—–

James Patterson has written bestsellers in many genres. But as he tells the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles in this episode of The Modern Law Library, he has always been fascinated by legal thrillers, courtroom dramas and crime novels. He even considered becoming a lawyer, before his literary career took off.

In his newest release, The #1 Lawyer, James Patterson partnered with co-author Nancy Allen to tell the story of Stafford Lee Penney, a criminal defense attorney in Biloxi, Mississippi, who’s never lost a case. But after handing a high-profile murder trial involving the son of a mobster, Penney finds himself on the other side of the bench as a defendant himself, charged with murdering his own wife.

Patterson has written and co-written more than 300 books, including bestselling series like Alex Cross, Women’s Murder Club and Maximum Ride. He had some writing tips for attorneys, particularly on how to work collaboratively. As Patterson tells listeners in the podcast, he is open about working with other writers on many of his books, and he finds tools like outlining absolutely essential. He also shares with Rawles how he thinks co-writers should handle interpersonal communication while working together.

Patterson says one of the major benefits of working with co-authors is pulling from their experiences to make his books more accurate and true to life. When he wrote The President is Missing with Bill Clinton, the former president could tell Patterson the inside details of how a Secret Service detail worked. When he wrote Run, Rose, Run with Dolly Parton, she walked him through the production cycle for a song.

Allen, who conducted more than 30 jury trials as a prosecutor in Missouri and taught law for 15 years at Missouri State University, contributed her firsthand courtroom experience to The #1 Lawyer. Patterson says they worked to make everything as accurate as possible—while still allowing for a good story. It’s the pair’s second book together, following a previous standalone novel, Juror #3.

In this episode of The Modern Law Library, Patterson shares some of his favorite law-related pop culture picks; news about new and ongoing projects; and describes a very special birthday event with Dolly Parton. He also discusses how his children’s series Maximum Ride got caught up in Florida book bans in 2023. For fans of Patterson’s breakout success, the Alex Cross series launched in 1993 with Along Came a Spider, the author shares updates about what’s next for the intrepid detective—including details about the upcoming Amazon Prime TV series Cross, starring Aldis Hodge.

—–

All judges have cases that stick with them and linger in their memories. Sometimes it was because of the high profile of the case, and sometimes an obscure case had personal resonance because of the people or issues involved. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles speaks with Judges Russell F. Canan, Gregory E. Mize and Frederick H. Weisberg, who all sit on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The three judges were contributors to and the editors of “Tough Cases: Judges Tell the Stories of Some of the Hardest Decisions They’ve Ever Made.” Canan, Mize and Weisberg share their own stories, including why Canan’s well-meant gesture to avert an injustice in a gun case still troubles him. Mize explains why a child-custody case haunted him for decades, and what happened when he tracked down the now-grown child as he was deciding whether to write about it for “Tough Cases.” Weisberg talks about dealing with the emotional fallout from overseeing a case where a mother had murdered her four children.

Navigating the Immediate Policy Disruption

The opening months of the current presidential term have been marked by a series of executive actions that have fundamentally altered the landscape of immigration law. Legal discourse is dominated by the profound impact of these directives, which have often resulted in abrupt shifts in procedure and sparked immediate legal challenges for immigration attorneys.

The renewed focus on birthright citizenship exemplifies this immediate instability. As legal author and host of the Lawyer2Lawyer podcast, J. Craig Williams said in a recent episode, efforts to curtail or dismantle birthright citizenship represent an assault on a foundational principle of American law. “Birthright citizenship,” Williams stated, “is the foundation for practically everything else” in immigration law. He further emphasized the destabilizing consequences that these actions would have on the entire legal framework, demanding unwavering vigilance and immediate adaptability from practitioners. New solutions in technology may be an attorney’s best hope.

This policy flux necessitates a heightened level of legal expertise and strategic agility. Immigration lawyers can no longer rely on static interpretations of the law; they must possess a deep understanding of the immediate nuances of policy and the ability to respond to rapid changes. 

The Intensifying Pressure on Practitioners: Caseload Crisis and its Impact

The immediate policy disruptions to immigration are compounding an already intense caseload crisis. As ABA Journal editor and Legal Rebels Podcast host, Victor Li observed, “Ever since the start of the second Trump administration, immigration lawyers have been busier than ever, whether it’s dealing with ICE raid deportations, executive orders, slowing down the visa process, limiting the birthright citizenship and reversing Obama and Biden-era immigration policies, as well as nervous clients worried about what the new regime might mean for them.”

This caseload crisis not only impacts efficiency but also raises immediate concerns about the potential for burnout and the ability to provide comprehensive legal counsel. Erika Pinheiro, Executive Director at Al Otro Lado, an organization providing humanitarian support and free legal aid said “Every single day you’re going to hear the worst thing you’ve ever heard working with Asylum seekers. I would say being on the front lines during family separation in particular was really traumatizing.” The profession demands immediate strategies for optimizing workflows and leveraging resources.

Technological Innovation as a Strategic Imperative

In response to these immediate challenges, legal professionals are advocating for the strategic adoption of technology, particularly generative AI.

On the Legal Rebels April 16, 2025 episode, Greg Siskind, an immigration lawyer and technology expert, argues that “Technology, particularly generative AI, can help with some of that increased workload.” He shares how generative AI tools can automate routine tasks, streamline processes, and enhance efficiency. This allows lawyers to dedicate their expertise to higher-level strategy and client advocacy, improving outcomes. 

The Evolving Role of An Immigration Lawyer

The current state of immigration law demands a re-evaluation of the role of the legal professional. Lawyers must possess exceptional legal expertise and embrace technological innovation and learn how to use generative AI to help in this immigration crisis. The insights shared underscore the need for a holistic approach to navigate the immediate challenges of this critical area of law.

You May Also Enjoy Listening to These Episodes on Immigration, Due Process, and Generative AI Solutions

A Constitutional Crisis, Due Process, & the Rule of Law – Lawyer 2 Lawyer

The Alien Enemies Act, Deportations, & Defying the Judiciary – Lawyer 2 Lawyer

Becoming the AI Driven Leader, with Geoff Woods – Lawyerist

Patton has shared his expertise through various avenues, including publishing the practice guide Texas Trade Secret Litigation and teaching as an adjunct professor of antitrust law at SMU Law School. He is also a frequent contributor to the ABA’s Litigation Journal, writing on key developments in commercial litigation, trial strategy, and legal history. He has earned multiple accolades from Best Lawyers, D Magazine, Super Lawyers, and Benchmark Litigation.

Before joining LPHS, Patton practiced commercial litigation at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York where he represented global banks, investment firms, and technology companies in complex commercial and securities litigation.

Patton earned his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and his JD from George Washington University Law School. A lifelong musician and multi-instrumentalist, he brings an ear for detail and improvisational thinking to his litigation practice.

Nicole Black is an attorney, author and journalist, and serves as the principal legal insight strategist at MyCase (AffiniPay). She is the nationally-recognized author of “Cloud Computing for Lawyers” and co-authored “Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier”. 

Stephanie Everett is CEO and a Law Firm Business Coach at Lawyerist and serves as Affinity Consulting Group’s Chief Growth Officer. She is a co-author of Lawyerist’s book, “The Small Firm Roadmap”.

If your marketer’s data looks like a success but isn’t resulting in new clients for your law firm, you might be getting shammed. The guys join us from the road at two of the legal industry’s finest conferences, ABA Techshow and Mass Torts Made Perfect. In their talks, Gyi and Conrad each presented the perils of marketing misinformation and what lawyers need to look for to ensure transparency and accountability in their marketing schemes. 

Leave us a comment on the LHLM LinkedIn page if you’d like to have Gyi and Conrad’s slide decks from their conference presentations!

The News:

• Google Business Profiles are switching things up – Ask Maps Is Google Q&A’s AI Replacement: Here’s What It Means For Marketers
• It’s probably a good idea to opt in to Google’s experimental AI Mode to see where things are headed – Expanding AI Overviews and introducing AI Mode 
• Notebook is expanding access all over the place – New in NotebookLM: Discover sources from around the web 
• It is a very good thing that we are a country with laws, and though we’ve always been loath to get too political, we feel that we have to recognize current dangers and stand up for the rule of law. Read through The ABA supports the rule of law,  Statement from SBM Leadership on Unprecedented Threats to Rule of Law,  ABA condemns remarks questioning legitimacy of courts and judicial review, and more at the ABA’s Rule of Law page. 
• On a lighter note, Jessica Hawkins from Consultwebs created a post on the Best Legal Podcasts of 2025. Jessica gave LHLM a really nice write up, and we are super thankful to be featured with some other great shows! 
• And, Conrad is desperately seeking an awesome Customer Success person. Just go see if you can find the hidden job listing on Mockingbird Marketing.

Suggested LHLM Episodes:

Bull$#!% You Hear at Legal Conferences

Apple | Spotify | Youtube

Connect:

The Bite – Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter!

Leave Us an Apple Review 

Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube 

Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok

1. Longevity and age
2. Location in political time
3. Prior experience in public life
4. NOT A JUDGE (“I put this in capital letters because it’s common today to think that justices have to have been judges,” Tushnet wrote. He doesn’t see having a past judicial career as disqualifying, but points out that many great justices were not sitting judges when appointed.)
5. Intellectual curiosity

A whole lotta folks like to say links don’t really matter anymore, but are they right? In practice, the guys have seen the positive effects of link building for clients for many, many years, and it’s still a piece of the pie today. However, there’s a ton of misinformation out there, so Gyi and Conrad debunk the most common misconceptions to get you on track for optimized, relevant, business-building links. 

And, later, what’s working best for link building in 2025? The guys share some great stories of businesses who engaged their local communities through service, scholarships, sponsorships, and more—all while getting awesome PR and plenty of links. 

The News:

• More mergers & acquisitions!  Places Scout was purchased by Yext… so are we all in for some price jacking? Sigh. Probably. 
• ABA is standing up for the judiciary, and you should too: ABA condemns remarks questioning legitimacy of courts and judicial review
• Quit ruining our weekends, Googs. Sheesh. Google Confirms Business Profile Reviews Outage
• Super grateful to Ahrefs for this really well done post: Google Says “Links Matter Less”—We Looked at 1,000,000 SERPs to See if It’s True

Mentioned:

Google Cites Scholarship Links in a Manual Action Penalty

Suggested LHLM Episodes:

Is Link Building Worth It Anymore? || Top 10 Link Building Tips

Connect:

The Bite – Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter!

