Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

Ever wanted to watch a dark, oddball love story about a death-obsessed couple with a 60-year age gap? Jared’s got just the thing! The 1971 film, “Harold and Maude” is a cult classic and has a Cat Stevens-centric soundtrack, so, obviously, a total win-win for your next movie night. Next, Jared welcomes Shaun Buck to chat about the surprising ways that traditional newsletters can grow your business....

What is an intrapreneur and how can it help your firm?   Truthfully, when it comes to your firm, anyone can be an intrapreneur. It’s up to the leaders of the firm to foster and encourage the team to explore and support new ideas and ventures.   We talk about what intrapreneurship can do for your firm in this episode with Art Bell.    Art is a writer and former media executive known for creating, b...

Time to meet your candidates! On March 10, Joe Escobedo and Cindy Tisdale participated in a live, virtual forum hosted by Rocky Dhir. Get to know Joe and Cindy as they share their priorities for the State Bar of Texas and answer audience questions.  Register to join their next live forum on April 5!  Joe Escobedo is a partner at Escobedo & Cardenas, LLP, in Edinburg, Texas, where he devotes his pr...

On the last episode of our The Life of a Lawyer Start to Finish series, we discussed How to Succeed in Law School. In this episode, we move on to the next logical step: How to Find a Job After Law School. We’re pleased to be joined by someone who wrote the playbook on how to do just that! Host Craig Williams is joined by trial attorney Rachel Gezerseh, author of The Law Career Playbook: The Guerri...

Host Carl Morrison is joined by guest Ben Hengels of Ligl.io for a deep dive into the Evidence Lifecycle Management (ELM), e-discovery, and data flow management that law practices run on.  With so many moving parts, taking proper stock of every component – from email and cloud systems to legacy on-site servers – is crucial. So is working with providers who understand how each piece works with the...

Stephanie talks with Spill’s founder, Calvin Benton, about the importance of mental health check-ins for your team and providing them access to licensed therapists. Spill is a great tool for that!  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 LawPay, Postali, and Posh Virtual Receptionists for sponsoring...

Free speech is rarely pretty. But there was no shortage of hand-wringing last week over Yale Law students who -- checks notes -- protested an event and then left promptly when asked by faculty. If that doesn't sound bad, but that's because you're not vested in the ongoing effort to redefine free speech as protecting the people with microphones and punishing dissent. We also talk about a wildly ina...

Our guest is law student Simon X. Cao, winner of this year’s College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyer’s John F. Burton Jr. Student Writing Award. His essay, “Fighting The Tide – Overcoming The Rebuttable Presumption of Intoxication In The Age of Marijuana,” examines a common Workers’ Comp defense arguing an injured worker was somehow culpable in his own injury by virtue of intoxication. Cao examine...

As a lawyer, you may think you are a good listener. But could you listen more effectively, and in turn, be heard more clearly? With tips from the Heels in the Courtroom trial attorneys and insights from Kate Murphy’s book, You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters, you can improve your listening skills. Better communication will advance your practice, enhance your relationships...

Detroit has been the site of many civil rights and labor rights battles, and many notable Black attorneys have called the city home. The first Black president of the ABA, Dennis Archer, came from the Detroit legal community, as does the current ABA president, Reginald Turner. But the full story of one of the city's pioneering legal figures has not been told–until now.  In No Equal Justice: The Leg...

A trial is a contest of competing stories and the jury is your audience. Prepare your witness for their best performance with tenets from acting and theater explained by Andrew Caple-Shaw and Alexandra Wright of ACT of COMMUNICATION, a unique litigation consulting group. Their powerful and highly effective communication techniques, such as identifying non-verbal micro-expressions, harnessing the p...

Listen to the first-ever mailbag episode of CBA's @theBar! Host Jonathan Amarilio is joined by co-hosts Trisha Rich, Maggie Mendenhall Casey and Jennifer Byrne for a conversation that is even more unscripted than usual. Be a fly on the wall of an @theBar podcast production meeting as the group discusses letters from the audience and potential topics for future episodes. If you have comments, quest...

