Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

What’s new for NALA in 2025? Get the scoop from guest Vanessa “Vinnie” Finley, the CEO of NALA since 2019. There’s plenty of news about the upcoming NALA conference and new initiatives to help you be your best professional self. 2025 is no ordinary year for NALA as the paralegal association celebrates 50 years. Start with the latest on the 2025 NALA Conference & Expo, July 10-12 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Earn continuing education credits, network, learn new skills, and hear about NALA’s plans for the future. Early bird registration ends May 7. Plus, dig into NALA’s newest national survey on utilization compensation and learn about trends in pay, billing, and benefits. You’ll also hear about new limited licensing programs, AI, and trends across the field.And we’ll talk about NALA’s new Resource Navigator, pulling together vendor information and the newest in tech, and a new collection of relevant articles and updates on NALA’s free Paralegal Brief page. Even more? How about a review of NALA’s work with affiliates and students nationwide and an upcoming free webinar on billable hours. This special episode has it all.Mentioned in This Episode:Vanessa Finley, prior appearance on Paralegal Voice, “The Year Ahead For NALA, Plus A Preview Of The 2024 Conference” Vanessa Finley, prior appearance on Paralegal Voice, “The NALA Paralegal Jobs Report: Get Paid What You’re Worth!”  NALA, The Paralegal Association NALA Conference & Expo 2025NALA Resource NavigatorNALA Paralegal BriefGet involved with NALA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And now we have a tracker for that!-----After a few weeks of watching some law firms stand up to facially illegal demands from the Trump administration... and more law firms rapidly cave to those same demands, we put together a helpful tracker to keep clients, potential laterals, and law students fully aware of where firms currently stand. But we depend on you out there to keep us up-to-date! Meanwhile, more associates have taken a stand against their surrendering firms and some law students have already told the firm recruiting events that they aren't interested in firms that can't stand up for themselves. Also the February bar exam numbers were terrible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our goal is to lift you up with every episode, and today we are sharing our mentor’s most valuable life lessons. We hope these ideas help you get through the day with a little more grace, a little less angst and a lot more confidence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 biogenetics and microbiology, and in the 1980s, the intellectual property community was being asked to answer some giant questions they raised, like: How can you describe life, legally? Can a living being be patented? Who owns the material from your body? The 45 years since the groundbreaking 1980 case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty, in which the U.S. Supreme Court decided that living organisms could be patented, have been an intensely busy time for microbiologists, biochemists, genetic researchers, and the patent lawyers who serve them. Goldstein, who holds a PhD in chemistry from Harvard University and a JD from George Washington University Law School, has been on hand to witness and help shape many of the resulting debates. In Patenting Life: Tales from the Front Lines of Intellectual Property and the New Biology, Goldstein weaves stories from his own life and practice with the fascinating histories behind some well known medications, lesser known scientists, and groundbreaking court cases that will shape future scientific ventures. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, he and the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles discuss the book and the fascinating career he’s had. In the book, Goldstein explains many of the scientific developments behind technologies like CRISPR in a way that lay people can understand, while offering humanizing looks at the quirky and sometimes flawed scientists who made those discoveries. Large moral and ethical questions are raised about how technologies are developed, commercialized and put into practice, and he does not shy away from the discussions. He also offers his perspective on how patent law can be improved to fund further scientific advancements while also protecting innovation. Goldstein and Rawles discuss key cases that helped shape genetic research, and some of the major changes he’s seen in legal theory over his career. They also discuss tikkun olam, a concept in Judaism about how our actions can repair and improve the world. It’s something Goldstein feels is a proper focus for science and for law, and they discuss two of the pro bono projects he has worked on with indigenous communities in which he can use patent law to protect their rights. Finally, Goldstein offers advice to young scientists and attorneys who are interested in practicing in these fields, and shares his opinion on what artificial intelligence could mean in the patent law sphere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Loren Williams, Regional Account Manager at PCs for People, shares insights on ethical IT recycling. He discusses how law firms can donate retired computers instead of sending them to landfills. The conversation covers crucial steps for secure data deletion, ensuring client confidentiality while refurbishing computers for low-income households. Loren emphasizes the importance of community access to technology and outlines the eco-friendly processes involved in responsibly disposing of old law firm equipment.