Leave Us an Apple Review 

Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube 

Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok

Hilary is the Vice Chair of the D.C. Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee and she a member of the ABA’s Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee. In 2022, the Judges of the D.C. Circuit appointed her to serve as one of the six members on the D.C. Circuit’s Advisory Committee on Admissions and Grievances. Hilary is an adjunct law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center where she teaches legal ethics, and she serves on Law360′s Legal Ethics Editorial Advisory Board.

A frequent writer, Hilary has published more than thirty articles on developments in legal ethics and her work has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg Law, Law360, the Washington Lawyer, and LexisNexis. She is regularly quoted as a legal ethics leader in publications including The National Law Journal, Law.com, and Law360. Hilary teaches courses on legal ethics and malpractice at bar associations and law schools across the country.

Hilary has been recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and Lawdragon. She is AV Peer Review rated by Martindale-Hubbell with a 5.0 out of 5.0 rating, Highest Level of Professional Excellence. Before entering private practice, Hilary clerked for the Honorable Kermit V. Lipez of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She received her J.D. from the University of California Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), where she served as Online Editor of the California Law Review and a teaching assistant for the Legal Research and Writing Program, and where she received the Prosser Award for Written and Oral Advocacy. She received her B.A. from the University of Chicago, graduating Phi Beta Kappa.

Craig will be back soon with all new episodes of Lawyer 2 Lawyer. As we await his return, you can also get caught up on  In Dispute. Enjoy!

ABA Journal’s Modern Law Library invites top legal authors to discuss legal theories and historic events twice a month here on Legal Talk Network.

• The Trial of Jesus
• The Salem Witch Trials
• Boston Massacre Trial
• Civil War Tipping Point and Aftermath Trials (Dred Scott, John Brown, Plessy v. Ferguson)
• O.K. Corral Shootout Trial of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday
• The Black Sox Trial
• The Scopes “Monkey Trial”
• The Lindy Chamberlain Trial
• The McMartin Preschool Trial
• The O.J. Simpson Murder Trial

In The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy, lawyer and journalist Jessica Pishko takes a deep dive into the history of this position in American life, and at a far-right movement hoping to co-opt the role of sheriff to advance extreme conservative policies.

There are some 3,000 sheriffs in the United States, one per county (or county equivalent). In this episode of The Modern Law Library, Pishko and the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles discuss how the rural/urban divide impacts the demographics of sheriffs. Ninety-seven percent of the land area in the United States is considered rural, but only 20% of the people live in those rural areas. In the 2020 census, Greene County, Alabama, had 7,730 residents and one sheriff. Cook County, Illinois, which contains the city of Chicago, had 5,275,541 residents and one sheriff. This leads to a larger proportion of sheriffs representing a rural and more conservative demographic, Pishko says.

Pishko explains the “constitutional sheriff” movement, including its similarities to other fringe movements like the sovereign citizens. Adherents claim that sheriffs alone have the power to interpret how the Constitution and the first 10 Amendments should be enforced in their counties. They claim that state governments, the federal government, the president and the U.S. Supreme Court have no power over sheriffs, and that as elected officials, sheriffs are answerable only to their constituents.

In this episode, Pishko also describes the large role sheriffs have in incarcerations, how their enforcement powers differ or overlap with police, and what disciplinary or oversight measures are available when a sheriff abuses their office. Pishko and Rawles also discuss the roles sheriffs might have in local elections, and whether they might have an impact on the 2024 presidential election.

A 2017 study published by the American Psychological Association found that approximately 90% of people would prefer to not be informed of when and how they will die if a crystal ball or all-knowing source could reveal it.

But for Marilyn Mulero, an Illinoisan mom who was wrongfully convicted of murder, she didn’t have a choice of whether or not she’d get a peek at her fate. 

As she sat alone in the courtroom on the day of her sentencing, abandoned by her unreliable attorney and unable to process what was going on, the bailiffs approached her. 

“Do you know what just happened here?” they asked.

She told them no. 

A couple phone calls and hours later, as Mulero was heading back to her housing unit, her situation finally became clear. 

Bombarded by fellow inmates, she instantly became overwhelmed by shouts and cries. 

“They sentenced you to death by lethal injection. That mean the state’s going to f***ing kill you,” she heard one woman shout at her. Others shared similar sentiments. 

Her world instantly felt like it was falling apart. 

But how did she get here? How does a responsible and loving mother who puts others before herself wind up being not only accused but convicted of something she had nothing to do with? 

That is the exact subject explored in season two of Legal Talk Network’s podcast, “For the Innocent,” hosted by The Innocence Center’s Executive Director, Michael Semanchik.

Mulero opens up about her unimaginable story of wrongful conviction – and eventual exoneration. 

For The Innocent

Marilyn’s Story: A Plea Deal Turned Deadly

Thanks to the generosity of the Signal Awards judging panel, this episode received a bronze medal in the 2024 Activism, Public Service, & Social Impact category of the 3rd annual Signal Awards! See the award details here.

The Disgraced Detectives

Disgraced former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara and Ernest Halvorsen played a significant role in Mulero’s conviction. 

After leaving a funeral, Mulero met the detectives for the first time. They handcuffed her, drove her to Humboldt Park, and started questioning her at the location of the murder, trying to get her to confess for 10-15 minutes. 

Then they forced her to stand in front of the Latin Kings, a street gang famous for engaging in drug trafficking, assault, burglary, identity theft, money laundering, and homicide. 

Guevara and Halvorsen falsely claimed that they received a confession framing Mulero, but there was never any actual evidence of that. 

Mulero is just one of the many people harmed by these unqualified and manipulative detectives. According to WTTW News, Guevara alone has cost the county at least $62.5M for his misconduct and still has 33 lawsuits pending. 

The National Registry of Exonerations compiled a list of defendants subjected to unjust treatment by the detectives, available here. 

The Life-Changing Clemency Petition

In April 2020, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker signed Mulero’s clemency petition, the first step in granting her freedom. 

She finally received authorization to go home after spending 27.5 years in prison.  

Two and a half years later in August 2022, Mulero’s conviction was officially reversed by Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx. This made Mulero the 190th person exonerated from death row in the U.S.

Mulero is deeply grateful for the support she’s received from various innocence communities, but continues to face significant challenges as she struggles to adapt to life after prison.
To hear her whole story unfold, listen to her interview on For the Innocent.

For The Innocent

Marilyn’s Story: A Plea Deal Turned Deadly

Lutz starts with keeping up with the slew of developing state privacy laws and international regulations. Corporations handle massive amounts of data, much of it confidential. Privacy disclosures, terms of service, customer service, data breaches, and transparency are all factors. It’s a lot for any legal team to manage, and the field is only getting bigger.

Hear how Lutz got her start in corporate data and privacy law, how she approaches her duties, and how she helps the rest of the corporation understand where the vulnerabilities and minefields lie.

As a lawyer, you understand your duty to maintain confidentiality. But as computing capabilities surge, and in the murky and evolving world of AI, there’s a growing need for attorneys who understand and stay on top of lurking challenges to privacy and data security. Everything from massive customer database hacks to simply sending an email using a coffee shop’s WiFi can create data security issues. (And Lutz reminds us, change your passwords frequently).

Resources: 

Microsoft Outlook email encryption

Google Gmail encryption

“Twenty Years Ago, AIM Chatbot SmarterChild Out-Snarked ChatGPT,” TechCrunch

ChatGPT

“’She Hooked Me’: How an Online Scam Cost a Senior Citizen His Life’s Savings,” Wall Street Journal

Justin S. Daniels at Baker Donelson, videos

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division

Lutz earned her bachelor’s degree at Duke University and her JD at Charlotte School of Law. 

The observation of Hispanic Heritage Month began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson, and it was later expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to last 30 days.

This year is particularly special because it’s the 70-year anniversary of Hernandez v. Texas, 347 U.S. 475. This landmark case was the first and only Mexican-American civil rights case heard and decided by the United States Supreme Court. 

To kick off this important month, we’re featuring a few Hispanic lawyers who have inspired us.

Chief Justice Dori Contreras

Chief Justice Dori Contreras shattered barriers as the first woman to lead the Thirteenth Court of Appeals and, at the time of her election, become only the second Latina to serve as a Chief Justice statewide.

She learned the importance of hard work from her dedicated parents and made them proud when she became the first in her family to receive a college degree. After working as an accountant, getting married, and having two daughters, Chief Justice Contreras received her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from theUniversity of Houston Law Center in 1990.

She went on to manage a law office in San Antonio, make partner at a civil trial firm, and then open her own mediation practice. Her talent and grit were noticed, and she received a recommendation by the Texas congressional delegation for nomination by the White House to a United States District Court seat in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 2010.

No matter how busy Chief Justice Contreras is, she always makes it a priority to give back to her community. She makes frequent visits to local schools in her community to meet the students and lead by example. 

Julio Oyhanarte

Julio Oyhanarte captivates millions with his magnetic presence and on and off TikTok.

Julio was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a vibrant and diverse city known for its eclectic architecture, succulent food, and rich cultural heritage. Immersed in this dynamic environment, Julio developed a deep understanding of the legal landscape, eventually leading him to specialize in constitutional, civil, and business law. For over a decade, he dedicated himself to his firm in Argentina, providing expert legal counsel to individuals and businesses.

In 2010, Julio’s expertise and dedication to the legal field were recognized when he was appointed as a Legal Secretary in the Argentine Federal Judicial Council, where he played a pivotal role in shaping and interpreting legal policies.

Drawing from this experience and knowledge, Julio moved to California, where he established a business and immigration firm, DGO Legal, with his partner Gianfranco De Girolamo. The firm embodies their commitment to passionately and skillfully representing clients from around the world, from assisting people when they establish new companies to guiding individuals through the complex process of obtaining United States citizenship.

Julio’s informational videos and social media posts have helped him reach over 5.8 million followers on TikTok and 132,000 subscribers on YouTube.

To learn how Julio leveraged his social media audiences to grow his law firm, listen to the following episode of the Lawyerist Podcast:

Justice Gina Benavides

Georgina “Gina” Martinez Benavides is a highly respected justice at the Texas Thirteenth Court of Appeals based in Corpus Christi and Edinburg. She has a distinguished career, having been initially elected in 2006 and subsequently re-elected in 2012 and 2018. She currently holds the esteemed position of Senior Justice on the Court. Throughout her tenure as an appellate judge, Justice Benavides has drafted over 1,500 opinions that have addressed many complex issues involving civil and criminal matters.

