Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

Emily D. Baker wanted a diversion from 2020, so she started doing her own legal commentary about pop culture, with topics including a pair of "Satan Shoes" associated with rapper Lil Nas X and the conservatorship of Britney Spears. Today, Baker is considered to be an influencer. According to her, she earns more than she did as a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney. Special thanks to our sponsor, LawPay.

Legal-adjacent careers are cropping up in a whole slew of surprising new areas, and recent graduates and seasoned lawyers alike are finding themselves drawn to these new professional opportunities. Dennis and Tom talk through some of these careers, from legal operations to technology to e-discovery and more, and give their take on how law degrees and/or legal expertise can be used to pivot into these new roles. Then, in another edition of “Hot or Not?”, they discuss whether speech recognition and dictation tools are worth integrating into your workflows. As always, stay tuned for the parting shots, that one tip, website, or observation you can use the second the podcast ends. Have a technology question for Dennis and Tom? Call their Tech Question Hotline at 720-441-6820 for answers to your most burning tech questions. Special thanks to our sponsors, Colonial Surety Company, ServeNow, and Nota.

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 life as a paralegal, and offers tips and strategies for paralegals looking to improve and advance. She offers practical advice, from the basics of double-checking work to strategies for cultivating curiosity in approaches to tasks and assignments. The two discuss the changing paralegal landscape, alternative career paths, and challenges facing the next generation. Short Bio for Notes: Amy Johnson is the founder of The Angle Solutions LLC. Special thanks to our sponsors, NALA, ServeNow, CourtFiling.net and Legalinc.

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 to our sponsor Nota.

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 support team communication and tech needs, and her firm’s focus on redesigning legal services to increase automation and accessibility. Mary E. Vandenack is the founding and managing member of Vandenack Weaver LLC in Omaha, Nebraska. Special thanks to our sponsors, Scorpion, Blackletter Podcast, Alert Communications and Nota.

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.

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 overreacting? Finally, the bonus wars continue, but are counsel and income partners getting left out? Special thanks to our sponsors, LexisNexis® InterAction®, Lexicon and Nota.

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 Nota.

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 away at 96 shortly before this episode was recorded. After escaping an unhappy marriage in Japan to an abusive man, Laura Hirono brought her two eldest children back to her birthplace of Hawaii when Mazie Hirono was seven years old, with her youngest son and parents joining them later. The economic hardships the Hirono family endured were formative for Hawaii's future Democratic senator. Her campaigns to provide economic support and healthcare for families, as well as her strident opposition to the Trump administration's family separation policy, were bolstered by her personal experiences. Her speech against ending the Affordable Care Act, made mere days after a major surgery to treat kidney cancer, was the first time she spoke publicly about the childhood death of her sister back in Japan–a death that might have been preventable if the family could have afforded medical treatment. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Hirono talks about how the Trump administration made her decide to use her voice in a different way, and what it's been like to serve in the Senate after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Hirono also discusses her service on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including the tumultuous Supreme Court nomination hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett. She shares her thoughts on the importance and limitations of civility, and how taking up one of her mother's favorite forms of artwork has helped her as she's survived cancer treatments and governmental upheavals.

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 Meg Steenburgh talks with Professor William Banks of Syracuse University about the most critical national security issues facing our nation both at home and abroad, including China tensions, nuclear weapons concerns worldwide, the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, and more. William C. Banks is a Syracuse University College of Law Board of Advisors Distinguished Professor and Emeritus Professor at the College of Law and the Maxwell School as Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs. Thank you to our sponsor NBI.