Legal and tech experts come together on Talk Justice to discuss what generative AI is, how the growth of algorithmic decision-making can harm low-income people, and the need for people and institutions implementing AI to develop robust methodologies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not a week goes by without another new AI tool hitting the market, and this flood of product choices can be incredibly overwhelming for any consumer, lawyers included. So, how do attorneys figure out what they need and which tools are trustworthy? Dennis and Tom talk through the many categories of AI tools and explain how learning to use major LLM tools is essential in understanding AI’s uses and capabilities. They discuss ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot to give legal professionals a sense of how to engage effectively with AI tools and then offer their take on how to narrow down the multitude of AI choices for your law firm. Later, can Tom guess Dennis’s favorite and most-used AI tool of late? Tom recruits ChatGPT to help him guess! As always, stay tuned for the parting shots, that one tip, website, or observation that you can use the second the podcast ends.Have a technology question for Dennis and Tom? Call their Tech Question Hotline at 720-441-6820 for the answers to your most burning tech questions. Links Mentioned:LTH GenAI Legal Tech Map: February 2025 | Legaltech HubChatGPT by OpenAIClaude by AnthropicGemini by GoogleCopilot by MicrosoftNotebookLMOutlook Calendar in Microsoft TeamsPersonal Strategy Compass - by Dennis Kennedy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The skies above us have a legal framework all their own, but many attorneys have limited knowledge of this expansive area of the law. Can your neighbor fly his drone into your yard? What’s the difference in legal responsibilities between private aviators and commercial airlines? How is AI impacting flight and flight training? Rocky Dhir welcomes Kent Krause to discuss the basics of aviation law and dig into its evolving issues and changes.Later, 2025 began with a succession of tragic and unsettling airline incidents. Should we be concerned about this disproportionately large number of accidents in air travel? Rocky and Kent discuss the details of these events and examine the laws, safety frameworks, and failures that came into play.Kent Krause is a partner at Craddock Davis & Krause, LLP, in Dallas, TX.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catherine Sanders Reach, Director of the Center for Practice Management at the North Carolina Bar Association, joins Zack Glaser to answer pressing questions about integrating AI into legal operations. Catherine explains how to identify breakdowns in workflows, choose purpose-built AI tools, and calculate the return on investment for tech solutions like Microsoft Copilot. She also shares practical advice on automating tasks like document templates, client intake, and email management while emphasizing the importance of documenting processes for efficiency. This episode is packed with actionable insights for lawyers looking to streamline their practice with AI.Hear Catherine’s other appearance on Lawyerist Podcast: #444: Streamlining Legal Operations for Success, with Catherine Sanders Reach: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube  Listen to our other episodes about artificial intelligence: #551: Becoming the AI Driven Leader, with Geoff Woods: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Lawyerist #550: Beyond Content: How AI is Changing Law Firm Marketing, with Gyi Tsakalakis and Conrad Saam: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Lawyerist #546: Unlock Law Firm Growth: AI Marketing Secrets with Karin Conroy: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Lawyerist Have thoughts about today’s episode? Join the conversation on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X!If today's podcast resonates with you and you haven't read The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited yet, get the first chapter right now for free! Looking for help beyond the book? See if our coaching community is right for you.Access more resources from Lawyerist at lawyerist.com.Chapters / Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction6:17 Meet Catherine Sanders Reach7:19 How to Kickstart Generative AI Processes10:53 Microsoft Copilot 13:00 AI Tools Lawyers Should Consider Using14:36 Agentic AI20:14 Why You Need a Needs Assessment 23:49 Evaluating Productivity27:11 Let Go of Perfectionism 28:44 Image Generation31:46 Why You Need Policies and Systems35:38 Dictation Tools38:22 The AI Tool to Watch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A great divide emerges in Biglaw as firms wrestle with political pressures and ethical dilemmas. Skadden's hefty pro bono commitment prompts discussions about law firms' allegiances, particularly toward the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the shift away from on-campus recruiting raises concerns over accessibility for first-generation law students. Amidst humorous anecdotes about Detroit’s culinary scene, the podcast dives deep into the legal landscape's shifting priorities and the internal conflicts shaping the future of law practice.