Beyond her judicial responsibilities, Justice Benavides is widely recognized for her unwavering commitment to public service, tireless efforts to strengthen her community, and steadfast dedication to ensuring equal access to justice for all. Her passion for making a positive impact was evident as a law student, where she served as a student attorney and office manager at the University of Houston’s Legal Aid Clinic. After graduation, she continued her pursuit of justice by excelling as a civil trial attorney. Her exemplary record and dedication ultimately led her to rise to the esteemed position of justice at the Thirteenth Court of Appeals.

This summer, Justice Benavides joined Chief Justice Contreras and Assistant US Attorney Christopher Pineda to explain how Hernandez v. Texas solidified the details of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, giving all nationalities equal protection on the State Bar of Texas Podcast.

Jessica Gonzalez

Jessica Gonzalez is a cannabis attorney, consultant, adjunct professor, and policy advocate. She is an Ecuadorian immigrant who has dedicated her career to uplifting communities harmed by cannabis prohibition through advocacy and education. Jessica has played a significant role in shaping cannabis policy in New Jersey and has guided social equity efforts in more than seven different states.

Jessica’s achievements are nothing short of remarkable:

• Named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People” in cannabis by High Times magazine
• Honored as one of the “Top 40 under 40 Rising Stars” by Marijuana Venture magazine and Cannabis Now magazine
• Designated as a “Cannabis Law Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal
• Awarded “Community Game Changer of the Year” by NJ Cannabis Media

Discover More Trailblazers in Legal Talk Network’s Podcasts

Legal Talk Network is a prominent podcast network designed specifically for legal professionals. The network features experienced hosts from renowned organizations and leading brands within the legal world.

If you’re interested in learning more about other exceptional attorneys in the country or exploring various legal issues, follow Legal Talk Network on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  

When people are asked to name a career that promises wealth and financial stability, “doctor” and “lawyer” are often at the top of the list. These professions have long been associated with high earnings and social prestige.

If you prefer suits over scrubs and briefcases over bandages, a legal career might just be your tailored path to success.

In general, lawyers serve a fundamental role within the judicial system by providing legal interpretation of complex laws and regulations, offering counsel, and advocating for their clients during legal disputes. As a profession, it ranks among the highest-paying careers outside of the medical field, with a median annual wage of $145,760, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

While the legal profession continues to be a popular career choice for many, it’s important to understand that the annual income for lawyers can vary significantly based on a variety of factors such as their area of specialization, years of experience, the type of law firm or organization they work for, the city where they practice, and their individual skills and reputation.

Not All Jurisdictions Are Created Equally

California has the highest average salary for lawyers, only being surpassed by the District of Columbia, where lawyers command an average annual salary of $226,510. This figure is approximately $138,000 more than the average salary of a lawyer in Wyoming, which is currently the lowest-paying state for lawyers.

In general, the five highest-paying states for lawyers are as follows:

• California ($201,530)
• Massachusetts ($196,230)
• New York ($188,900)
• Delaware ($176,904)
• Connecticut ($174,520)

In comparison, the five lowest-paying states for lawyers include:

• Wyoming ($88,570)
• Idaho ($96,810)
• Montana ($98,170)
• Kentucky ($99,840)
• Mississippi ($101,240)

The Specific Industry You Work For

In addition to the state where an attorney practices, their salary may also be influenced by the specific industry they choose to work in and their level of experience. For instance, lawyers employed in the public sector, such as government or nonprofit organizations, typically earn less than those working in the private sector.

Earnings within the private sector can also vary due to factors such as the size and reputation of the firm and the nature of the work. Working independently or being employed by a large law firm can also significantly impact these earnings, as well as other variables, such as the region and types of cases handled.

The Type of Law You Practice

The type of law an attorney practices can also impact how much they make. Take, for instance, some of the highest-paying legal specialties:

• Chief legal officer: $89,000 to $232,500
• Patent attorney: $95,500 to $179,000
• Health care attorney: $79,000 to $193,500
• Corporate counsel: $111,000 to $174,500
• Contract attorney: $72,500 to $152,500
• Tax attorney: $84,000 to $143,500
• Employment attorney: $101,000 to $152,000
• Environmental attorney: $100,000 to $134,500

The Biggest Money Mistakes to Avoid as a Lawyer

Managing finances can be challenging for many attorneys. More specifically, having a career that often requires late nights at the office and weekend availability makes finding the time to strategically invest earnings and build a personal financial plan an afterthought, when it should be a priority.

New lawyers are particularly vulnerable to financial stress. Despite the potential for high earnings, new lawyers often start their careers at a financial disadvantage due to the expenses incurred during years of schooling and bar exam preparation, along with significant student loan debt.

In a recent episode of Modern Law Library, Darren Wurz, the managing partner at Wurz Financial Services, provides advice for attorneys at the beginning, middle, and end of their careers. He also discusses the seven most prominent money mistakes attorneys can make.

Unlocking Profitability as an Attorney

In the legal game, profitability isn’t always about grand slams— it’s about recruiting the best players.

via GIPHY

In the Lawyerist podcast episode “Unlocking Profitability in Your Law Firm with Moneyball Tactics,” Jeff Krause, a Wisconsin attorney and founding partner of Solfecta, LLC, talks about how lawyers can apply the principles of Moneyball to increase profitability in their law firms.

During the episode, Krause explains how law firms can leverage data analysis to better understand the profitability of their attorneys and clients, using Billy Beane’s strategy. He also provides valuable insights into the steps lawyers can take to enhance their profits and follow in the footsteps of a legend.

Learn How to Become a Money-Savvy Lawyer with Legal Talk Network’s Podcasts

If you’re interested in the legal profession or want to stay up to date with the latest legal news, add Legal Talk Network’s podcasts to your playlist.

In January 1972, immigration attorney Leon Wildes received a call from an old law school friend asking for his help with a deportation case involving a musician and his wife. Although Wildes didn’t recognize the couple, he knew he wanted to help them.

By taking on this life-changing deportation case, Wildes went on to expose corruption in the Nixon administration and forever change the United States immigration process.

And that famous couple that retained Wildes? That was none other than John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Wildes’ inspiring career shows that immigration law not only provides a foundation to represent individuals with fascinating stories, but it also helps you understand how a person’s immigration status can impact them in various aspects of life.

Here’s how you can follow in Wildes’ footsteps and change lives as an immigration lawyer.

Becoming an Immigration Attorney

To begin any career as a legal professional, earning a bachelor’s degree, followed by a juris doctor degree, is usually the first step. While in law school, it is beneficial to take courses related to immigration law and policy, such as immigration law, employment law, refugee law, and international human rights. Immigration law classes are not strictly required to practice in this field, but they can enhance your expertise and potentially improve your job prospects.

Gain Experience

Potential employers and clients often seek attorneys with exposure to immigration law, particularly hands-on legal experience gained through internships, clerkships, clinics, externships, and pro bono activities. These opportunities offer valuable insight into the workings of immigration law and can help set you apart from other candidates.

Continue Learning

Beyond taking specialized classes and acquiring hands-on experience, continuous professional development plays a critical role in the career of immigration lawyers. The legal industry constantly evolves, and staying abreast of the latest changes is essential. There is a wide range of certifications and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses available to enable lawyers to stay current with the dynamic landscape of immigration law.

Connect With Others

After earning your law degree and passing the bar exam, the last stage in the process is starting your career. This means that even if you’ve chosen to work independently as a lawyer or join a law firm or government agency, you will need to attract clients. Professional organizations such as American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) can be beneficial, as they organize conferences and events where lawyers and potential clients come together.

Hear Personal Accounts from Immigration Lawyers

In the episodes below, lawyers discuss their work in immigration law and their path to get there.

Immigration Law with Javad Khazaeli

Javad Khazaeli, a seasoned attorney who held senior positions in the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor, currently uses his skills and experience to assist immigrants and companies dealing with the federal government. In this two-part episode of The Jury is Out, he debunks the myth that Mexican immigrants make up the majority of people are in the United States without status and reveals where you can get unbiased and reliable immigration law news. 

War in Ukraine: Immigration Attorney Andy Semotiuk Discusses the Humanitarian Crisis

Former United Nations Correspondent Andy Semotiuk joins Trisha Rich and Jennifer Byrne of the Chicago Bar Association for a timely conversation about Ukraine and Russia. Although the overseas conflict is devastating, Semotiuk offers encouragement to those who have left the area, saying, “Immigration is all about heroism. It takes guts to pick up and leave not knowing where you’re going.”

Immigration Law: From Corporate Visas to Pro Bono

On Young Lawyer Rising, Stephanie Baez shares how she landed a job in immigration law after earning her Juris Doctorate from Fordham University. If you’re a recent graduate, this is the perfect episode for you!

Learn More with Legal Talk Network

At Legal Talk Network, we create podcasts with hardworking legal professionals who tell their stories to help the next generation of lawyers to either mirror their journey or learn from their mistakes. If you want to get a more in-depth understanding of immigration law or other legal specializations, hear firsthand accounts from attorneys around the globe, and educate yourself on all things legal, we invite you to listen to our episodes.

Sponsoring podcasts can be a wonderful complement to your other demand generation activities because podcasts reach niche audiences makes your buy more efficient.

The trick is creating messaging that gets potential customers to respond quickly, do what you’ve asked them to do, and fits in with the show you’re sponsoring.

Podcast listeners are inclined to reject ads, or really any part of a show that misaligns with their expectations, because listeners often get emotionally attached to their favorite shows and hosts and don’t like when content feels artificial or unoriginal.

Here are some tips to help make sure the message is lined up with the interests of the audience, their intentions for listening to that show, and show’s style. What to expect your ad to accomplish for your campaign:

Branding over demand generation:

While podcast players like Spotify and Apple are doing a lot to connect listeners and advertisers, a listener still has to leave the podcast to interact with your product. Make the message easy to remember so they can find you.

Build awareness:

Use your podcast audio ads and their content to differentiate your product from competitors in ways that are meaningful to your ideal buyer. Audio is really intimate so use that proximity to touch on their pain points and make a difference.