Can you attract an ideal client with your brand personality?   Most lawyers don’t get to learn the branding, marketing and content creation piece of their business while in law school. The challenge is, in order to be relevant in today’s digital economy, you have to have a presence online.   When it comes to brand personality, it’s so much deeper than the colors you pick or the fonts you use. It’s...

Information and disinformation campaigns are centuries old, but our social media era has given new and rapid thrust to the sharing of ideas, both for good and ill intent. Meg Steenburgh and Peter W. Singer discuss his book, LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media, which analyzes the poisonous effects of disinformation on politics, war, and social issues worldwide. They look at the role of gover...

For young litigators who want to be considered “a lawyer’s lawyer,” careers spent mostly working from home may not get you to where you want to be, according to Robert Giuffra and Evan Chesler, two Wall Street partners who have been trying cases for more than 30 years. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are non-fungible tokens, and why should you care? Dennis & Tom break down the definition of these unique digital objects (art, video, and much more) and outline the issues surrounding their current hype and value in the real world. NFTs have the potential to engage a surprising variety of legal angles, so lawyers in any area of the law need an understanding of this new trend in virtual proper...

Is there potential for a mass exodus of women from the legal profession? Multiple studies have shown that the pandemic was harder on women, with increased home responsibilities falling disproportionately upon them and often leading to a continued need to work remotely, even after their law firms reopened. These shifts have had major impacts on gender parity in workplaces. Sharon Nelson and Jim Cal...

Nick Mahoney from expert service provider S-E-A discusses how smart home data is utilized in fire scene losses for liability defense. Special thanks to our sponsor, AM Best Company, Best’s Insurance Professional Resources, including Qualified Member attorneys, adjusters and expert service providers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephanie talks with Lawyerist’s Operations Director, Paige Atkins, about how lawyers and leaders can avoid burnout and stay engaged in their most important work. They also talk about how to keep your team engaged and avoid overwhelm altogether.  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 LawPay, Postal...

Before its fight with AT&T is over, One America News will owe Vedder Price a good deal in billables. But is it worth it for Vedder Price? The gang discusses the pros and cons of taking on civil work -- especially questionably winnable work -- for unpopular clients when other clients are begging for a squeaky clean counsel reputation. Meanwhile, law enforcement routinely pushes probable cause to th...

As a young personal injury litigator in Georgia, Gino Brogdon Jr. says he was accustomed to using different technology tools to manage his practice. But when Brogdon began working as a mediator, he realized that there were limited tech options to assist him in the alternative dispute resolution realm. Special thanks to our sponsors, Alert Communications and Smokeball. Learn more about your ad choi...

“What matters most to us is effecting change.” That’s the philosophy of renowned trial attorney Charla Aldous and her firm Aldous\Walker. Charla Aldous is a trailblazer who also founded Athea Trial Attorneys, an innovative all-female virtual law firm. Join the spirited and inspiring encore conversation with guest host Amy Gunn of the Simon Law Firm as Charla reveals how she affects change in and o...

The pandemic has changed the way pro bono legal services are delivered. A new report from the Association of Pro Bono Counsel examines the most positive developments and recommends which ones should be retained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should you be hiring a SEO specialist for your firm, or is SEO dead?  Also, millions of people are suffering as a result of the war in Ukraine. Is this an opportunity to market your law firm? Spoiler Alert: No. No, it is not — but the right answer for you may be more nuanced.  The guys tackle these big subjects as well as answer questions from ABA TECHSHOW and the impending change to Google Analyt...

We all know the feeling…your heart starts racing, your stomach starts turning and your palms are getting sweaty…. This episode of Heels in the Courtroom focuses on how to reduce negative nervousness and turn apprehension into motivation. But if you’re still afraid you might sweat through your silk blouse, tune in for a surprising pro tip. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...