ABA Journal Podcasts - Legal Talk Network
Episodes
2025 Year in Review: Generative AI, access to justice and law schools
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
All in all, it’s shown that the legal industry, traditionally known as a staid, conservative and risk-averse profession, is undergoing a period of r...
How in-house counsel are increasingly turning to generative AI
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
According to an October report from the Association of Corporate Counsel, generative AI use among in-house lawyers has more than doubled over the la...
Users keepers: Pirates, zombies and adverse possession | Rebroadcast
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As Halloween swiftly approaches, we’ve conjured up a classic from the Modern Law Library crypt. What do zombies and pirates have to do with the law?...
Clio founder talks $1B acquisition of vLex and upcoming Clio Cloud Conference
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Clio announced that it had acquired global legal research platform vLex for $1 billion in June, it was the latest in a series of big moves from t...
The Supreme Court’s colorful history with alcohol gets a look in ‘Glass and Gavel’ | Rebroadcast
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the Supreme Court returns to the bench, we’re raising a glass to a favorite from our archives. In this episode, Nancy Maveety shares stories from...
David Grann uncovers the deadly conspiracy behind murders of oil-rich Osage tribe members | Rebroadcast
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As Native American Day approaches on September 25, we’re revisiting a story that still resonates today. Author David Grann takes us inside the Osage...
How lawyers can use generative AI to get a leg up in communicating with clients
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Querious utilizes the power of generative AI to listen into a conversation and deliver real-time insights based on what it hears. Essentially, it’s ...
How to be (sort of) happy in law school | Rebroadcast
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As summer winds down and school beckons, we’re looking back in our archives and assigning some back-to-school reading—grown-up style. In this epis...
Need to sharpen your legal writing? 10th Circuit Court judge shares his tips | Rebroadcast
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As summer winds down and school beckons, we’re looking back in our archives and assigning some back-to-school reading—grown-up style. In this epis...
How the NCBE will move the NextGen bar exam to personal computers
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, the Uniform Bar Examination has been old school, with bar candidates using paper-and-pencil exam books. But starting with the first admin...
James Patterson dishes on his new legal thriller, ‘The #1 Lawyer’ | Rebroadcast
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With a new legal thriller on the horizon, we're revisiting James Patterson’s 2024 interview about #1 Lawyer. The bestselling author shares how he bu...
James Patterson dishes on his new legal thriller, ‘The #1 Lawyer’ | Rebroadcast
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With a new legal thriller on the horizon, we're revisiting James Patterson’s 2024 interview about #1 Lawyer. The bestselling author shares how he bu...
3 trial court judges share the tough cases that stuck with them | Rebroadcast
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This month, we're revisiting some standout conversations from our archives. In this episode, three seasoned trial court judges reflect on the cases th...
How agentic artificial intelligence could shake up the legal industry
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For lawyers, artificial intelligence agents could completely change the way that they do their jobs, handling things such as legal research, document...
Try estate law for a practice with work-life balance, says ‘Lifestyle Lawyer Revolution’ author
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Laura Cowan started her career in finance, earning a CPA and working at Ernst & Young and Goldman Sachs. When she decided to go to law school at 35, s...
Barrister’s new mystery novel offers glimpse inside the Inner Temple
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since it was seized from the Knights Templar in the 14th century, the Inner Temple in London has housed acolytes of a different sort: men (and eventua...
How ethics reforms in Arizona led to LegalZoom's law firm
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Arizona changed its ethics rules in 2020 opening the door for alternative business structures and nonlawyer ownership for law firms, it sent shoc...
How a Florida murder and an unlikely justice created a ‘criminal procedure revolution’
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Chambers v. Florida and the Criminal Justice Revolution, historian and former ABA Journal reporter Richard Brust lifts the veil on a case that lai...
What today’s rainmakers do differently
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Dixon, co-founder of DCM Insights, is a researcher who’s spent much of his career studying the shared characteristics and behaviors of succe...
To buy or not to buy? For Cleary Gottlieb, acquiring an AI company was a no-brainer
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Law firms acquire or merge with one another all the time. But when it comes to technology companies, firms usually keep it in-house or enter into a pa...
Perplexed about AI? Richard Susskind wants to help
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For nearly 30 years, Richard Susskind has written books asking lawyers to envision the future of the law and the legal profession in ways that stretch...
‘Secrets of the Killing State’ exposes realities of lethal injection
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Execution by lethal injection is seen by many Americans as a less barbaric alternative than older methods like hanging, firing squads and electrocutio...
Generative AI can help overworked immigration lawyers navigate these tumultuous times
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"May you live in interesting times." For immigration lawyers, that old proverb is now a reality. Ever since the start of the second Trump administrati...