Coordinate and complement:

The podcast ads complement the work you’re doing in your other channels, so elements like taglines should be coordinated, the value proposition should be aligned, and landing pages should be inside your site to reflect your branding.

How to structure your ad

Length:

The ads on Legal Talk Network are 30 seconds long. That’s only about 75 words. In an effort to be fair to all sponsors, we try really hard to keep them all the same length. When you deliver a script that’s 200 words, we’re going to have to trim that down. And you might have to take that back for more approvals. Here are some sample scripts to get you started.

Occasionally you’ll hear a 60-second ad that is an exclusive option we allow for one of the four show sponsors if they can provide enough content to justify that information becoming a featured part of the show, at an extra cost. We call those Branded Content Features. Here are some samples of the Branded Content Feature we did with Clio in 2023.

Do not start with a rhetorical question:

Just don’t. Everyone tries it. It doesn’t work, partly because everyone tries it so it’s become a an ad cliche. The real reason to not use rhetorical questions in an ad is because it is easy for the listener to answer “no,” and tune out the rest of your message.

A common rhetorical question goes along the lines of, “Do you ever have problems like my product solves?” Starting there means the whole script is going to be self-oriented rather than client-oriented. All clients and prospects are thinking much more about themselves than you, our lovely sponsor. You will get a lot closer to them if you start with a strong and maybe even startling fact or a point of relevance for your client.

Rhetorical questions also take up a remarkable amount of that 30 seconds you have in your ad. Don’t waste it; just get to the point.

Draw the listener in by focusing on THEIR goals rather than your own:

When GoDaddy came to us to promote their new affinity product for business lawyers, we had to take a minute to calibrate how domain name management was relevant to attorneys. If we hadn’t stopped to think about the listeners’ reaction, we would have just read the templated script that the corporate team sent over, listing tech benefits. That approach might appeal to technology enthusiasts, but could easily be deemed as unimportant by busy attorneys. We had to draw them into the logic and help them see how working with GoDaddy would benefit their clients.

The hosts at Above the Law’s Thinking Like a Lawyer, Joe Patrice and Kathryn Rubino, did a great job reflecting the listeners’ experience of wondering about the client’s connection to their jobs, and then cementing the relationship. We wrote it in a fast-paced style that suited Joe’s natural delivery, and invited Kathryn to pop in with another facet of the listeners’ reaction that was true to the dynamic fans of the show enjoy about them. GoDaddy on Above the Law’s Thinking Like a Lawyer, August 2022

Use action words:

Change passive tenses of words that end in -ing like ‘automating’ and ‘analyzing’ to verbs to propel the listener to action. Action verbs at the beginnings of sentences are stronger and more memorable, and take up fewer words in your ad.

Compare these two sentences:

“SuperTech.AI is the greatest tool for automating and analyzing your briefs, and helps you reduce time and effort.”

“Automate brief analysis easily with SuperTech.AI to save time.”

Take out clauses so your sentences can start strong. It is not strong when you say “If you’re ready to revolutionize your practice, then you can call us.” Instead, just start right at the meat: “Call us today to revolutionize your practice.”

Have a strong offer:

You probably work pretty closely with sales and know what deals and promos have the best return on investment. A 20% discount is fairly common and likely available from various vendors. When podcasting, because you have the permission to be in an intimate space with the listener, you’ll be most successful when you craft an offer that both reflects the benefit that niche audience cares about, and is distinctive enough for them to remember it quickly. The ideal client may actually respond to a secondary or experience offer more than the dollar and cents offer.

For example, the Apple Card caught my attention because I was actively looking for a new card and weighing several cashback offers. When they said I could get 3% back on most of my purchases without any games or fees, I was interested. The specific cashback percentage was one thing, but the idea that I wouldn’t have to play any silly games with buying categories is what actually motivated me to go find out more right away.

Think about the real experiences of your ideal buyer, what they care about in both the objective offer and the experience, remove what they’re annoyed by, and make it easy for them to say ‘yes’.

Say your name!

Repetition is a central concept in audio. Certainly you don’t want to go overboard, but because listener’s attention may pop in and out, you want to say your name between 3-6 times in the ad. Put yourself in the listeners’ earphones for a moment: they may have a lot going on in their immediate environment. They definitely also have a lot of other solutions they could use to solve the problem you also solve. If they have a functional practice management system and you sell a practice management solution, they might hear “…practice management system…” and think “oh, yep, I’ve got one of those!” and get back to what they were already thinking about.

Your job as the sponsor is to break through some of that clutter to differentiate your product. Your name is a great way to do that. Introduce yourself each time like you might at a cocktail party. You should try to get it into the first sentence. It will certainly be in your web address at the end. Get it in at least one or two more times in the body as well.

Lee Rawles, Host of Modern Law Library and Talk Justice, starts off right away with the name for Civille and then provides context. She reinforces the name a few times throughout, which is doubly important for a client with a homonym. In this case, we opted to spell out the client’s name at the end as an additional nod. Civille, May 2024

Have a clear destination for listeners:

Have a URL that can both be spoken clearly and HEARD clearly. We had a sponsor with a web address that had several soft vowels that when spoken became a homonym for a completely different type of product. Others had a URL with dashes or wanted us to say a web address with multiple slashes. Names derived from another language or need to be spelled all create a delay in understanding, which reduces the listeners’ ability to respond quickly to your offer.

In audio, we don’t have the benefit of also seeing the words to validate the way they sounds. If you need to get another domain that sounds simpler, it could be a very valuable $17 investment in the success of your campaign. Then point that friendly address to your more complex-sounding UTM or landing page. Stafi, a legal staffing agency originally wanted to include a URL with a name that wasn’t their name and sounded actually like a direct competitor’s name. We encouraged them to use their alternate URL and then re-direct it to the page they wanted people to land on. Here is Christopher Anderson on Un-Billable Hour for Stafi, April 2024:

Make the most of your host’s personality in your scripts!

Leave room in the script for the host to be authentic to their style:

New Solo’s long-time host Adriana Linaras brought her energy and emotive style to talk in an authentic way about Clio’s findings in their Legal Trends Report. Her delivery is bright and genuine and reflects the experience of Clio’s target audience.

If the client had insisted on an exact replica of the script as approved by the legal department, they would not have gotten the benefit of Adriana’s personality and would have been less effective at drawing in the listener. Giving the host a little latitude on the language and delivery enhances your investment. Clio on New Solo, June 2023

Differentiate your message to work to the host’s strengths:

CosmoLex, a ProfitSolv Company, wanted to be on both Legal Toolkit with Jared Correia, and on Un-Billable Hour with Christopher Anderson. We wanted to communicate the same brand messaging and benefits to listeners, but they have completely different personalities. One script wasn’t going to work for both.

We used the same basic structure prioritizing the simplicity of CosmoLex and included all the appropriate branding, but let Jared have more fun with a sarcastic side comment about not leaking money. Christopher’s script was a straighter delivery emphasizing the business efficiency of the product because that’s aligned with what listeners are seeking from his show.

Interact with the host about your product:

It is important for your host to know your product. We always ask our hosts about the sponsor before the sponsor signs just in case they aren’t familiar or have a past experience. I’ve had several sponsors do a demo of a new product with a host.

Often our hosts are very savvy in the legal tech space so they’re already familiar, but a few have been able to get some more depth from that interaction with the product.

Gyi Tsakalakis and Conrad Saam, hosts of Lunch Hour Legal Marketing recorded an about Lawmatics, a company they know so well that Gyi shares with the audience he also invests in the company, in June 2023

We do not, however, endorse products. Legal is a very small space and you wouldn’t want to be the un-endorsed technology in a show’s line-up, so we won’t create that situation for any of our potential sponsors. Our sponsorships, unless otherwise noted, are not exclusive so you could be next to a close competitor. See above about differentiating your product and having a good offer to make the most of your space.

Structure your whole year of messaging

When we book new sponsors, a year feels like a long time. That year allows the core audience to get familiar with the solutions you provide or benefits of your service, and it allows you to touch those listeners who are new or are trying the show.

You want use the whole year though to share different facets of your service. We can map out three different versions of your ads, record them all together so they have a cohesive sound, and then rotate them monthly or every six weeks.

Other sponsors will go with a seasonal strategy as in “We always sell more test prep services in the three months leading up to the Bar exam” so the ads promoting that service will be scheduled for November – January to pick up February testers, and April – June for the July testers.

Reach out and we’ll plan your campaign together

I’d love to talk with you more about how sponsoring a Legal Talk Network podcast could help you connect very efficiently with your legal buyer.

Let’s chat! Feel free to find a time on my calendar that suits your schedule or email me at lkirkman@legaltalknetwork.com.

Conrad still values the bygone era of Google’s authorship attributions, but Gyi’s all about the latest on expertise with E-E-A-T. Who’s right, and how is authorship recognized by search engines across the breadth of the internet? Gyi and Conrad throw down on best practices for helping your content demonstrate Google’s E-E-A-T criteria and solidify the importance of your authorship. And, it’s not just about you publishing on your own domain. The guys explain how to effectively expand out onto other reputable platforms/publications to help search engines value and promote your expertise.

Learn more here: 

Creating Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content | Google Search Central | Documentation

And here:

Author markup best practices

The News:

• There’s not a lot of control over how brands show up on Google—will this change anything? – Maximize performance on Search with updates to query matching
• Google killed off its business messaging. What’s the deal? – Changes to Google Business Profile Chat
• Gyi and Conrad will both be at some upcoming events! Come see them at Auto Crash Litigation 2024 and Law Firm Summer Reboot Camp. 
• And, for even more of Gyi’s mellifluous tones (oh, and marketing know-how), check out his appearance on the ABA Legal Rebels podcast.

Mentioned in this Episode:

LHLM Episode – Google’s Algorithm EXPOSED – What Matters and What Doesn’t – Legal Talk Network 

The Bite – Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter!

Leave Us an Apple Review 

Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube 

Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok

Many lawyers today are not adequately prepared to tackle the challenges they face when it comes to law firm optimization, especially with the limited focus that law schools place on the business of law. In fact, research indicates that about 80% of attorneys base critical business decisions on intuition rather than data.

While intuition and experience are valuable, relying solely on them can lead to missed opportunities and poor financial outcomes. As Marketer Conrad Saam says on Lunch Hour Legal Marketing, “If you apply a guess of how humans actually behave, it’ll never be accurate!”

