Litigation Radio

Jump into a grab bag of legal issues, a “law salad” of ideas that have lately been on the minds of hosts Jim Reeder and Mic Rogson. Law may teach you to think like a lawyer, but does it also teach the practice of law? Hear what Mic and Jim walked away with on graduation day and how it applied to their careers and decades of experience. Practicing law after law school sometimes produces surprises,...

The challenging field of family law is a vital part of the litigation profession, demanding an understanding of both the law and the psychological trauma that can dramatically affect the well-being of children and others caught in the middle. Guest Ashish Joshi is a Michigan attorney and author who has devoted his career to helping those struggling through the most difficult situations imaginable....

Relativity is a Sponsor of Litigation Radio. On this episode, we will hear from Cristin Traylor, Senior Director of AI transformation & law firm strategy at Relativity. The selection of Relativity as the subject of this interview should not be construed as an endorsement by the American Bar Association of Relativity and its services. Generative AI technology is transforming the world of legal e-di...

In a timely episode, host Jim Reeder is joined by attorney, experienced poll worker, and current president of the ABA Michelle Behnke to discuss the American election system and the role of lawyers in that system. It might seem we’re a long way from the notorious practice of voting from the cemetery, but are we? (Spoiler: we are).  It seems like many Americans are becoming more skeptical about our...

In this episode, learn about the intersection of animal protection and cruelty, domestic violence, and family law with two leaders in the field. Guests Maricarmen Garza is chief counsel for the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence and Megan Senatori is the executive director of the Center for Animal Law Studies at the Lewis & Clark Law School. The field of animal law i...

Every once in a while, it’s nice to examine the smaller issues affecting our lives as litigators that might not merit a full episode on their own but are important just the same. Hosts Jim Reeder and Mic Rogson dig into the everyday issues that affect us, even if we don’t notice them at first. Call it a “Mic and Jim Miscellany.”   First up: Does being a litigator affect how you handle your own eve...

Though asylum and deportation cases get the headlines, the field of immigration law is complex and broad, and includes an impact on families, employment, and businesses. Policies can shift and vary, and attorneys litigating immigration cases are constantly challenged to keep up with the latest changes. And while these attorneys stay current with the laws, often the earliest immigration hearings ar...

Dawn Post is a litigator, counselor, mediator, and trainer who has spent her life in an area of the law she found largely overlooked: the legal rights and vital protections of children. Her career spans from adoption to parental and grandparental rights to sibling visitation and the darkest corners of child abuse, child trafficking, and the evolving “troubled teen” industry, issues she’s been comb...

It seems like every trial today needs an expert. And the experts you choose to learn from and present can make or break your case. So, hear it from the pros. In this episode guests (and experts on experts) Deena Pack and Seth Row share practical tips for successfully hiring and managing an expert for your case. Experts can be some of the most expensive elements of a case. You can’t afford to make...

The process of “case budgeting” is increasingly common in complex litigation, it’s the science and art of laying out the potential time and cost of trying a case. Daniel Dowd is the managing partner and the president of the Phoenix law firm Cohen Dowd Quigley. He explains how to estimate: “How much will this cost to get to the finish line?”  But how do you do it? How do you react when a client bri...

In this episode, host Mic Rogson leads an in-depth conversation with leading representatives of the American Bar Association House of Delegates, Jonathan Cole and Laura Farber. Why do busy lawyers get involved in these demanding roles? The rewards are countless. Hear how you can get involved and make a real difference both in the law and in society.  Hear how (and why) you can get involved. It’s y...

In this episode, we discuss the topic every litigator must deal with at some point: effective business development strategies. Guests Maureen Cruz, Ph. D., and Tracey Salmon-Smith, both with the firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, share tips for new business development.  Waiting for the phone to ring and a client to drop into your lap isn’t a strategy. Running a practice and serving curren...

Have you ever thought about writing the perfect legal brief? Guest David N. Greenwald has, so much so that the retired Cravath, Swaine & Moore partner wrote a book on the subject: Sentence, Paragraph, Argument, Brief: Meeting the Four Challenges of Legal Writing. The book is the culmination of a 30-year legal career, beginning with a clerkship and the lessons learned under the guidance of the Hon....

