Lawyer 2 Lawyer

U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth recently ruled to temporarily block federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, citing a violation of the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, a 1996 law that prohibits the destruction of human embryos. The ban has been temporarily lifted, but the court battle continues. Attorneys and co-hosts Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams, welcome Russell Korobkin, Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law and Author of Stem Cell Century: Law and Policy for a Breakthrough Technology and Charles P. Kindregan Jr., professor of family law and assisted reproduction law at Suffolk University Law School, to explore this controversial debate, legislative, ethical and religious aspects of stem cell research and this recent legal ruling’s impact on scientific research.

While many around the world were paying tribute to those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, Pastor Terry Jones, from the Dove World Outreach Center, had announced that he would burn 200 copies of the Quran on the anniversary of 9/11 in a protest against Islam. Attorney and co-host J. Craig Williams joins Mark Potok, Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center and Dr. Charles C. Haynes, Director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum and senior scholar at the First Amendment Center, to look inside this controversy. They discuss the First Amendment, religion, Jones’ potential impact on national security, attitude toward the Muslim community and how other countries view America when it comes to religion.

In the US vs. Pineda-Moreno decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Law enforcement agents can legally place a GPS device on an individual’s car without their knowledge and without a warrant from a judge. Attorneys and co-hosts Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams, welcome Orin S. Kerr, contributing blogger to the Volokh Conspiracy and Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School, to discuss the legality of GPS tracking in light of the Fourth Amendment, privacy rights, the role of technology and the possibility that this case and others like it will reach the Supreme Court.

Back on August 31st 2005, the Legal Talk Network launched this podcast that would become the longest running legal podcast. And 250 podcasts later, the award-winning Lawyer2Lawyer podcast is celebrating its 5th anniversary. Attorneys and co-hosts Bob Ambrogi and J.Craig Williams, spotlight two other pioneers of legal podcasting, Denise Howell, the host of This Week in Law and Struan Robertson, Legal Director for Pinsent Masons LLP and founding editor of OUT-LAW.com/OUT-LAW Radio . They take a look at the value of a podcast for a lawyer today, as well as time commitment, differentiation, and a bit of fun.

Should former MLB pitcher, Roger Clemens and his former trainer Brian McNamee take polygraph tests? That's just one of the topics discussed on this edition of Lawyer2Lawyer. Attorneys and co-hosts Bob Ambrogi and J.Craig Williams, welcome legendary defense counsel, Attorney F. Lee Bailey and Michael S. Schmidt, reporter for The New York Times, to discuss the Clemens indictment on charges that he allegedly lied to Congress back in 2008, when he testified that he never used performance-enhancing drugs. They explore legal strategy, the use of physical evidence, the credibility of testimonies and the future of Roger Clemens.

A Boston medical student and accused Craigslist killer, Philip Markoff commits suicide in jail awaiting trial for first degree murder, prompting reactions ranging from frustration to relief. On this edition of Lawyer2Lawyer, attorneys and co-hosts Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams welcome Douglas Berman, Law Professor at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University, who first prompts the question on his blog, Sentencing Law and Policy, about how we react to this turn of events in the legal process, along with special guests Elie Mystal, Editor at Above the Law, and Leslie Walker, Executive Director of Prisoners’ Legal Services in Boston for a discussion about justice denied.

With a vote of 63-37, the Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as a Supreme Court justice making her the 112th justice, and the fourth woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. Attorney and co-host, Bob Ambrogi welcomes Professor Joel Grossman, a professor of political science, and a constitutional law scholar from Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland School of Law and Tony Mauro, Supreme Court correspondent for The National Law Journal and for ALM Media, to discuss the latest on the confirmation of Elena Kagan. They look at her background, some of the controversy over her confirmation and what kind of impact she will ultimately have on the Supreme Court.

In a landmark decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker in San Francisco struck down the controversial and highly-debated, Proposition 8 in California, which was approved by the state's voters in November 2008 and overturned a state supreme court ruling that resulted in the legalization of same sex marriage. Attorney and co-host, Bob Ambrogi welcomes Adam Winkler from UCLA Law School, Professor Nelson Tebbe from Brooklyn Law School and Attorney Thomas J. Barbar, the Mass Bar Association's Family Law Chair and principal with Deutsch Williams, Brooks, DeRensis & Holland PC., to sort through all the twists and turns. They look at reaction to the ruling, the legal issues surrounding gay marriage and the likelihood of this issue reaching the U.S. Supreme Court.

President Obama recently signed into law the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, better known as the Financial Reform Bill. This new legislation is aimed to crack down on the excesses of Wall Street and corporate America by overhauling banking and Wall Street regulations. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Attorney Martin E. Lybecker, a partner in Wilmer Hale’s Regulatory and Government Affairs and Securities Departments, to discuss the latest on this legislation. They look at the new financial reform law, the role of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and how this new legislation impacts the banking industry, businesses, law firms’ workload and consumers.

2010 marks the first year for the University of Massachusetts School of Law – Dartmouth, the state’s first public law school. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Dean Robert V. Ward, Jr., to talk about the new UMass Law school. They discuss the rise in applications in a down economy, the incoming class and faculty, accreditation and the opportunities available for students after they leave law school.