So, what’s the key to optimizing your law firm? Data-driven strategies. To thrive in today’s highly competitive legal environment, legal professionals must grasp data-driven strategies and know how to apply them in their practice to get ahead.

The Benefits of Using Data-Driven Strategies

Leveraging data is crucial for developing effective law firm marketing strategies. A data-driven approach to your marketing and operations will not only improve client services, but this data can also optimize marketing efforts and enhance law firm efficiencies amid industry changes.

When law firms can harness the power of legal data analytics, these firms can gain a better understanding of their operations, which, in turn, can help them identify trends and discover opportunities they may have not considered in the past.

For Joyce Brafford, a legal tech wizard, strategically analyzing data is important for law firm owners because it can help them answer the following questions:

1. What’s going to help me understand which cases are going to have a higher likelihood of success?
2. What’s going to help me understand how I can have more profitable practice areas based on data in firms and the market generally?
3. How can I understand which practice areas are underserved so I can either reach them or charge a premium?

Below, we will explore some specific ways data analysis can revolutionize a law firm’s operations.

Discover Hidden Insights About Your Financial Records

Law firms that analyze data from their billing software or case management system may be able to discover significant insight into their financial records, such as:

• Determining how to reduce expenses by learning more about their law firm’s spending patterns.
• Pinpointing the more profitable practice areas in the law firm and which ones are underperforming. This information can help them adjust pricing and allocate their resources more appropriately.
• Identifying the least and most profitable clients, which, in turn, can help the firm focus its efforts on cultivating those relationships.

Ed Walters, the Chief Strategy Officer of vLex, talks about this in detail on the Modern Law Library podcast. He encourages listeners to picture this scenario:

Imagine an individual seeking legal guidance sits down with your law firm and asks: “What have you done like this?” “How much does it cost?” “What’s our likely outcome here?” “What are the costs likely to be?”

The team at Law Firm 1 says, “Trust us. It’ll cost whatever our rate is times the number of hours it takes us. We’re great at this and we’re efficient.”

Law Firm 2 says, “We’ve done 22 other cases like this. The least expensive was $104,000. The most expensive was $310,000. The mean is $265, the median is $240. Based on what you’ve shared with us, we think yours is going to come in slightly lower than that. We can roughly estimate it’ll cost around $220,000.”

Do you think the firm that begs for trust or the firm that transparently shows the distribution is going to win the business?

Obviously, Law Firm 2 looks more appealing because they’ve approached the conversation with data.

Learn How to Streamline Work and Identify Opportunities

Law firms can enhance their internal operations using business intelligence. For example, by monitoring billable hours and utilization rates for each legal professional, this data can offer valuable insights into how work and resources should be distributed within the firm. It can also provide guidance on identifying training opportunities and maximizing productivity.

Analytics Tools That Can Help Your Law Firm Get Ahead

There are various analytics tools that can provide law firms with the insights necessary to make data-driven decisions. However, some of the more common tools that firms use include the following:

Insights From Social Media

Social media platforms, such as LinkedIn and X, offer built-in analytics that can give users detailed information about their post performance, engagement metrics, and audience demographics. When utilized effectively, law firms can use this data to improve their social media strategy.

Interestingly enough, social media can also be used for research and development in trial preparation. The team of lawyers at Simon Law Firm shared some of the most groundbreaking evidence they’ve found on social media and how they’ve used it to win cases on Heels in the Courtroom.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics offers valuable insights into user behavior, website traffic, and conversion metrics. Law firms can use this analytics tool to monitor their website’s performance and gain a better understanding of their audience’s demographics and preferences.

Bo Royal, a digital marketing agency owner who learned the ins and outs of advertising and attribution at eBay, recommends using UTM parameters, short text codes at the end of your URLs, so you can properly track a lead all the way from initial contact to sign up to settlement. 

Email Marketing Analytics

Email marketing platforms like Constant Contact and Mailchimp offer analytical features for users who want to monitor email open rates, subscriber engagement, and click-through rates. Law firms can use this data to adjust their email campaigns to send more strategic, engaging messages, which will help the firm’s reputation.

One of the most common email marketing fails occurs when firms fail to properly segment their subscribers. As Email Marketer Tanya Brody puts it, “Lawyers think absolutely everybody under the sun is their audience, which is not true.” She elaborates saying, “If you’re a personal injury lawyer, the people who are getting divorced are not your core audience. The person who’s walking down the street and is fine is not your audience. The person who slipped and fell on that crack? That’s your audience.”

Listen to Legal Talk Network for Further Insight into Other Data-Driven Strategies

Data-driven strategies have the power to completely transform your legal practice. By thoroughly analyzing and utilizing data, law firms can make informed decisions, optimize their legal marketing efforts, and develop operational efficiencies. For further insights on optimizing your law firm with data-driven strategies, browse Legal Talk Network’s library of podcasts.

• The Three Dahlias, A Very Lively Murder and Seven Lively Suspects by Katy Watson
• The Appeal and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
• Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2’s Deadliest Day, by Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan
• Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner, and a Gentlemen Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail, by Stephen J. Bown

• Cocaine & Rhinestones
• Beyond the Breakers
• Reformed Rakes
• Talk Justice

Krauss has won numerous verdicts in high-stakes litigation in state and federal courts and before arbitration panels. As satisfying as vindication in court may be, he also recognizes that trial victories are pyrrhic at best if the cost is too great in dollars, time, or lost relationships and is mindful that any specific issue or dispute must be addressed in a way that best advances a client’s broader business goals.

Krauss is a member of the business litigation bar and has held various leadership roles within the American Bar Association (ABA). He is currently a member of the ABA Book Publishing Board and served previously as chair of the Health Law Committee and vice chair of the Business Torts Committee of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section.

He is the former articles editor of the ABA’s Tort & Insurance Law Journal, former associate editor of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Handbook of Federal Judicial Practices and Procedures for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and wrote/edited an Introduction to Health Law Litigation Based on Contract and Government Claims, published by the ABA’s First Chair Press.

Krauss earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan and his JD from the University of Pennsylvania, 

Despite this gap in traditional legal education, numerous published works are available today that can help lawyers excel in their profession, better understand the industry, and learn what it truly takes to be a lawyer.

“Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships” by Nina Totenberg

Celebrated NPR correspondent Nina Totenberg shares an incredible memoir of her achievements, challenges, and life-affirming connections, including her nearly fifty-year friendship with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The book “Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships” is an exceptional true story of two women who broke down professional and legal barriers, paved the way for future generations, and transformed the workplace.

At the heart of the story is a special relationship between Ruth and Nina. They supported each other through personal joys, illnesses, loss, and widowhood. They shared a love for opera and shopping, recognizing that clothes were necessary for women in a male-dominated workplace. During Ruth’s last year, they had many small dinners, and Saturdays were “reserved for Ruth” in Nina’s house. The book is an incredibly moving story of joy, resilience, and the true meaning of friendship.

To hear more from Nina Totenberg, check out the following episode.

Buy the book from Amazon here.

“The #1 Lawyer” by James Patterson & Nancy Allen

James Patterson, known for his bestsellers in various genres, has always been intrigued by legal novels, crime thrillers, and courtroom dramas. Although he initially considered becoming an attorney, his career as an author took off.

In his most recent book, “The #1 Lawyer,” Patterson worked with co-author Nancy Allen to narrate the tale of Stafford Lee Penney, a criminal defense attorney based in Biloxi, Mississippi. Penney has a flawless record, having never lost a case. However, following his involvement in a high-profile murder trial concerning a mobster’s son, he finds himself accused of murdering his wife. Although the book is fiction, lawyers will appreciate the realistic courtroom depictions and likely relate to the main character’s struggle to find a true work-life balance.

Because Patterson works with co-authors, he is able to draw from their experiences to make his novels and stories as accurate as possible. For instance, Allen, who has worked as a prosecutor on over 30 jury trials in Missouri and has taught law at Missouri State University for 15 years, provided her firsthand experiences in “The #1 Lawyer,” ensuring its accuracy.

For more information about this new thriller and Patterson’s upcoming projects, check out the following episode.

Buy the book on Amazon here.

“One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General” by William Barr 

In the instant #1 New York Times Best Seller, “One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General,” the former attorney general, William Barr, provided a truthful account of his tenures serving two very different presidents, George H.W. Bush and Donald J. Trump.

In this candid novel, Barr provides insights into key events of the 1990s, including the Los Angeles riots, Pan Am 103, and Iran Contra. Three decades later, Barr faced relentless challenges, including Russiagate, the COVID-19 outbreak, civil unrest, impeachments, and fallout from the 2020 election. “One Damn Thing After Another” offers a vivid, forthright, and essential perspective on understanding the legacies of both Bush and Trump and shedding light on how both presidents viewed power and justice during critical moments of their presidencies.

If you want to hear more from William Barr, check out the following episode, where Rocky Dhir talks with him about his personal stories from his time as Attorney General and his thoughts on the country’s future.

Other Books You Need on Your Bookshelf

• “The Firm” by John Grisham
• “Waiting to Be Heard: A Memoir” by Amanda Knox
• “Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back” by Gretchen Carlson
• “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood
• “Unhinged” by Omarosa Manigault Newman
• “Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior” by Ric Prado

Check out Legal Talk Network Today and Get the Stories You Want

If you’re looking for more information about lawyers, such as how they grew their practice, or want personal experience stories from these legal professionals, Legal Talk Network has a vast amount of helpful content. Explore our archives for more podcasts with lawyers and authors.

In this episode of The Modern Law Library, Golden speaks with the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles about the ancient concepts underlying modern adverse possession law; some quirky state laws; and why societies would allow land to be transferred in this way. They also discuss how the plain meaning of terms like “hostile” are changed when used in adverse possession cases, and Rawles raises a hypothetical—taken from real life—of a neighbor’s crooked fence.

During Golden’s first appearance on The Modern Law Library, he explained how the lack of a written contract could be navigated by a savvy lawyer. In his new book, Golden guides attorneys and their clients through the finer points of arguing for and against adverse possession claims. He shares some of the errors he’s seen pop up in adverse possession cases, and offers advice for how to avoid common pitfalls.

Modern Law Library listeners have been given a promotional discount code for Litigating Adverse Possession Cases: Pirates v. Zombies through May 10, 2024. For 20% off, go to the ABA’s online shop and enter LAPC2024 at checkout.

