The Podvocate

Join Lenny Reinart as he explores Rural Access to Justice with Sam Larrabee from Upper Michigan Law. Mr. Larrabee is a graduate from DePaul University College of Law and spent six years as a prosecutor with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. He then returned to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where he now serves clients in a variety of practice areas. In this discussion, they dissect the rural...

Join Leanne Jossund as she talks with Chipo Nyambuya, Loyola Law School’s Director of Experiential Programming and Professional Development, about legal education. They explore common tropes like the Socratic dialogue, the ABA standardization of the curriculum, and the role of externships and experience in law school. Listen and subscribe to The Podvocate wherever you get your podcasts!

Joe Roddy practices civil defense work as a partner at Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella. He also provides commentary on high-profile trials as an on-air correspondent for WGN. He has a background working as a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney office, where he tried 35 jury trials and argued eleven cases before the Illinois Appellate Court. Joe and Emmett Harrington talk about the dy...

It's easy to fall into patterns and live in bubbles that reinforce our views, especially with so many professional and personal demands. It's also easy to point the finger and demand institutions hire and promote diversity. But if we value diversity as ardently as we may say, how do we pursue and cultivate diversity—of people, cultures and ideas—in our personal lives? That's the question the entir...

LUC Law grad Sheena Patel shares her story from tax law certificate to the Big 4 and now as in-house counsel at the world's electric car leader, Tesla. She details navigating a career as an attorney outside a firm and government and offers candid advice on humility and what other traits to cultivate that lead to success and fulfillment.

Leanne talks to Diana Chen (LUC Law ‘14) about her path through law school and beyond. After working as an attorney at Karbal, Cohen, Economou, Silk and Dunne, Diana expanded her skills as a digital content creator, freelance writer, marketer and podcaster. They discuss the boundaries of a JD and how law students should rethink their postgraduate possibilities.

The entire Podvocate team sits down to share what "diversity" means to each of us. What does it look like in the workplace, at school and in one's social circle? And, how do we pursue diversity when everyone around us is digging in our heels? Join us for a very personal, honest and thoughtful discussion on how we connect and learn from each other.

In this week’s episode, Emmett talks with LUC Law alumnus La’Mont Williams (‘14), the current Chief of Staff to Cook County Commissioner Bill Lowry. They talk about must-take Loyola Law courses, where to look for summer opportunities when plans fall through, and the decision to step away from practicing law and into the political sphere.

This week on The Podvocate, Leanne and Olivia sit down with Professor Matthew Sag to deconstruct October’s Google v. Oracle oral argument over the use of Java in the Android operating system. We take a look at what the justices’ questions revealed about their positions and what the outcome might be. Professor Sag is a leading expert in intellectual property law and he practiced in Silicon Valley,...

Olivia continues to explore the topic of “the legal imagination” with Professor Carmen Gonzalez, world-renowned expert in international environmental law, human rights and the environment, environmental justice, and food security. Professor Gonzalez explains how “international law is the history of colonialism” and demonstrates how a new legal framework can challenge the doctrines of international...

On this week's episode of The Podvocate, Olivia & Lenny explore the topic of “the legal imagination” with nationally-renowned Harvard Law professor and author Randall Kennedy. This is the first episode of a three-part series exploring the role of imagination in the law and how it might be used to rethink “objective” legal principles, processes and methods we rely on. This project has been inspired...

In today’s episode, Lenny explores the topic of community reintegration after incarceration to examine the many barriers individuals face when released from the prison system. Lenny is first joined by Tanya Woods, Loyola University Chicago School of Law alumna and Executive Director of the Westside Justice Center, who shares her perspective from working in the communities on the West Side of Chica...

Bill Lowry, Commissioner of the 3rd District of Cook County, speaks with Emmett about breathing life into the law from the perspective of an often misunderstood layer of local government. Together, they take a deep dive into one of America's most storied and mischaracterized political machines. A Loyola Chicago Law alumnus, Commissioner Lowry is also president and a co-managing shareholder at Nyha...

The American tax system treats whites and Blacks differently, and the disparity is growing. Tax rates, loopholes, history, enforcement ... all of it culminates in depriving Blacks of financial means and public services. Join Matt Doran as he interviews Prof. Francine Lipman of UNLV Law, the nation's foremost expert on how federal, state and local tax policies prevent Blacks from accumulating the m...

In this week’s episode, LUC Professor Paul Kapfer joins Lenny and Leanne as they dive into a discussion on the ongoing conflict surrounding the South China Sea. They discuss the basis for China’s claim to the region, the sea’s global significance, the U.S. response, and the international law covering maritime claims. For additional reading and background into this topic, Professor Kapfer recommend...

This week, Leanne talks to health law expert and Loyola professor John Blum about the changing landscape of telehealth and telemedicine in the wake of COVID-19. Digital health mediums have complex implications on privacy law, insurance, and health policy. Join us as we unwrap all the layers in this week’s episode of The Podvocate.

This week on The Podvocate, Emmett and Leanne speak with Cook County Judge Jim Snyder and Workers’ Compensation Arbitrator Deborah Baker to analyze anticipated local changes to legal proceedings due to the COVID-19 online transition. While there are some positive and negative procedural implications of Zoom proceedings, there are also justice concerns. Judge Snyder oversees a Commercial Litigation...

This week on The Podvocate, Leanne and Olivia sit down with Professor Matthew Sag to discuss the upcoming Google v. Oracle oral argument and its implications on tech copyright law. The oral argument represents a decade-long court battle between two tech giants over small pieces of software that underpin our daily lives. Professor Sag is a leading expert in the field and he practiced intellectual p...

Join the new board for a discussion on what's to come in Season 3!

For the final regular episode of our second season, the Podvocate team has a roundtable discussion about how our varied individual educational experiences have given us different preparation for law school, the increasing cost of an undergraduate education and seeming lack of increase in value, and expectations and advice we have for future generations.

This week, Jake sits down with Hillel C. Neuer, the executive director of UN Watch, an organization dedicated to holding the United Nations accountable to its own charter and fighting human rights abuses throughout the world. Jake and Hillel talk about the role of a non-governmental organization within the UN, the problems within the UN that UN Watch tries to combat, and how the UN is responding t...

This week, Jake is sitting down with Jamie Miller to discuss the current state of the student loan debt crisis, how a recent court decision has opened the door to changes in how bankruptcy courts handle student loan debt and what form those changes might take. Attorney James L. Miller is the owner of Miller & Miller, a consumer bankruptcy law firm based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jamie is a graduate...

Haley sits down with Lisa Tamburini to talk about what the job experience of a chief compliance officer looks like, how her previous experience as a paralegal shaped her decision to go into law school, and advice for listeners interested in pursuing the field of compliance. Lisa Tamburini is the Chief Compliance Officer at DiMeo Schneider & Associates, LLC. Prior to joining DiMeo Schneider & Assoc...

We're back! Matt sat down with virologist Liam King to discuss the Covid-19 outbreak, how it compares with his experiences studying the ebola outbreaks in West Africa as well as other outbreaks, the U.S. and international response and where he finds hope in these challenging times. Dr. Liam King studied the ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone. He has a BA in Chemica...

Today, Haley is sitting down with Carrie Classick Johnson, Corporate Legal Counsel at McDonald’s Corporation in Chicago. Carrie began her legal career working in Big Law and made the move to McDonald’s Corporation two years later. Carrie discusses what it’s like to be an in-house lawyer at a large, well-known corporation like McDonald’s, the differences between working in Big Law and working in-ho...