ABA Law Student Podcast

Grab your backstage pass as we dive into the fascinating world of entertainment law and uncover the ins and outs of Hollywood contracts with attorney Leah Stevenson! Leah takes us behind the scenes of her career representing music artists, influencers, and filmmakers. Learn how Leah found her starring role in the competitive field of entertainment law, the importance of networking to land your big break, and why authenticity should take center stage in client relationships. She even gives us the inside scoop on the rising genre of influencer law and why young lawyers are perfectly cast to take the lead.Whether you're dreaming of a red-carpet legal career or just curious about how lawyers make Hollywood magic happen, this episode gives you a front-row seat to the action.Click here to view the episode transcript. (00:00) - Introduction (01:40) - Get to Know Leah Stevenson (02:57) - What Is An Entertainment Lawyer? (07:20) - Different Paths; Transactional Vs. Litigation (10:09) - Preparing To Be An Entertainment Lawyer (13:00) - Working In-House Vs. In A Law Firm (17:57) - Managing Your Clients Expectations As A Young Lawyer (21:51) - Strategies For Advising And Communicating With Different Clients (25:25) - How Entertainment Law Is Evolving (28:24) - Host Responses And Thoughts

As technology continues to impact our personal and professional lives in new and often exciting ways, the law plays a vital role in ensuring a proper balance between advancement and societal protection.  As litigators, advocates, and even possibly legislators, law students are preparing to be in a position to help define the role technology plays in our society.  Franklin Pierce School of Law Professor Daniel Pi joins host Manny Fernandez to discuss the intersection of law and technology and how law students can be ready to play their part in influencing our tech future.(00:00) - Opening (01:27) - Introduction of Topic and Guest (04:28) - The Role of Lawyers In Regulating Tech (06:29) - The Law as Creator of Incentives for Tech Innovation (07:58) - The Historical Influence of Lawyers Over Tech Innovation (10:49) - Finding the Balance Between Innovation and the Greater Good (12:45) - The Modern Challenges Of Keeping Pace with Tech (14:44) - Cryptocurrency Today Compared to the Internet of the Early 90s (16:24) - Autonomous Vehicles: Innovation vs Public Safety (21:01) - How Law Students can Prepare to Engage in the Law and Technology Intersection (24:36) - Reflections and Takeaways by the Hosts Click here to view the episode transcript.

In 1963, the US Supreme Court ruled that all criminal defendants were guaranteed a right to counsel under the 6th and 14th Amendments. Jonathan Rapping, a former public defender and professor at John Marshall Law School, co-founded Gideon’s Promise to address the inadequacies of our public defender system by empowering motivated, passionate public defenders to work across the United States and bridge the gap between the ideal of the 6th Amendment’s right to counsel and the inadequacies of our criminal defense system. Prof. Rapping explains why a quality public defender system is so important for marginalized communities and our country as a whole, what it takes to be a great public defender, and how public defenders are addressing changes in our legal landscape.(00:00) - Introduction (00:51) - Introducing Prof. Jonathan Rapping (03:19) - What it takes to be a public defender (04:29) - How law students can maintain their empathy and humanity (06:43) - Prof. Rapping’s personal journey (08:25) - The conflict of training lawyers in public defender offices (10:16) - The mission of Gideon’s Promise (12:19) - How Gideon’s Promise trains public defenders and why it matters (13:47) - The real challenges public defenders face (17:27) - YSL, OJ Simpson, and the public perception of criminal defense lawyers (22:42) - Why underfunding public defense fails the American ideal (24:37) - How public defenders are facing legal and social changes (28:55) - Host takeaways and discussion Click here to view the episode transcript.