In his newest release, The #1 Lawyer, James Patterson partnered with co-author Nancy Allen to tell the story of Stafford Lee Penney, a criminal defense attorney in Biloxi, Mississippi, who’s never lost a case. But after handing a high-profile murder trial involving the son of a mobster, Penney finds himself on the other side of the bench as a defendant himself, charged with murdering his own wife.

Patterson has written and co-written more than 300 books, including bestselling series like Alex Cross, Women’s Murder Club and Maximum Ride. He had some writing tips for attorneys, particularly on how to work collaboratively. As Patterson tells listeners in the podcast, he is open about working with other writers on many of his books, and he finds tools like outlining absolutely essential. He also shares with Rawles how he thinks co-writers should handle interpersonal communication while working together.

Patterson says one of the major benefits of working with co-authors is pulling from their experiences to make his books more accurate and true to life. When he wrote The President is Missing with Bill Clinton, the former president could tell Patterson the inside details of how a Secret Service detail worked. When he wrote Run, Rose, Run with Dolly Parton, she walked him through the production cycle for a song.

Allen, who conducted more than 30 jury trials as a prosecutor in Missouri and taught law for 15 years at Missouri State University, contributed her firsthand courtroom experience to The #1 Lawyer. Patterson says they worked to make everything as accurate as possible—while still allowing for a good story. It’s the pair’s second book together, following a previous standalone novel, Juror #3.

In this episode of The Modern Law Library, Patterson shares some of his favorite law-related pop culture picks; news about new and ongoing projects; and describes a very special birthday event with Dolly Parton. He also discusses how his children’s series Maximum Ride got caught up in Florida book bans in 2023. For fans of Patterson’s breakout success, the Alex Cross series launched in 1993 with Along Came a Spider, the author shares updates about what’s next for the intrepid detective—including details about the upcoming Amazon Prime TV series Cross, starring Aldis Hodge.

“The question gnawing at everyone, myself included, was: What were these kids thinking?” writes Anna Gjika, a sociology professor who studies crime and gender issues. More than 10 years later, Gjika has attempted to answer that question in her new book, When Rape Goes Viral: Youth and Sexual Assault in the Digital Age. She took a close look at the three attacks in 2012, but identifies a number of similar instances that have happened more recently.

One of the elements the public found shocking about the cases was how many bystanders filmed or photographed the unconscious girls or the sexual assaults as they were occurring, without intervening. In talking to people involved in the cases and to teens in general as part of her research, Gjika found that the young people did not think of their social media as archival so much as “of the moment.” They filmed and posted what was happening around themselves because they were used to doing that. “Sharing an experience has become an integral part of the experience,” Gjika writes.

In this episode of The Modern Law Library, Gjika and the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles discuss her research into generational attitudes towards social media and sexual assault; the promises and pitfalls of digital evidence in sexual assault cases; how social media can be empowering or degrading for survivors; the social responsibility held by the legal community and the tech industry; and what interventions could be effective to prevent such assaults from taking place.

Digital evidence like cellphone videos and texts can be extremely beneficial to prosecutors looking to prove incidents of sexual assault, particularly when victims are unable to recount their experience because they were unconscious or impaired during the attacks. But Gjika explains that this kind of evidence is not uncomplicated. The way juries perceive the evidence will still be filtered through societal expectations and prejudices. Defense attorneys do not have the same access to digital evidence from tech companies, and usually lack capacity to process immense amounts of data. The expertise, willingness and resources of police departments and prosecutors’ offices to seek out this evidence also vary widely. And the victims can be further traumatized by the use in court of images and video of their assaults, and the knowledge that the images continue to be disseminated on the internet.

In closing, Rawles and Gjika discuss what actions can be taken by schools, the legal community and the tech industry to prevent such attacks or to assist victims whose assaults have been digitally documented. Gjika believes educational programs and trainings for teens need to focus on peer groups and norms, rather than emphasizing individual responsibility, and “must be grounded within adolescents’ lived experiences, rather than on adult fears and anxieties.” She also argues that adults as well as teens would benefit from “ethical digital citizenship initiatives,” where concepts like privacy and online decision-making could be discussed. And she suggests the creation of government-funded organizations to assist survivors with removing digital content from the internet.

In this episode of The Modern Law Library, Brescia tells the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles about the efforts in the late 19th and early 20th century to exclude people from the legal profession who were not part of the dominant social class, and how access-to-justice issues persist today as a result of some of those measures. The early American Bar Association is one of the organizations he names as a participant in the exclusionary efforts through its law school accreditation program, and he and Rawles discuss the ABA’s current efforts to increase diversity, equity and inclusion.

As someone who has worked in academia, the non-profit world, legal aid organizations and as a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, he says he’s come across many people who care deeply and want the justice system to function better. But without fundamental changes to the ways legal services are delivered, he does not think the access-to-justice issues can be solved.

A large part of Brescia’s concern that he expresses in Lawyer Nation is for legal professionals themselves. Brescia says the mental illness and substance-use levels within the profession demonstrate that greater care has to be shown for lawyers’ well-being and work-life balance. He shares his advice for making the profession more sustainable for the incoming generation. He also discusses how law schools and legal education can change.

From the beginning, race and ethnicity had a major impact in the policing of New York City. In a city where the top echelons of power were held by Anglo-Dutch Protestants, the streets were patrolled by Irish and German immigrant police officers, sometimes enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act by snatching Black people off the streets and sending them back to enslavement in the South.

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Guariglia and the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles discuss what the early period of policing in New York City can tell us about policing today. Rawles shares her own ancestor’s path from immigrant to police court judge on the West Side of Chicago (though the dates she cites in the interview are incorrect–Michael J. O’Donoghue emigrated from Ireland in the 1874 and was appointed to the police court in 1901.)

For Irish and German immigrants, a job on the police force was a path out of poverty and towards whiteness and political power, but you would be asked to prove yourself by visiting violence on your own community. African American community leaders hoped the appointment of Black policemen would curb police brutality, but the city was slower than other metropolises like Chicago, who hired James L. Shelton as the city’s first Black officer in 1871. Samuel Battle became the NYPD’s first Black police officer in 1911, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant and being appointed a parole commissioner.

Meanwhile, in neighborhoods like Chinatown, entire communities went without police officers who spoke the same language as inhabitants. The first Chinese-speaking officer was hired in 1904. That same year, the General Slocum disaster sent the city administration scrambling for German-speaking police officers to locate relatives in Kleindeutschland to identify bodies of the thousand victims of the burned shipwreck. Fears of “the Black Hand” led to the creation of the Italian Squad, and Guariglia shares the story of how the Italian Squad’s founder, Joseph Petrosino, ended up assassinated while on assignment in Sicily.

“Empire City” is an apt name for New York City, as it had international reach and drew on former colonial administrators. One influential police commissioner, Gen. Francis Vinton Greene, had been involved in the U.S. occupation of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. Tactics first used to subjugate colonists were put to use in the city. As the Progressive Era led to a preoccupation with eugenics, the New York City police were involved in international conversations about the characteristics of criminals and race science. The idea of molding the perfect police officers also caught hold. In this episode, Guariglia shares how the police departments decided they had to teach their officers how to stand and chew properly.

On this episode of the Modern Law Library, Jefferson and the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles discuss her new book, Law Democratized: A Blueprint for Solving the Justice Crisis. The scale of the issue is daunting: Jefferson cites a study finding that 87% of American households facing legal issues don’t even attempt to seek legal assistance.

“Civil legal disputes—think child support, citizenship, consumer complaints, custody, divorce, employment, guardianship, housing, medical needs—make their way to more than fifteen thousand courts throughout the United States each year,” Jefferson writes. “Whatever the root cause, a massive delivery problem clearly exists for personal legal services.”

Jefferson shares examples of alternative business structures and access-to-justice projects from around the world that challenged old client models. Some–like offering legal services inside British grocery stores–were not successes.

“In theory, consumers could pick up a will with a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk, allowing them to resolve legal problems in a place they already regularly transact,” Jefferson writes. “But grocery store law never flourished.”

Other ventures fared better, and Law Democratized compiles a number of suggestions based on research findings and real-world experiences. Jefferson says she intends the book to not only be a record of what’s been tried, but to also serve as a user-friendly way for the public to learn about changes they could be advocating for at local, state and national levels.

Much of the discussion around improving access to justice involves regulatory reform, and Jefferson shares what has been discovered in states like Utah and Texas through the establishment of regulatory sandboxes. Jefferson also shares ideas about how law schools can be serving their communities as well as their students. Law Democratized suggests ways antitrust law and the First Amendment could be used to expand the public’s access to civil legal services without the direct use of lawyers.

Jefferson and Rawles also discuss her expertise in legal ethics, and what she thinks about the use of artificial intelligence by legal professionals. Jefferson, who writes the Legal Ethics Roundup newsletter on Substack, explains why she doesn’t see the need for an immediate rewriting of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct to address the new technology.

New Shows, New Perspectives

In 2023, Legal Talk Network proudly introduced two new shows: the Sidebar podcast and the California Innocence Project podcast. Sidebar engages legal experts in discussions about current challenges to individual constitutional and civil rights, while the California Innocence Project Podcast shares the compelling stories of innocent people convicted for crimes they didn’t commit, offering a powerful platform for their voices.

Revamp of the ABA Law Student Podcast

Our commitment to providing engaging and diverse content led to a revamp and relaunch of the ABA Law Student Podcast. Now featuring two Law Student Hosts and a Faculty Host, this fresh format brings diverse perspectives and interests to our listeners, creating engaging and informative content.

Farewell to Legal Tech Luminaries

After nearly 13 years and over 350 combined episodes, Legal Talk Network bid a fond farewell to three of our most cherished and longest-running hosts – Sharon Nelson, John Simek, and Jim Calloway. Their contributions to shows like Digital Detectives and The Digital Edge have left an indelible mark on the legal technology community. 

A Year of Insightful Content for Lawyers and Legal Professionals

Throughout the past year, we remained committed to delivering the best possible content to our audience. From delving into the transformative impact of artificial intelligence to covering the latest developments in legal news and entertainment, our goal has always been to provide lawyers and legal professionals with insightful discussions that keep them informed and connected. 

As we look towards 2024, Legal Talk Network remains steadfast in its commitment to being the leader in legal podcasting, dedicated to delivering content that not only reflects the evolving legal landscape but also empowers and enriches the professional journey of our listeners.

