Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

Affirmative action has found its way to the Supreme Court. Last month, SCOTUS agreed to hear two cases brought by the Students for Fair Admissions: Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. These cases were reviewed by SCOTUS and because of their similarities, consolidated.So what could these cases mean for the future of affirmative action? Host Craig Williams is joined by Rachel F. Moran, a Distinguished Professor of Law at UCI Law, to spotlight affirmative action in higher education. Craig and Rachel discuss the history and origins, the two cases set to go before SCOTUS, and the impact these SCOTUS' decisions could have on college admissions and affirmative action.Special thanks to our sponsor, Posh Virtual Receptionists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The overall number of data compromises is up 68% over 2020. Now, more than ever, attorneys must take action to protect themselves and their law firms. John Simek and Sharon Nelson welcome James E. Lee of the Identity Theft Resource Center to discuss the findings of his organization’s 2021 Data Breach Report. James discusses common root causes of data breaches and explains how prevention tactics and data security services can help lawyers avoid and/or deal with a data compromise. James E. Lee is the chief operating officer of the Identity Theft Resource Center. Special thanks to our sponsors CaseFleet and PInow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this edition, host Jonathan Amarilio is joined by Dan Webb, the special prosecutor appointed to investigate the case against actor Jussie Smollett for making false reports of a hate crime to the Chicago Police Department and the handling of the case by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx. Webb discusses his successful prosecution of Smollett and explains what ultimately lead to his conclusion that there were “substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures” by Foxx and her staff in how the case against Smollett was resolved.Special thanks to our sponsors: InfoTrack, Posh Virtual Receptionists, LLC, and Smokeball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court returned to the shadowy depths to issue a 5-4 ruling allowing a racial gerrymander to continue through the next election. The Chief Justice dissented, lamenting the idea that a shadow docket ruling could effectively rubberstamp a "freebie" violation of the Voting Rights Act. You know... we used to have a mechanism to prevent this sort of thing, JOHN. We also discuss the latest Georgetown Law racial slur incident, which mercifully didn't end in bad "academic freedom" takes. And we talk about Kirkland's return to office announcement, which landed with a thud when the firm didn't package it with some market matching raises.Special thanks to our sponsor, Posh Virtual Receptionists, LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t wait for the request for appeal to hit your desk to start thinking about appealable issues. Many top firms pay close attention to appeal potential every minute of litigation. Appellate law experts Joan Lockwood and Rich Finneran discuss appellate brief basics, which issues have a greater chance of reversal, and how to prioritize key points. Tune in for tried-and-true tips which could improve your chances of winning your next appeal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opposing counsel is hammering your client with irrelevant questions, an intimidating tone, and maybe even false evidence. Under this intense pressure, your client may take the bait and respond in a manner that could derail your case. What can you do? Today’s empowering discussion focuses on ways to protect your client and your case from rude and harassing intimidation tactics during deposition and defuse overly-aggressive interrogation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Innovation for Justice lab launched at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law in 2018 with the goal of designing, building and testing new solutions to addressing the justice gap impacting millions of Americans.Special thanks to our sponsors, Alert Communications and Smokeball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inefficient and don’t know why? Jared will sort you out. Listen in for tips on creating and delegating workflows to make your firm’s processes efficient from start to finish. Next up, a brand new feature! In this, the inaugural edition of “Live From the Playroom,” Jared welcomes Nashville singer-songwriter Erinn Peet Lukes as the show’s first-ever musical guest. Check out Erinn’s music at erinnpeetlukes.com, and look for her upcoming solo album “EPL” on March 4th, available via your favorite streaming service.-------We loved having Erinn on so much, and wanted to share more of her scene, so we asked and she delivered. Check out this playlist Erinn put together for us featuring some of her Nashvegas friends.-------Our opening track is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.The music for the Legal Trends Report Minute is I See You by Sounds Like Sander.Our closing track is Country Music Breaks My Heart by Erinn Peet Lukes. Special thanks to our sponsors TimeSolv, Clio, Scorpion, and Alert Communications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s the difference between benchmarks and baselines when it comes to measuring your firm’s KPIs?Often, we set revenue and project-based goals to achieve on a quarterly or annual basis, without having a clear understanding of our KPIs, how to measure them, or how to shift them if they’re no longer aligned.We dive into all things KPIs with Jeff Smith in this episode. Jeff is affectionately known as “The KPI Guy” as he’s written 7 international #1 best-selling books on KPI and Business Management. He is on record as the most successful author in history on the subject.Throughout his career, he’s worked with, and is trusted by Royal families, Governments of different countries and Senior Executives in the largest companies in the world. Jeff gives listeners actionable tips on: What KPIs are and why we use them How to decide which KPIs you should focus on in your firm The difference between a baseline and a benchmark and how to measure it within your firm His recommendations on which KPIs lawyers should be using to measure Trust as a key component of achieving KPIs  Resources mentioned in this episode: Paradigms by Joel Arthur Baker   Connect with Jeff here: LinkedIn www.jeff-smith.com  Connect with me Instagram Pinterest Facebook Twitter Karin on Twitter Karin on LinkedIn Conroy Creative Counsel on Facebook https://conroycreativecounsel.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legal professionals tend to focus on rules, policies, oaths, etc., but this isn’t enough when it comes to ethical decision-making. JoAnn Hathaway and Molly Ranns welcome Victoria Vuletich to explain the components of ethical wellness and a variety of dynamics that influence problem solving. Victoria offers insights on how ethical wellness and moral resilience affect the outcomes of ethical dilemmas often faced by legal professionals. Victoria Vuletich is the CEO and founder of Ethics Squared LLC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices