Lawyer 2 Lawyer

There is a great fight over the release of two chimpanzees, Tommy the chimpanzee, caged in a warehouse in Gloversville, New York, and Kiko, caged in a storefront at the Primary Sanctuary in Niagara Falls, New York. In a recent legal ruling by a New York appeals court, the court struck down the habeas appeal by the Nonhuman Rights Project. According to a Nonhuman Rights project press release, “the court held that the NhRP did not have the right to seek second writs of habeas corpus on behalf of Tommy and Kiko then gave certain non-binding opinions about granting legal personhood to nonhuman animals. The NhRP intends to seek appeal of this decision to New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.” The Nonhuman Rights Project vows to continue to argue that the chimps’ capabilities require that they have the same fundamental rights as humans. Others have disagreed that this is not a “personhood issue” but rather a human responsibility issue. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, hosts Bob Ambrogi and Craig Williams join guests, Steven M. Wise, president of the Nonhuman Rights Project, and Richard L. Cupp, J.D., the John W. Wade professor of law at Pepperdine University, as they discuss the recent legal ruling involving captive chimpanzees, the debate over animals as "legal persons,” animal rights, animal law, and next steps. Steven M. Wise is president of the Nonhuman Rights Project, the only civil rights organization in the United States working for the legal rights of nonhuman animals. Richard L. Cupp, J.D. is the John W. Wade professor of law at Pepperdine University, where he teaches torts, products liability, remedies, and animal law. Special thanks to our sponsors, Clio and Litera.

Comedian, actor, and America’s TV dad  Bill Cosby has been on trial for the sexual assault of Andrea Constand. Ms. Constand accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her and drugging her in 2004 at Cosby’s Philadelphia mansion. After a six day trial and the jury being “hopelessly deadlocked” after 52 hours of deliberating, the judge finally declared a mistrial on June 17th. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, hosts Bob Ambrogi joins attorney Letitia Quinones from the firm Quinones & Associates and attorney and professor Barbara Lynn Ashcroft from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University to discuss this case, the allegations, the prosecution strategy, the defense strategy, what lead to the mistrial, and what happens next. Attorney Letitia Quinones is from the firm Quinones & Associates out of Houston, Texas.  Attorney Quinones brings over 18 years of criminal law experience to her clients in Houston, throughout the state of Texas and across the nation. Attorney and professor Barbara Lynn Ashcroft is from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University. A former Montgomery County assistant district attorney, Ms. Ashcroft spent seven years prosecuting more than 1,500 criminal cases comprising fraud, burglary, domestic violence, sexual assault, felony drug crime, and homicide. Special thanks to our sponsors, Clio and Litera.

On June 1st 2017, President Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. This accord was negotiated in 2015 to limit and reduce global warming.  Environmental organizations voiced their outrage over the decision citing a denial of climate change and a threat to our environment, whereas supporters of the withdrawal praised President Trump’s decision claiming it would create domestic energy production and jobs stateside. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host Bob Ambrogi joins environmental attorney Jeffrey B. Gracer from the firm Sive, Paget & Riesel and Nicolas Loris, an economist from The Heritage Foundation, as they take a look at the Paris Agreement on climate change, President Trump’s withdrawal from the accord, climate change, the impact on international law and relations, and the long-term implications for the economy and the environment. Attorney Jeffrey B. Gracer is from the firm Sive, Paget & Riesel. Jeff has a vibrant domestic and international environmental law practice. Nicolas (Nick) Loris is an economist who focuses on energy, environmental, and regulatory issues as the Herbert and Joyce Morgan fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Special thanks to our sponsors, Clio and Litera.

On May 9th, 2017, President Trump fired James Comey, the seventh Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Although the accounts are in dispute, it was reported that days before his dismissal, Comey had requested more resources for an FBI probe into the alleged meddling of Russia in the presidential election. The Justice Department has since denied those allegations.  Many were stunned by the dismissal of Comey and are questioning the reasons behind it. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host Craig Williams joins Ronald Kessler, author of “The FBI: Inside the World's Most Powerful Law Enforcement Agency”, and Asha Rangappa, associate dean at Yale Law School and former special agent for the FBI, as they take an inside look at the FBI, the dismissal of Comey, the legalities triggered by dismissals, and the Russia connection. Ronald Kessler is the New York Times bestselling author of 20 non-fiction books. For Kessler's eighth book, “The FBI: Inside the World's Most Powerful Law Enforcement Agency”, the FBI gave Kessler unprecedented access to the bureau. Asha Rangappa is associate dean at Yale Law School. Prior to her current position, Asha served as a special agent in the New York office of the FBI, specializing in counterintelligence investigations. Special thanks to our sponsors, Clio and Litera.

The regulatory body that oversees the legal profession in England and Wales, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), has enacted a major overhaul of legal training and solicitor licensure. This will take effect in 2020. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, hosts Bob Ambrogi and Craig Williams join attorney Mark A. Cohen, CEO of Legal Mosaic and Julie Brannan, Director of Education and Training for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), as they discuss how the U.K. is eliminating the requirement of attending law school in favor of a skills exam. They talk about that exam, its potential impact on law students and the legal community, and whether or not the United States will adopt a similar practice. Mark Cohen, the CEO of Legal Mosaic, is a Distinguished Lecturer in Law at Georgetown Law School and writes a weekly column on the global legal marketplace for Forbes. Mark recently wrote a piece for Forbes titled, “A British Reboot of Legal Education-- Law School Optional.” Julie Brannan is the director of education and training for the Solicitors Regulation Authority better known as the SRA out of the U.K. She joined the SRA in October 2013, and since then has been leading the Training for Tomorrow review of legal education and training. Special thanks to our sponsors, Clio and Litera.