Looking Forward to 2024

As we reflect on the achievements of 2023, we eagerly anticipate what lies ahead in 2024.  Legal Talk Network is dedicated to continued growth and excellence, striving to deliver the best content possible to legal professionals and our listeners. Thank you for being part of our journey – here’s to a fantastic year ahead. Cheers to 2024!

Some of Our Top Episodes from 2023

Legal News & Entertainment

Law School and Young Lawyers

Legal Technology

Law Firm Marketing & Management

In his book, Finding Your Landing Zone: Life Beyond the Bar, McGoff describes his dawning realization that he was missing out on experiences while his life was dominated by his legal practice. He approached his law firm management team with a proposal to gradually decrease his hours and hand off his client work to younger successors.

A big believer in purposeful planning, McGoff offers a series of worksheets to help readers kickstart their own plans for what a life after the practice of law might look like. For McGoff, one of the big dreams of his life—which began while he was stationed in Europe with the U.S. Army—was to spend more time traveling, and to one day live in France. He studied French and even sponsored a club at his children’s school to promote the French language. He and his wife, Patty, loved their trips to France. So when they discussed what the next chapter of their lives would look like, they decided to finally make it happen. A major goal for McGoff in writing Finding Your Landing Zone is to help readers identify what their own equivalent dream would be, and how to find their own France.

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, McGoff and the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles discuss his motivation to write the book, his advice for planning a financial future, the importance of mentoring younger attorneys, and how he and Patty finally made their dream of living in France happen. He shares tips on building a succession plan and getting your firm on board, and how to actually (mostly) cut down on your hours.

Persky holds a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the University of California at Davis King Hall School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in liberal arts studies from Sarah Lawrence College. Demonstrating her commitment to continuous learning and creativity, she is on track to receive her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in creative writing from George Mason University in 2024.

While Diana Rickard didn’t consider herself a “podcast person,” her interest as an academic was piqued. The criminology professor began listening to Serial, and became fascinated by what she saw as a new expression of the true crime genre, dubbing it the “New True.”

“These series deserve our attention for what they reveal about our societal understanding of crime and punishment,” Rickard writes in her book The New True Crime: How the Rise of Serialized Storytelling Is Transforming Innocence. “Through them, audiences are receiving ideological messages about punishment. They are also sites where inequality, power and racism are openly examined, playing a role in our public conversations about who is and is not deserving of punishment and who is and is not protected by law. In addition, by using the term ‘New True,’ I am also suggesting these series indicate a new way of constructing truth itself. Questioning the finality of verdicts, framing facts as in the eye of the beholder, the new series unmoor our faith in what is knowable.”

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Rickard explains how she sees the New True podcasts and documentary series as differing from older media. She and the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles discuss the differences between crime reporting and this serialized storytelling, and whether the New True series are managing to avoid some of the ethical pitfalls of traditional crime reporting. They also delve into whether debunking things like flawed forensic science or false confessions for the general public may have shifted the way people think about wrongful convictions.

Rickard shares what she has heard from legal experts in the innocence community about the benefits—and drawbacks—of cases catching the eyes of New True producers. She also reveals what surprised her most when she researched the Reddit communities that gather to discuss New True cases.

Like many others, Jon Kung figured law school would be a safe harbor to weather the storms of the Great Recession. But after emerging from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2011, Kung changed course.Kung, who is non-binary, says the realization the practice of law was not for them hit after they helped the local prosecutor’s office achieve a conviction in a murder trial. They received a full-time job offer with that office, but decided to turn down the job offer and look for other work. Over the next several years, they established themselves in the Detroit culinary scene, hosting secret pop-up dinners and dumpling classes, and honing their take on “Third Culture cuisine.”

Kung was born in Los Angeles, and spent their childhood in Hong Kong and Toronto before landing in Michigan for college and law school. Their recipes combine elements of Chinese and North American cuisines and cooking techniques.

“This new fusion that I’m referring to as ‘third culture’ takes a more thoughtful approach to the genre,” Kung writes in the introduction to their new cookbook, Kung Food: Chinese American Recipes from a Third-Culture Kitchen. “Third culture embraces each side as equal, drawing from a lived experience that is immersed in both or multiple cultrues, once again taking the mentality of the American culinary renaissance that came around in the 2010s and granting the rest of us the ability to take part in it.”

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Kung discusses their new cookbook with the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles—who made the Beef & Broccoli Potpie, the Shrimp Paste Dumplings and the Parmesan-Curry Egg Fried Rice from the book—and shares their favorite meal tips for starving law school students. Kung also shares how they went from word-of-mouth pop-ups to social media fame.

In 2020, when the pandemic made their pop-up meals impossible and the murder of George Floyd prompted massive protests in their home state, Kung began using their TikTok account @jonkung as a place to find community and share recipes. They quickly began gaining followers, and started being approached to partner with brands on projects like developing recipes based on anime series. Kung shares the story of how they were offered the publishing deal for Kung Food, and what it’s like to be a social media influencer.

Trauma-Informed Law, published by the ABA Law Practice Division, arose as a collaborative effort between Canadian lawyers Helgi Maki and Myrna McCallum and American lawyers Marjorie Florestal and J. Kim Wright. It seeks to suggest not only how lawyers can provide better client service to traumatized people, but also how lawyers, law students and judges can deal with their own traumas.

Maki points out many people say that while the initial incident that brought them into contact with the court system was difficult—be it a divorce, an assault or a contract dispute—their experiences once inside the judicial system were harder to bear and caused more emotional damage. What other profession, she asks, would accept that as an outcome for its clients?

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Maki and the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles discuss the impact of trauma on the legal profession, and the ways researchers have seen it impact people on a personal and systemic level. Lawyers may be reluctant to label their own experiences trauma, but Maki explains vicarious trauma, and how burnout is a “cousin” to trauma.

One element the book stresses is how important it can be for judges to become aware of how trauma can impact everyone in a courtroom, and basic measures that can be taken to decrease the risk of causing further harm during courtroom proceedings. The ABA House of Delegates recently called for more research to be done on how court workers are impacted by what they see at work and by threats to their personal security.

Maki and Rawles also discuss ways legal professionals can build support systems without endangering client confidentiality, and how law schools can prep law students for the inevitable challenges they will face in the profession.

Prior to law school, Christina worked in political operations and communications, including tenures as campaign manager for a gubernatorial candidate and communications director for a Massachusetts state senator. Christina’s experiences prior to law school influence her contextual approach to litigation and make her a fierce writer and advocate for clients.

He and Rawles also discuss his thoughts on the billable hour; how his ADHD helped him prune away unnecessary flummery in court processes; how he would rethink the job duties of law clerks; and his top tips for not fumbling cross-examinations.

This year, that episode is our 2018 interview with Kathryne M. Young about How to Be Sort of Happy in Law School. Young used her background in sociology to gather data from students, alumni, faculty and law-school dropouts on their experiences during and after law school. Based on her findings—and her own experiences as a law student and professor—she offers advice on protecting your mental health; choosing courses and activities to pursue; managing the practical aspects of your household and budget; and forming relationships with mentors and peers. She also discusses how to decide when if it’s time to leave law school altogether.

Rawles also shares some favorites from what she’s been reading, watching and listening to since our 2022 year-end pop culture picks episode.

If you have your own favorite reads so far in 2023, send your recommendations to books@abajournal.com with a brief description, and we may choose to highlight them on our social media.

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Brosnahan shares some of these stories with the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles, elaborating on the most important lessons he’s learned about juries, offering tips for aspiring litigators, and sharing what it was like to be Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s classmate at Harvard Law.

Zappala is also committed to pro bono work. She has taken on pro bono cases involving disability rights and housing issues, and she previously served on the boards of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and Gaylaw.

She was recognized by the National Law Journal in 2015 as one of the Washington, D.C. area’s top 40 lawyers under 40 and has been featured in articles published in the ABA Journal and the American Lawyer. Zappala earned her bachelor’s degree at Yale University and her J.D. at the Georgetown University Law Center.

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Waldman walks the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles through the prior episodes of backlash, starting with the fallout from the Dred Scott decision in 1857. He explains the “switch in time that saved nine,” when in 1937 the court narrowly avoided President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan to change the makeup of the court by unexpectedly upholding the constitutionality of New Deal legislation. And he posits that much of the contentious legal wrangling of the past half-century can be seen as a backlash to the Warren Court’s decisions like Brown v. Board of Education.

Waldman, a constitutional lawyer who is the president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law and a former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, says that over the period of three days in June 2022, “the Supreme Court changed America.” With decisions overturning Roe v. Wade, loosening gun restrictions and reducing the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency, Waldman argues that the court’s six conservative justices signaled a sea change for the court. He warns that the change from a 5-4 ideological balance to what he terms a “supermajority” of conservative justices will mean a more turbulent relationship between the public and the Supreme Court.

In this episode, Waldman shares his thoughts on the position of Chief Justice Roberts in the new balance, his advice on how the public can respond when the Supreme Court acts in opposition to the public will, and a counter-intuitive theory on why having more former politicians on the Supreme Court might have made the court less politically divisive.

A case ordinarily comes before the U.S. Supreme Court after a long appellate process; receives a public hearing where the case is argued before the justices; then a signed opinion or series of opinions and a majority ruling are issued, which generally comes months after oral arguments—and years after a matter first entered the court system. Given the limited length of each Supreme Court term, there has always been the need for an alternative form of response when the court is not in session or a swift response was absolutely necessary. The vast bulk of those occasions have been in capital cases, where a last-minute appeal might be the difference between life and death.

But since 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued many more emergency orders than at any time previously, and on matters ranging from election law to immigration bans, from abortion access to COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings.

By issuing unsigned majority emergency orders rather than signed majority opinions, Vladeck says the court is establishing precedents without supplying the legal reasonings behind its rulings. During a time when the U.S. Supreme Court and individual justices are being criticized for not abiding by a clear judicial code of ethics, Vladeck argues the secretive nature of the shadow docket will only further undermine public trust in the rule of law.

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Vladeck discusses with the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles the origin of the term “shadow docket,” the dangers he sees for the court and the country, and what remedies may be available to the republic.