This is a fun one. As we know, Litigation Radio said goodbye to longtime host Dave Scriven-Young this summer. But what do we know about our new hosts, Michal “Mic” Rogson and James “Jim” Reeder? Believe it or not, they didn’t know each other well before agreeing to cohost the show. That’s a surprise. But they knew “of” each other professionally through ABA Litigation Section circles. In this episo...

As the saying goes, a good lawyer knows the law, a great lawyer knows the judge. Building credibility with the court in any case is vital. Veteran attorney and longtime judge Mark Drummond explains why and how you earn trust.  Trust and credibility are built brick by brick. It takes a lifetime to build your reputation, but breach that trust once, and the judge will never forget. And make no mistak...

Is your career stuck in a rut? Hear what it takes to carve a meaningful career in law, as host Michal “Mic” Rogson sits down with Jill Wine-Banks, a history making lawyer who served as the only woman on the Watergate prosecution team and left a trail of shattered glass ceilings throughout her career. Wine-Banks shares how she built her extraordinary career tackling organized crime, a corrupt presi...

Let’s talk about associate retention, keeping those young lawyers you’ve recruited and mentored at your firm. It shouldn’t be a given that every associate will take what you’ve taught them to another firm in two or three years. Guest Ben Dachepalli is a veteran lawyer and a partner in the Tampa office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP specializing in construction law. As a senior member of his f...

When do you need to start thinking about finding and retaining your expert witnesses as cases progress through the litigation process? Timing is a critical part of your strategy. Often, it’s “the earlier, the better.” Guest Monica Poole is the director of expert witness services at Round Table Group, a national firm that helps litigators connect with trusted and vetted expert witnesses. Poole expl...

In this episode, we say farewell to longtime host Dave Scriven-Young as he turns the podcast hosting duties over to James “Jim” Reeder and Michal “Mic” Rogson. Beginning with the next episode, Jim, an accomplished commercial trial litigator, and Michal, a veteran litigator who strives to turn complex legal issues into clear, concise arguments, will continue Dave’s passion for helping lawyers and l...

Mediation has become the rule, not the exception, in litigation. It’s a half a billion-dollar industry with some 90 percent of cases settled outside the courtroom. That’s why mediation and negotiation skills are so critical for all litigators regardless of practice area. It’s about knowing how to manage a mediation and knowing how to find and agree to a mediator or arbitrator.  Host Jim Reeder is...

E-discovery is one of the hottest areas of litigation today. AI chats, Slack and social media, and confidentiality concerns are big news. As the field advances, it’s becoming increasingly important that legal professionals understand not just how to manage their own team’s data, but also what to ask for in discovery. Guest Nicole Gill, author of Best Practices for E-Discovery: A Practical Handbook...

Get down with lawyers who rock, and some rock that led to lawsuits. Litigators Andrés Correa and Chris Patton of the Dallas firm Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann LLP are both rock and rollers and accomplished litigators. Hear how they make time for their passion for music, and how the outlet releases stress and opens paths to creative thinking and strategies they’ve applied to their legal careers an...

The imbalance of power in the courtroom is often very real whether that’s a David vs. Goliath battle pitting a small-firm plaintiff against a corporate giant, or a situation where a judgment-proof or anonymous defendant evades accountability. The scales of justice are sometimes uneven. Guests Marcus Chatterton and Fred Tecce are veteran litigators who have found themselves in countless courtroom s...

What’s it like to be a prosecutor in a case so high-profile it was dubbed “the trial of the century”? This special episode of Litigation Radio features guest John Meadors, the veteran murder trial prosecutor hired by the South Carolina Attorney General’s office to help prosecute prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh in the sensational 2023 murder trial. In South Carolina, there had perha...

Get ready to take notes. In this episode, successful litigators and guests Monette Davis, Mark Romance, and Joseph Schaeffer walk us through 10 steps for setting up a successful litigation practice and being a successful litigator. Whether you’re fresh out of law school or setting off on your own after working for a firm, these tips will propel you forward. Your reputation is vital. Hear how to be...