Harvard Law Professor Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a leading authority on gerrymandering and election law, explores the pivotal role that legal professionals play in safeguarding our democratic processes. Professor Stephanopoulos shares his insights on the current state of election law, the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions, and the ongoing challenges in campaign finance. By the end of the episode, you’ll understand why every election is crucial and how the legal community can uphold the integrity of our democracy.(00:00) - Introduction (00:56) - Introducing Prof. Nicholas Stephanopoulos (01:53) - Why Election Law is So Important (07:51) - How We Can Deal With Partisan Gerrymandering (13:00) - Insights Into The Upcoming Election (15:00) - Host Takeaways From Part 1 (19:59) - Recent Developments in Election Law (23:53) - Campaign Finance is Broken: How Do We Fix It? (26:34) - How Election Law Intersects Areas of the Law (31:54) - Hosts Takeaways From Part 2 + Final Thoughts Click here to view the episode transcript.

Each year in the US, more than thirty thousand new law school graduates enter a crowded marketplace, joining more than a million other attorneys in practice.  It should come as no surprise that many find it difficult to stand out and be seen. Each attorney may take a different approach: spending a lot of time and money on websites and SEO; maybe lucking into a high profile case; or, I don’t know, perhaps… hosting a podcast.  There’s no one simple path, but each approach offers its own invaluable lessons, and all necessitate deeply understanding your audience and successfully leveraging opportunities. In this episode, we highlight one attorney who has leveraged Instagram and other social media platforms to create opportunities for herself, and we explore how her experiences can help you build your own brand.Click here to view the episode transcript. (00:00) - Introduction (01:00) - Meet Manny Fernandez (02:34) - Introducing Honor Williams (05:19) - Why New Lawyers Should Use Social Media (06:18) - Honor’s Social Media Tips (12:23) - Honor’s Content Strategy (17:36) - Host Takeaways from the Interview (Part 1) (20:19) - Overcoming the Fear of Content Creation (22:00) - What Should You Post? (24:27) - How to Grow Your Social Media Audience (29:03) - How Employers View Your Posts (31:17) - Host Takeaways from the Interview (Part 2)

School’s out for the summer, and the ABA Law Student podcast is wrapping up for the season. Faculty host Todd Berger and student hosts Leah Haberman and Chay Rodriguez get together one last time to reflect on this year’s podcast and discuss the many possibilities that await both law students and recent graduates during the summer season. They discuss future plans, summer internships and classes, bar prep, employment opportunities, and much more. Stay cool, kids! We’ll be back before you know it. Subscribe to this podcast so you won’t miss a beat when we return this fall.

Recent protests at universities across the country pushed the boundaries of free speech, and outcomes for protestors were varied, to say the least. The world of academia encourages the free exchange of ideas, but some protest actions prompted police involvement, disciplinary action by universities, student expulsions, and even the loss of career opportunities for graduates. As a law student, what do you need to understand about these events as interpreted through our existing legal frameworks? Professor Roy Gutterman joins Chay, Leah, and Professor Berger to offer his expertise on First Amendment rights and the interplay of civil protests and the law.

Many young law students begin their studies with high hopes of generating change by becoming a lawyer and advocate, but what does this lofty dream look like in the real world? Leah Haberman talks with Professor Dorothy Roberts about her career as a lawyer, professor, author, and activist. Professor Roberts shares how her unique skills led her to leverage her curiosity and passions to become an expert on racial interconnections and tensions in many legal issues, particularly those involving reproductive injustices and child welfare. She shares many tips for law students on how to bring focus to their strengths and interests, embrace collaboration, and make small but meaningful changes in the world; one day at a time.Dorothy Roberts is the 14th Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor, the George A. Weiss University Professor of Law & Sociology, and the Raymond Pace & Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights at University of Pennsylvania.

Many law students begin their studies thinking they have their legal ambitions all mapped out, only to realize later that their perfect plan is no longer what they want. Having this type of identity crisis in law school isn’t a bad thing, and if it happens to you, don’t panic! Law school and your early legal career should be a time for exploration and change. Chay Rodriguez talks with attorney Katie Winchenbach about her personal experiences and the strategies, resources, and connections that helped her pivot to new opportunities both as a student and a young lawyer. Katie Winchenbach is a corporate attorney at Motorola Solutions and program director for Ms. JD, a national nonprofit that supports aspiring and early-career women attorneys.