‘Patenting Life’ shares tales from a career on the cutting edge of science and the law
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jorge Goldstein entered the fields of science and law at a time of immense change for them both. In the 1970s, huge strides were being made in biogene...
How thinking like an athlete can make you a better lawyer
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Peak performance in high-stress environments. It’s the goal for the basketball players taking the court during March Madness, but just as much for p...
This year's historic ABA Techshow will be bigger than ever
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For one thing, it marks the 40th annual iteration of the show. For another, it promises to be the biggest of all time—emanating for the first time f...
This Harvard Law prof thinks constitutional theory is a terrible way to pick a judge
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if we are asking the wrong questions when selecting American judges? Mark Tushnet thinks our current criteria might be off. “We should look for...
'The Licensing Racket' takes aim at professional licensing in America
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Should you need a license for that? For law professor and antitrust expert Rebecca Haw Allensworth, there are huge problems with professional licensin...
Should we expect new regulations on data privacy and consumer protection?
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a well-worn saying that the law always lags behind technology. It makes sense. We all remember the old song about how a bill becomes a law and ...
Former Watergate prosecutor and friends reflect on life in 'Legal Briefs'
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For some people, retirement is an opportunity to kick back and finally relax. But for Roger M. Witten, it was a chance to finally tackle that book he'...
What's the forecast for generative AI in 2025?
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If last year was when generative artificial intelligence went mainstream, could this year be the one when it gets even bigger? Will we see more people...
When should life sentences be overturned? Judge shares how he decides
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A federal judge’s new book is giving readers a rare inside glimpse at how a judge determines which prisoners deserve to have their sentences overtur...
Our favorite pop culture picks in 2024
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's the time of year when The Modern Law Library likes to look back on the media that we've enjoyed: our annual pop culture picks episode. This year,...
2024 in Review: Generative AI dominated legal tech
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
More money is flowing into legal tech than ever before, as several gigantic deals dominated the headlines and enlarged quite a few bank accounts. And ...
Horse-loving lawyer left the law to help run a Colorado ranch
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ami Cullen grew up loving horses and competing in hunter/jumper events. But when it came to her career, she decided that law would be her calling. She...
What went wrong–and right–with 10 famous trials
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
J. Craig Williams believes empathy is an important quality to be a trial lawyer. It’s served him in his profession, and it’s a tool he has also be...
What generative AI means for the future of predictive analytics
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lawyers, especially litigators, like to say they never ask a question that they don’t already know the answer to. But there’s plenty of unknowns o...
'Watchdogs' author has no regrets about choosing civil service over the NBA
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Glenn Fine's career-long crusade against corruption might have its roots in his college days. As a point guard for the Harvard basketball team, Fine h...
Meet the sheriffs who believe they are ‘The Highest Law in the Land’
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The first image conjured in your mind by the word “sheriff” might be the protagonist of a Wild West movie or Robin Hood’s foe, the Sheriff of No...
What Filevine's new AI tool could mean for the future of depositions
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The generative artificial intelligence tool is not just designed to transcribe depositions. It looks for inconsistencies. It suggests questions to ask...
'Company' is the perfect short story collection for spooky season
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Most—though not all—of the 13 short stories in Company deal with members of the Collins family. Three generations of narrators bear witness to t...
The Supreme Court is a liberal body–when it comes to legal writing
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jill Barton spent the first decade of her career working as a journalist, with the Associated Press Stylebook always at hand to determine word usage ...
What does the future hold for licensed paraprofessionals?
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Much has been made of the gigantic access-to-justice gap in this country. One possible way to help bridge the gap is to expand the pool of people elig...
Legal thriller author David Ellis's day job? Appellate court justice
29 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Justice David W. Ellis has served on the Illinois Appellate Court for the 1st District for nearly 10 years. But readers may know him better as author ...
Tests into and out of law schools—what's changing and why
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The LSAT is facing competition from the JD-Next exam, and many states are reconsidering their licensing methods as the bar exam as we’ve known it su...
'Shaping the Bar' author says bar exam protects legal profession, not public
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The goal of the bar exam is to be a gatekeeper for the legal profession and protect the public. But the current system, dominated by the Uniform Bar E...
How generative AI can help you market your legal practice
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There has been a lot of talk and concern about generative AI tools and how they are changing the legal industry. A major worry for many lawyers is tha...
Summer reading picks and why a YMCA-funded crusade against obscenity matters today
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do you need some distractions during vacation travel or while lying directly under your A/C unit and sweating? It’s time for The Modern Law Library’...