But Jackson didn’t leave Microsoft—where he now serves as an associate general counsel—and a major focus of his career at the company has been to increase the tech giant’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. In Never Far From Home: My Journey from Brooklyn to Hip Hop, Microsoft, and the Law, Jackson reflects on the people and programs that made his own career possible, and is unflinching about the dangers he faced, the racism he encountered, and the mistakes he made in his personal life as he pursued professional success. Jackson tells Rawles that before demanding others share their stories with us, it important to tell our truths as well.

In this episode of the podcast, Jackson shares how his childhood love of musical theater dovetailed with his skill at accountancy and tax law while representing his clients in the hip-hop music scene. He discusses his top tips for improving the diversity pipeline within organizations, and reflects on finding commonality with people from entirely different backgrounds to his own.

In her new book Actual Malice: Freedom of the Press and Civil Rights in New York Times v. Sullivan, law professor Samantha Barbas uses archival documents to shine light on the history behind the case, and introduces readers to the pivotal figures involved. She outlines the path libel law jurisprudence had taken prior to 1964, and explains why the New York Times v. Sullivan case was such a departure.

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Barbas tells the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles about the curious journalistic spat that led to the litigation, as well as the legal tactics used by the pro-segregationists who brought the suit. Barbas also gives listeners a glimpse at the complex and sometimes counterintuitive characters involved in New York Times v. Sullivan, explains the stakes the case holds for the 21^st century, and shares the story of perhaps the only lawyer who’s ever had to argue before the Supreme Court without wearing any socks.

Rikleen, a former law firm partner and consultant who writes and speaks about the importance of cross-generational communication, tells the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles that she hopes millennial and Gen Z readers will benefit from the reflections of women judges from the Silent Generation, baby boomers and Gen X. Some of the challenges they faced will not similarly impede younger generations, but other obstacles are familiar, formidable and still present.

“[E]ven as gains are made, biases are deep and systemic, requiring the vigilance of every generation to continue the difficult work of achieving full equity for all,” Rikleen writes in her introduction to Her Honor: Stories of Challenge and Triumph from Women Judges.

Bookended by essays about the former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Her Honor compiles reflections by the living jurists or essays about the lives of judges who have passed on. The 25 women jurists are all honorees of the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Awards, selected by the Commission on Women in the Profession. Rikleen herself has received a Margaret Brent award, and says it was a fair-handed way to narrow down participants. Past Margaret Brent honorees who also contributed to Her Honor include previous guests of the Modern Law Library podcast, Judge Bernice Bouie Donald and Judge M. Margaret McKeown. The judges write about the paths they took to the judiciary; their struggles to balance their work and personal lives; the people who mentored and encouraged them; and their triumphs and regrets.

“They are different in every particular, yet what unites them in the aggregate is profound: This is a book about imagination, and what it took and still takes for women, and by extension other minorities invisible to the Constitution and the law, to imagine themselves into a structure that didn’t include them,” Dahlia Lithwick, senior legal correspondent at Slate, wrote in the forward to the book.

In addition to discussing Her Honor, Rikleen and Rawles get into another project to which Rikleen has devoted her time. She is the executive director of Lawyers Defending American Democracy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that works to uphold democratic norms and the rule of law. They also discuss the “three Cs” promoted by ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross: civics, civility and collaboration.

Helmed by Co-Chairs Gyi Tsakalakis and Jeannine Lambert, the 2023 ABA TECHSHOW returned to the Hyatt Regency in Chicago (March 1-4). This marks the 2nd year of in-person gatherings for this legal technology conference since the Pandemic waned. In a good way, this year’s event felt more like business-as-usual. Regardless of someone’s tech knowledge, there were plenty of programs and access to experts giving a leg-up on law firm operations. Legal tech companies were more than happy to discuss products and services making the practice of law easier/more profitable. In addition, knowledgeable speakers (usually attorneys) generously shared their secrets to running better firms and getting the most out of practice life.

At last check, the Expo Hall was nearly sold to capacity. In terms of the vendors, there were small booth offerings for newly minted start-up companies as well as larger spaces for the more established companies. Hosted by long time legal technology journalist Bob Ambrogi, day one’s opening event was the 7th annual start-up pitch competition for companies in the legal tech space. This year’s winner was Universal Migrator, a company that makes migrating practice management or document management platforms simpler.

As for our podcast coverage, we were excited to talk with expert speakers about topics like Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), the Metaverse, Web 3, and A.I. Like many others out there, we’ve heard about Chat GPT’s use of artificial intelligence and this year’s ABA TECHSHOW gave us an opportunity to learn much more about it. On the regulatory front, we also hosted a discussion about the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct 5.4 and 5.5 (Fee Sharing, Law Firm Ownership Models, and Unauthorized Practice of Law). For a complete list of our podcast episodes and notable guests, please see below:

‘The Lowdown’

Conference Chair Gyi Tsakalakis stops by to give a quick run-down of the event and gives advice on how to get the most out of this annual gathering. Stay tuned for a little timeless Stoic Wisdom.

‘Insights From the Legaltech Visionaries Panel’

Top Entrepreneurs in Legal Tech (Jack Newton, Kimberly Bennett, Jazz Hampton, & Erin Levine) sit down to discuss the ethos of innovation, overcoming fear, and motivational advice for making dreams come true…

‘Integrations In Law Practice’

Catherine Stock and Tressa Schultze discuss the value and benefits for their customers following the integration of MyCase into Infotrack.

‘The Fourth Dimension – Law in the Metaverse’

We take a special trip into the Metaverse and discuss the emerging legal issues inside this new world with Mathew Kerbis, Diane LittleJohn, and Kristen Roberts. Spoiler: There are a lot of ways for attorneys to make money there.

‘Web3 and Law Firm Financials’

From Crypto-Currencies to Non-Fungible Tokens, there are a lot of ways to create, buy, and sell digital property. But when is it considered property vs. currency? The answer to that question triggers a variety of legal issues. Jessica Neer McDonald and Jamie Szal give us the walk-through.

‘Using AI in Litigation’

Artificial Intelligence might be here to stay but is it ready for litigation? Pablo Arredondo and Stephen Embry stop by to discuss the proper way lawyers should be using today’s A.I. as well as predict the future implications of this rapidly developing technology.

‘Public Hearing on Proposals to Amend Rules of Professional Conduct 5.4 and 5.5’

When it comes to fee sharing, law firm ownership, and the unauthorized practice of law, there are a wide gamut of opinions. Thankfully, we have an expert panel (Lynda Shely, Darth Vaughn, Jayne Reardon, and Ed Walters) to give us a road map on what’s being discussed by the American Bar Association for their Model Rules of Professional Conduct. 

Notable Guests (in alphabetical order):

• Pablo Arredondo – (Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Casetext)
• Kimberly Bennett – (Co-Founder of Fidu)
• Stephen Embry – (Chair of ABA Law Practice Division & Founder of EmbryLaw, LLC)
• Jazz Hampton – (CEO & GC of TurnSignl)
• Mathew Kerbis – (Founder Subscription Attorney
• Erin Levine – (Founder of Hello Divorce)
• Diane LittleJohn – (Executive Director of the Technology Law and Policy Center at North Carolina Central University School of Law & Founder of LittleJohn Law Offices)
• Jessica Neer McDonald – (Founder of Neer McD PLLC)
• Jack Newton – (Founder and CEO of Clio)
• Jayne Reardon – (Principal of Jayne Reardon Consulting & former Executive Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism)
• Kristen Roberts – (Founder & Managing Attorney at Trestle Law, APC)
• Tressa Schultze – (Director of Product in Legal Software & FinTech)
• Lynda Shely – (Founder of The Shely Firm, PC)
• Catherine Stock – (Partnerships Manager at InfoTrack US)
• Jamie Szal – (Partner at Brann & Isaacson)
• Gyi Tsakalakis – (President of Attorney Sync)
• Darth Vaughn – (Litigation Counsel & Legal Innovation & Technology Operations Manager at Ford Motor Company)
• Ed Walters – (CEO & Co-Founder of Fastcase)

Some American patriotic myths are harmless; George Washington may have chopped down a cherry tree at some point in his life, but the popular story told to children where young George fesses up to the deed by saying “I cannot tell a lie” is made up from whole cloth. However, there are much more pernicious lies and misinformation circulated about our past as a country, and that misinformation is used for political ends.

Princeton University historians Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer say they have been alarmed about this uptick in misinformation, censorship and rewriting of history. Having previously co-written Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974, they decided to partner as editors of a book responding to this wave of false history. They commissioned a number of other prominent historians to contribute, and the result is Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past.

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Kruse and Zelizer speak with the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles about how their project began and what they see as the greatest challenges facing modern historians. They offer tips on how to evaluate claims about history as a non-historian. They also discuss one of the most pervasive myths in the legal community: the true importance of Federalist Paper No. 10.

Robbins began writing her memoir, The Box: An Invitation to Freedom from Anxiety, while still in the process of recovery. It began as a series of writing exercises she used to make sense of her meditation practices. But it became an investigation into the mental and emotional barriers she constructed since childhood to protect herself–and a blueprint for dismantling the barriers that no longer served her.

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles talks to Robbins about dealing with anxiety in law school and law practice; the positive reaction at her law firm when she opened up about her mental health struggles; and what Robbins finds unhelpful about self-help books. They discuss the difference between being “productive” and being mentally well, and how Robbins overcame her aversion to mindfulness as part of her healing process. They also talk about how people with anxiety respond when the dangers they perceive are real, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the months since the 2021 publication of The Box, Robbins has also dealt with a cancer diagnosis and many career changes, and she shares updates on her progress and projects.

In our annual Year in Review episode, Lee Rawles speaks to her ABA Journal colleagues Blair Chavis, Julianne Hill and Stephanie Francis Ward to find out how they spent their downtime in 2022.

We cover the usual lineup of our favorite books, movies and TV shows, but each participant also provides more niche content. Hill, who recently joined the Journal full-time after freelancing for the magazine, has a background in film, and she shares her favorite documentary projects she watched in 2022. Chavis, a dedicated home cook, shares her favorite recipe sources for making meals with her partner. Ward, the host of the Journal’s Asked & Answered podcast, has podcast picks for those who like a little gossip and spice to their stories. And Rawles, who has been on a mystery kick, shares the series of audiobooks she’s been listening to for the past few months.

Do you have own favorites, or suggestions for what the Modern Law Library should be reading in 2023? Email them to us at books@abajournal.com, and you may hear them featured in a future episode.