On April 18th 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court dismissed more than 21,000 low-level drug cases connected to the drug lab scandal that involved Annie Dookhan, a former chemist of a Massachusetts crime lab who admitted to falsifying evidence. After an investigation into Annie Dookhan and her work at the Hinton State Laboratory Institute, Dookhan admitted to altering and faking test results over a period of 8 years. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, hosts Bob Ambrogi and Craig Williams join Carl Williams, staff attorney for the ACLU of Massachusetts, and Sandra Guerra Thompson, the director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center, to take a look at this drug lab scandal in Massachusetts and its impact on drug cases, attorneys, defendants, as well as take an inside look at what goes on inside a crime lab. Carl Williams is a staff attorney for the ACLU of Massachusetts. Carl was previously a criminal defense attorney with the Roxbury Defenders Unit of the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Sandra Guerra Thompson is the director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center. In 2015, Sandra wrote a book entitled “Cops in Lab Coats: Curbing Wrongful Convictions with Independent Forensic Laboratories."

On April 3rd, 2017, President Trump signed into law a controversial measure repealing online privacy protections, which were established by the Federal Communications Commission under the Obama Administration and would go into effect at the end of 2017.  This legislation allows internet providers or ISPs to sell customer data without consent. Supporters of this legislation believe that keeping browsing information private would stop innovation, where opponents voice their concerns over the privacy protections of customers. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, hosts Bob Ambrogi and Craig Williams join Ernesto Falcon, legislative counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Alden F. Abbott, deputy director of the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, as they take a look at the passing of this legislation involving internet service providers and web-surfing data. They discuss this controversial legislation, the privacy issues, and the potential impact on customers. Ernesto Falcon is legislative counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation with a primary focus on intellectual property and open Internet issues. Prior to joining EFF, Ernesto worked as a legislative staffer for two Members of Congress (2004-2010). Alden F. Abbott is the Rumpel senior legal fellow and deputy director of the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Alden previously served as director of patent and antitrust strategy for BlackBerry, and in a variety of senior government positions. Special thanks to our sponsors, Clio and Litera.

On March 16, 2017, President Trump unveiled his proposed federal budget. With this proposed budget came many federal budget cuts to federal agencies and programs like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, “Meals on Wheels,” and the Office of Violence Against Women.  Included in these cuts, was the Legal Services Corporation, an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 to provide financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. If President Trump’s current budget proposal is approved by Congress, this elimination of funding would directly impact those who seek legal representation. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host Bob Ambrogi joins attorney Jim Sandman, president of the Legal Services Corporation, and attorney Linda Klein, president of the American Bar Association, to discuss President Trump’s budget proposal to zero out funding for the Legal Services Corporation. This discussion includes the state of legal services funding today and what cuts or elimination would mean for lower income Americans. Attorney James J. Sandman has been president of the Legal Services Corporation since 2011. Jim practiced law with Arnold & Porter LLP for 30 years and served as the firm’s managing partner for a decade. Attorney Linda Klein is president of the American Bar Association and the senior managing shareholder at Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz. Special thanks to our sponsors, Clio and Litera.

In recent months, President Trump has been very vocal about his disdain for the press and labeling certain news outlets “fake news.”  In retaliation for contentious press relations, the White House blocked a number of news organizations including CNN, the New York Times, Politico, and the Los Angeles Times from attending an off-camera press briefing with Press Secretary, Sean Spicer on February 24th. So the question remains, how far will President Trump go with curtailing press participation and is that considered an infringement on the freedom of the press? On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, hosts Bob Ambrogi and Craig Williams join attorney David A. Schulz, co-director of the Media Freedom and Information Access (MFIA) Clinic and attorney Howard Cooper, a founding partner of Todd & Weld LLP, as they take a look at the First Amendment, discuss the Trump/press relationship, what constitutes “fake news,” the freedom of the press, and potential future litigation involving the press. Attorney David A. Schulz is a senior research scholar in law and Floyd Abrams clinical lecturer in Law at Yale Law School and co-director of the Media Freedom and Information Access (MFIA) Clinic. Attorney Howard Cooper is a founding partner of Todd & Weld LLP. Howard regularly handles significant civil rights and First Amendment matters, which are often of public significance. Special thanks to our sponsors, Clio and Litéra.

The Taft-Hartley Act, written in 1947, is one of the key laws governing labor relations in the United States today. Laws governing the workforce and employers have changed little, while the working world has changed dramatically. So are U.S. labor laws due for a major overhaul?  Also, in recent months, President Trump has nominated Alexander Acosta to fill the Secretary of Labor spot after his first pick, Andrew Puzder, withdrew his nomination. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, hosts Bob Ambrogi and Craig Williams join attorney Howard Wexler, an associate in the Labor and Employment group at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, and Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research and a senior lecturer at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, as they take a look at U.S. Federal Labor laws, reform, current legislation, and the impact a new Secretary of Labor under a Trump presidency will have on the U.S. workforce and employers. Attorney Howard Wexler is an associate in the Labor and Employment group in Seyfarth Shaw’s New York office. In this role, Mr. Wexler has extensive experience defending both single and multi-plaintiff discrimination/harassment cases, class and/or collective actions, as well as lawsuits initiated by the EEOC. Kate Bronfenbrenner is director of labor education research and a senior lecturer at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations where she teaches and does research on union and employer strategies in organizing and bargaining in the global economy. Special thanks to our sponsors, Clio and Litéra.