'The Lawyer Millionaire’ author shares the 7 biggest money mistakes lawyers can make
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Finances are a fraught area for many attorneys. Despite a high earning potential, new lawyers often start out with a financial disadvantage due to the...
Can generative AI tools make it easier for lawyers to offer pro bono services?
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A commonly cited solution to helping bridge the access-to-justice canyon is for lawyers to provide more pro bono work. In that regard, have generative...
‘The Originalism Trap’ author wants to see originalism dead, dead, dead
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Originalism is the ascendant legal theory espoused by conservative legal thinkers, including the majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices. But far from...
How to strike up conversations that build your book of business
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Networking is something that comes naturally to some people. But if the idea of talking to strangers makes you break out into a cold sweat, there’s ...
Will generative AI (finally) spell the end of the billable hour?
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It seems like every time that there’s a major disruption or event that threatens to upend the legal industry, it spells doom for the billable hour. ...
When states’ rights and healthcare access clash
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From COVID-19 response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the results of 50 states having individual approaches to public health, medical outcomes an...
'In the Shadow of Liberty' shines light on American immigration history
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When the Trump administration's policy of separating families at the country's borders was announced, opposition from the public and the legal communi...
The future of DEI programs in the legal industry
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The lack of diversity when it comes to race, gender, sexuality, disability and social class within the legal profession is nothing new. However, the l...
Users keepers: Pirates, zombies and adverse possession
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Trespassing plus time equals adverse possession,” Paul Golden writes in his new book, Litigating Adverse Possession Cases: Pirates v. Zombies. W...
James Patterson dishes on his new legal thriller, ‘The #1 Lawyer’
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Could automated transcription tools replace human court reporters?
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Transcription technology has existed for a while now, but its accuracy has never been that high. Now, artificial intelligence could make automated tra...
'When Rape Goes Viral' looks at why cases like Steubenville happen
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Three high-profile cases of sexual assault in 2012 followed a basic pattern: A teenage girl was sexually assaulted at a house party by one or more tee...
NY law prof is calling on ‘Lawyer Nation’ to reform
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ray Brescia, a law professor at Albany Law School, has taken a hard look at the country’s legal system in his new book, Lawyer Nation: The Past, Pr...
'Police & the Empire City' explores race and the origins of the NYPD
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Police & the Empire City: Race & the Origins of Modern Policing, Matthew Guariglia looks at the New York City police from their founding in 1845 t...
Fall in love with legal technology at this year's ABA Techshow
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What better way to spend Valentine’s Day than with your favorite lawyers, legal professionals, technologists and thought leaders who will be on hand...
Yale Law's Owen Fiss talks about threats to democracy and 'Why We Vote'
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After 50 years as a professor at Yale Law School, Owen Fiss says his students are still idealistic and passionate about the rights won in the Civil Ri...
Want to clear a criminal record? This lawyer has an app for that
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The impact for people clearing their criminal records can be life-changing, leading to long-term employment and financial security. And research show...
Access to justice can be achieved, says ‘Law Democratized’ author–but not without change
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2013, the ABA Journal named Renee Knake Jefferson a Legal Rebel for her work co-founding the Michigan State University’s ReInvent Law Laborator...
How to plan your post-law life
20 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are lawyers who love the practice of law so much, they’ll only leave it feet first, in a box. But for those who’d prefer to exit the bar bef...
What were the top legal tech stories of 2023?
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As 2023 draws to a close, the Legal Rebels Podcast looks at the top stories in legal technology for the year. Between the explosion in popularity of...
Our favorite pop culture picks in 2023
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's the time of year when The Modern Law Library hosts like to look back on the media we've enjoyed, our annual pop culture picks episode. This year,...
How is the true crime genre impacting the way people think about innocence?
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Human beings have told stories about violence and victims from our earliest records. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, newspapers and magazin...
How this lawyer uses TikTok to skewer law firm culture
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Legal professionals are not immune to the pull of platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts. Some are even using short-form videos to inf...
Law grad turns culinary passion into TikTok fame and a brand new cookbook
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Univers...
So Long and Farewell: Asked and Answered’s host is stepping down
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After 13 years and 170 episodes, Asked and Answered host Stephanie Francis Ward is hanging up her headphones and switching off her mic. Asked and Answ...
How reckoning with trauma can help you, your clients and the legal profession
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“You can’t think yourself out of trauma,” the introduction to Trauma-Informed Law: A Primer for Lawyer Resilience and Healing warns. “An ana...
How generative AI is already changing contract review
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of the areas that has already felt the effects of ChatGPT and other large language models is contracts. Users can now use these AI-enhanced tools ...