Becoming a specialist in a niche area of the law is often touted as the most effective path for attorneys, but there’s definitely much to be said for having a more dynamic approach to your future legal career. As an attorney, you may end up with a client whose needs stretch across multiple areas of the law, and being willing to learn and develop new areas of expertise are essential in those situations. Leah Haberman interviews Michael Quinn about his experiences representing clients in the fight against the Sackler Family and Purdue Pharma—which both bore heavy responsibility for the opioid crisis. Michael, an arts lawyer, discusses his involvement in this highly publicized case and how his flexible approach to his own legal practice led him to navigate multiple areas of the law to fight for his clients. Michael Quinn is a partner at Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, where he heads the firm’s Arts & Culture Practice Group. 

Labor issues captured the headlines throughout much of 2023, with over 400 strikes involving half a million workers. From a legal perspective, there’s a lot to unpack about negotiation tactics, advances in labor and employment law, impacts on basic human rights, and effective ways to fight for fair outcomes in legal matters. In this edition of the ABA Law Student Podcast, former professional soccer player and now attorney Meghann Burke talks about her experiences while leading the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association to its first collective bargaining agreement in 2022. Looking at both employment and a wider range of advocacy issues, this episode explores the value of creative negotiation skills in the life of a lawyer. Meghann Burke is an attorney and executive director of the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association. 

There’s no way to take a pass on tech competence. In your future as a lawyer, you have an ethical responsibility to understand and use technology in your practice, and today’s fastest growing tech is AI. Whether you’re an AI fan or perhaps a little scared of a robot takeover, this podcast will help you understand many of the latest AI trends and their impacts in the legal world. Leah Haberman interviews Professor Orly Lobel, author of “The Equality Machine: Harnessing Tomorrow’s Technologies for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future”, to discuss AI, algorithms, current tools, and how to make sense of them all. There are and always will be positive and negative implications for AI uses, and our goal should be to use it for good. Orly Lobel is the Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego, the founding director of the Center for Employment and Labor Policy (CELP), and the award-winning author of several books and numerous articles.

After a criminal pays their debt to society, should they continue to suffer additional consequences for their crime for the rest of their life? Ricky Panayoty developed a deep passion for the law while serving a 10-year sentence for robbery, but really didn’t know whether he could apply to college, let alone law school, after being released. Law students come from a multitude of backgrounds, but justice-impacted individuals like Ricky often have many more obstacles to overcome. Faculty host Todd Berger talks with host Chay Rodriguez about her interview with Ricky discussing his incarceration, the experiences that fueled his interest in law, and his circuitous path to law school. They also highlight the perspective a justice-impacted individual brings to the legal profession and examine policies and procedures that affect the future prospects of these individuals.  Ricky Panayoty is a Juris Doctor candidate at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School and worked as a summer intern at Bryant Green & Associates.

As law students learn to be lawyers, some feel that they lose themselves—that their prior creative, dynamic individuality is slowly replaced by an unrecognizable law school robot. If you’ve experienced this disorienting feeling, you’re not alone. Host Leah Haberman is joined by Professor Michelle Falkoff of Northwestern University to talk about how to hang on to your creativity in law school. In their conversation, they examine the art of communication through legal writing and how originality and personal authenticity help you become an even better lawyer. This episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast is full of new voices! Faculty host Professor Todd Berger is joined by student hosts Leah Haberman and Chay Rodriguez for a new season of episodes focusing on topics important to today’s law students. 

Mark Geragos made a name for himself successfully representing Susan McDougal, President Bill Clinton’s erstwhile business partner, following her conviction related to the 1990s Whitewater controversy. Since then, he has represented many prominent figures—from politicians to Hollywood elites to pro athletes and more—and has a multitude of fascinating stories to tell. DeMario Thornton talks with Mark about his path through law school, his career choices, and much more. Mark Geragos is Principal with the internationally known trial law firm of Geragos & Geragos where he has represented some of the most prominent figures in the world.