episode offers advice from Elizabeth McNulty, Mary Simon, and Megan Crowe about their experiences as young lawyers and tips on how you can overcome most obstacles with drive, diligence, and tons of preparation. Tune in for a motivational episode that will remind you that every successful attor...

Part Two of our discussion with Tom Stewart focuses on avoiding common pitfalls in opening statements, how to direct on direct examination, and what it means to the jury when you start cold and bold. Want to get Tom’s four trial guides for yourself or for others in your practice? Email Tom at Thomas. Stewart@slu.edu and refresh yourself and your team on the basics of powerful persuasion. Learn mor...

We still have much to cover in Season 1 with topics like False Accusations, False Confessions, Junk Science, and Plea Deals. In short order, we’ll hear from exonerees like Brian Banks, Marty Tankleff, Luis Vargas, and Marilyn Mulero. Stay tuned for new episodes, going live in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, please enjoy this song ‘Love Lives at Our Doorstep’ by our good friend and real-life ex...

Bestselling author John Grisham talks about his experiences as a lawyer and the importance of legal aid on this episode of Talk Justice. Legal Services Corporation (LSC) President Ron Flagg introduces Grisham’s speech, which was recorded at a recent LSC forum on access to justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Riegner from Expert Service Provider S-E-A discusses why materials are part of every forensic investigation and how this impacts forensic investigations and insurance claims. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode’s discussion around the Community Table: How to say no to some cases (without losing clients). It’s great to “niche down” to your expertise, but never say no. Say, “I know someone who can help.” Be both – the lawyer and the referral source. When it’s time to grow into a new market, everything starts with location. Do the research, know the territory, and establish the “look” that m...

Guest Kathleen Fisher is an accomplished attorney in the field of Workers’ Compensation, but she’s also an active leader of the organization Kids’ Chance, dedicated to supporting the children of workers injured on the job. Kids’ Chance provides scholarships to the children of injured workers. When a worker is hurt, or even killed, on the job, ripples spread throughout the family. Kids’ Chance is a...

How does positioning yourself online bring better leads to you and to your firm? It’s no secret that being present online is key to visibility and business growth, especially when it comes to attracting those high-quality leads you’re looking for.  In this episode, my guest Daniel Steinberg takes us through the must-know process to qualify leads, which will ultimately add to your bottom line. Leve...

In the criminal justice world, pig butchering refers to bacon—but not literally. Instead, it’s a term used to describe scamming someone online out of all their money through promises of romance and cryptocurrency windfalls, says Erin West, a prosecutor in the Santa Clara County, California, district attorney’s office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology has become the main driver for increasing access to justice, and there are huge opportunities for legal service providers to leverage both existing and emerging tech to reach new clients. Dennis and Tom welcome Natalie Knowlton to discuss the current state of legal services, the justice gap, and ways technology is helping attorneys provide better and more affordable services to consumer...

As legal professionals, many lawyers make a good income but struggle to build wealth or achieve financial stability. In this episode, we are joined by Rho Thomas, a lawyer turned financial coach and host of the Wealthyesque podcast. Rho shares her expertise and strategies for how lawyers can master their money to achieve financial independence and freedom in their lives. Learn common mistakes that...

The world’s ever-growing tsunami of digital data creates a huge need for technology capable of filtering it for modern e-discovery processes. So, what’s the best tool for the job? Sharon Nelson and John Simek talk with Andy Wilson about why AI is perfectly equipped to deal with massive data sets, saving people the time (and tedium) historically associated with discovery. Andy discusses current use...

Recently, we’ve featured Labsters from our community who made the switch to subscription models. Today, Stephanie interviews Ron Baker, returning guest and author of “Time's Up! The Subscription Business Model for Professional Firms”. They dive into all the benefits of a subscription model for your firm and why you should consider it. Ron is launching a Time's Up! Club in April! Links from the epi...

Who reads all of the statute anyway? The ethical hits just keep coming for Clarence Thomas as a second story about the gifts he collected from Harlan Crow expanded to include buying and maintaining a house for Thomas's mom. Rent free of course. Thomas doesn't have a particularly good excuse for not disclosing this since the text of the disclosure requirements are pretty clear. I guess holding peop...

Attorney and St. Louis University Law Professor Tom Stewart recalls hearing judges say many attorneys have forgotten the basics of advocacy. So he developed one-page trial guides for the “apprentice lawyers” in his classes. These popular guides contain common sense tips on objections, effective cross, and direct and opening statements that will benefit even the most experienced attorney. Tune in f...