Transform your negotiations with a win-win-win mindset, says author
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moving from a “win-lose” mentality to a “win-win” mentality has been a central focus of the field of negotiation and conflict resolution since...
Tales of 3 generations of Black women intertwine to form 'Memphis'
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Admittedly, Tara M. Stringfellow became an attorney simply because her first book of poetry didn’t sell and she needed an income. But after a few ye...
Interested in trying AI to write? It's as easy as opening a document
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When lawyers hear the term "LLM," their first thought may go to a master of law degree that a person earns after law school. However, the acronym also...
What is the future of remote working in the law firm world?
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home and communicating and collaborating via real-time communication tools has become the norm for many ...
Complex litigation judge has 50 ideas to simplify the courts
06 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As both an attorney and judge, Thomas Moukawsher has spent the majority of his career dealing in complex litigation. And the Connecticut Superior Cour...
Investigations of federal judges are rare and should happen more, former clerk says
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After almost 40 years on the bench, Judge Pauline Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has sued her chief, two judge colleagues...
Summer reading and back-to-law-school tips
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time for the Modern Law Library’s summer recommendations episode, in which host Lee Rawles shares her pop culture picks with you, plus a re-a...
Changing the culture at law firms to promote wellness and mental well-being
16 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, lawyers who worked in BigLaw could expect some version of the following: Work long hours, including nights and weekends, with minimal fre...
Trial lawyer’s tales include wins, losses and international intrigue
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The year was 1961. Freshly minted attorney James J. Brosnahan had been on the job as a federal prosecutor in Phoenix for two days when he was handed h...
First quarter of 2023 had some of highest activist shareholder activity ever, say equity investor counsel
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As stories of some CEOs' outrageous behaviors continue, the amount of activist shareholder activities keeps growing, say Kenneth Mantel and Megan Reda...
Is family court too flawed to be fixed?
26 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jane M. Spinak did not set out to write a book arguing for the abolition of family court. She thought she would be making the case for a set of sensib...
How GPT and other large language models could change e-discovery
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When technologically assisted review first started gaining traction in e-discovery in the 2010s, many of the same superlatives assigned to ChatGPT wer...
Didn't get it in writing? There may still be a way, says author of 'Litigating Constructive Trusts'
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“If you don’t have it in writing, you’re out of luck.” That’s the common wisdom you’ll hear from TV judges, helpful uncles, well-meaning f...
Attorney for Lawrence v. Texas reflects on LGBTQ rights on 20th anniversary
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Winning a 2003 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case expanded a gay lawyer's Supreme Court practice, he says, and looking back, it's his favorite case. Bec...
'My Mom, the Lawyer' explores women's work and personal lives through the eyes of their children
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While directed at young children, a lawyer's book also speaks to lawyers who are moms, letting them know that being both can be a busy but fulfilling ...
What could AI regulation in the US look like?
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the United States, there has been very little movement toward establishing a regulatory framework at the federal level for artificial intelligence....
SCOTUS faces ‘a catastrophic loss of institutional legitimacy,’ warns author
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In his new book, The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America, Michael Waldman identifies three times the U.S. Supreme Court caused a pub...
The NextGen bar exam includes an expansion of skills testing, so how will candidates study?
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With the current exam, candidates have a 90% chance of passing, if they follow the advice of their law schools’ academic support staff. When the Nat...
Pre/Dicta takes a radically different approach to predictive analytics than others
17 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are plenty of judicial analytics and litigation prediction tools on the market. They may have differences in execution and focus, but the genera...
‘The Shadow Docket’ shines light on an increasingly uncommunicative Supreme Court
17 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic, University of Texas law professor Stephen...
End of the Cold War launched new efforts to build the rule of law
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As chunks of the Berlin Wall were being torn down by jubilant crowds on November 9, 1989, James Silkenat was serving his term as chair of the ABA Inte...
Through overseas currency exchanges, California deputy DA helps online romance scam victims get their money back
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the criminal justice world, pig butchering refers to bacon—but not literally. Instead, it’s a term used to describe scamming someone online out...
Author and lawyer explores English family's ties to Nazi Germany in 'The Mitford Affair'
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Heather Terrell, who writes under the pen name Marie Benedict, has written about novelist Agatha Christie in The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, and in La...
What the Silicon Valley Bank failure means for our financial institutions
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us still get a chill running down our spines when we hear about bank failures and bailouts. After all, it was less than 15 years ago when we w...
‘Never Far from Home' brings readers from NYC projects to 90s hip-hop scene to Microsoft offices
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bruce Jackson grew up shuttling between Brooklyn and Manhattan public housing projects. His journey led him to Hofstra University, then Georgetown Law...