Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

As America continues to reopen, certain changes at the Department of Labor might impact your workplace and its ability to recover from COVID-19. Tune in to hear the details with expert guests Crystal Wildeman and Louise Griffin from the law firm of Dinsmore & Shohl. Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid the far-reaching disruptions caused by the pandemic, safeguarding client relationships, maintaining seamless delivery of legal services and supporting an engaged and productive (and largely remote) staff have been critical priorities. As law firm and legal department leaders manage these and other health, safety and business continuity matters, they are facing growing compliance risks they can’t be ignored. Changes in operational procedures and data security triggered by remote work arrangements and virtual communications channels are just a couple areas where legal teams are working to ensure compliance programs are up-to-date, effective and resilient. In this episode of The Robert Half Legal Report, host Charles Volkert, senior district president of Robert Half Legal, is joined by Kim Dickerson, a regional managing director with global consulting firm Protiviti, a subsidiary of Robert Half. They examine current issues that are amplifying compliance risks and discuss ways to manage compliance requirements with evolving regulations governing office re-openings, vetting and working with new suppliers, new technologies, and more. They also offer strategies to help mitigate these risks while reinforcing compliance effectiveness across the organization. Robert Half is not a law firm and does not provide legal representation. Robert Half project attorneys do not constitute a law firm among themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rob Bilott, the renowned attorney leading the fight against the spread of deadly “forever chemicals,” the author of acclaimed memoir “Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer's Twenty-Year Battle Against DuPont,” and the subject of the 2019 legal thriller “Dark Waters,” sits down with host Jonathan Amarilio to discuss his struggle on behalf of tens of thousands of poisoned Ohio and West Virginia residents and his ongoing efforts to stop the use of toxins that have contaminated nearly all of humanity. Special thanks to our sponsors, CourtFiling.net. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Infinite vacation time sounds great until you place yourself inside the passive-aggressive crucible of a law firm. Management is probably genuinely trying to give associates more flexibility with their vacations but ultimately freaking out their lawyers in the process. Meanwhile, summer associates are heading to work and very worried about the level of mentoring they're going to get in a remote work environment. And we check in on a judge at the center of an epic set of allegations. Special thanks to our sponsors, LexisNexis® InterAction®, Lexicon and Nota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Mark A. Torres was researching his first novel, A Stirring in the North Fork, he came across a piece of local history he'd never known about. Starting during the labor shortages of World War II, Long Island had been home to dozens of camps for several decades, some of which kept migrant workers in deplorable–and often deadly–conditions. As general counsel for the Teamsters Union Local 810, Torres was fascinated. But information about these camps was available only in news accounts, film documentaries, memoirs and local records. Years after completing A Stirring in the North Fork(plus a children's book and a second novel) Torres decided he would write the first full-length non-fiction account of these camps and the people who lived and died in them: Long Island Migrant Labor Camps: Dust for Blood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jaclyn Foster knows what it’s like being a full-time paralegal and working for a temp staffing agency. But she opted to break from the norm and build her dedicated paralegal agency because she learned that a professional contract paralegal service could save law firms money, improve quality, and assure continuity.  Host Christopher Anderson interviews Foster about her journey from rural Minnesota and Wisconsin to running a team of contract paralegals to support modern law practices. Foster explains how, in her experience, contract paralegals not only save money but bring a level of expertise and consistency that many full-time approaches lack.  Anderson and Foster discuss lessons learned from the pandemic, including how quickly a sidelined paralegal could be picked up by a different firm in a competitive market. Jaclyn Foster is the founder and principal of Jaclyn Foster Paralegal Services. Special thanks to our sponsors, Scorpion, Lawclerk, Alert Communications and LawYaw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you balance the needs of a patient versus safely running a mental health facility? In this episode, we discuss whether or not a non-certified service animal should have been granted access to a treatment center. Christopher Knauf from the Disability Rights Legal Center joins us to discuss his work and the law. Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gyi and Conrad review the latest news. First up: Clio’s “blind date” with HubSpot. They wonder about the development of Clio Grow, its relationship with HubSpot, and customer relationship management options for law firms.  In the Clio Legal Trends Report Minute, Gyi and Conrad consider the quarter of lawyers who don’t meet clients virtually and the third of lawyers who don’t support electronic document sharing and e-filing. Back in the day, exceptional customer service was a bonus. Nowadays, exceptional is the expectation, Gyi and Conrad say. When it comes to legal marketing conferences, Gyi and Conrad shun pay-to-play speaking spots. Their alternative? The no-BS Bedlam legal marketing conference coming up on May 26. They preview the lineup with guest and Bedlam co-presenter and legal marketing frenemy Casey Meraz.  Listen for the code for the remaining #LHLM free registration spots.  Closing the episode, Gyi and Conrad talk one-star reviews and how to and how not to respond.  Pro tip: It’s possible to turn a terrible review from a competitor into a positive. Gyi and Conrad explain how. Special thanks to our sponsors Alert Communications, LexisNexis® InterAction®, LawYaw and Clio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many Americans privately give to causes and charities but don’t want that fact to be made public. But, do we actually have a right to privately donate? The Supreme Court will soon answer that question in another free speech case called ‘Americans for Prosperity Foundation vs. Bonta’. Professor Roger Colinvaux from Columbus School of Law stops by to explain. Special thanks to our sponsor Nota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Court packing is defined as “the act or practice of packing a court and especially the United States Supreme Court by increasing the number of judges or justices in an attempt to change the ideological makeup of the court.” Last month, Congressional Democrats introduced legislation to expand the Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices, and President Biden announced the formation of a commission to study the court's structure, including the number of justices and their length of service. Of course, this has led to yet another controversy along party lines. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host Craig Williams is joined by Tonja Jacobi, professor of law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, to discuss packing the Supreme Court, the politicization of the High Court, potential reform, and next steps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices