Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

Legal aid and tech experts discuss self-help kiosks on the latest episode of Talk Justice. The under-resourcing of legal aid makes it impossible to provide meaningful legal help to every person who needs it. Many providers build and share educational materials and self-help resources online to help fill the gaps, but those without access to a personal computer or smartphone may not be able to access these resources. Self-help legal kiosks offer adaptable access. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawyers, amongst other “safety-sensitive” professionals like doctors, police officers, etc., aren’t allowed to have a bad day at work. If you aren’t doing your best, someone could get hurt, and the weight of that responsibility can lead to mental health or wellness issues when attorneys, judges, or law students don’t have the support they need. Molly Ranns and JoAnn Hathaway welcome Tom Grden to the podcast to discuss the many resources available to legal professionals through Lawyers & Judges Assistance Programs. There is confidential help available for anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and more. Tom also shares a variety of simple coping skills for managing daily stressors. Learn more at: Michigan - Lawyers & Judges Assistance ProgramTom Grden is Clinical Case Manager for the State Bar of Michigan’s Lawyers & Judges Assistance Program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New year, new goals! Dennis and Tom share their tech resolutions for the upcoming year and take a look back to see how they did on their goals from 2024. As might be expected, AI continually expands in the tech and legal worlds, so AI is prominent amongst the guys’ resolutions. They talk about their hopes for new AI implementations, thoughts on streamlining tech, social media in the post-Twitter era, additional work on their Second Brain projects, and more.Later, the guys ponder the question: how do we make 'improving firm-wide AI literacy' an achievable resolution for attorneys? All law firm staff who use AI need to have a good understanding of its current capabilities and potential uses. Dennis and Tom talk through how to keep level with developments and utilize AI tech to your greatest advantage.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.Show Notes:  Dial 1-800-242-8478 to talk to ChatGPT Dennis’ New Substack Newsletter: Personal Strategy Compass  Google’s Gemini Advanced - get access to Google's most capable AI models with Gemini 2.0    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this conversation, Barron Henley shares his expertise on document automation and formatting in Microsoft Word, focusing on hidden features, effective techniques, and the importance of styles. He discusses common pitfalls lawyers face and provides practical solutions to streamline document creation, including the use of templates, styles, numbering, and cross-referencing. The conversation emphasizes the need for proper setup to avoid formatting issues and enhance productivity, particularly in legal contexts. Links from the episode:  Check out Affinity Consulting  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Texas can be proud to say that it was the first state to have an all-woman high court in the United States, but how exactly did this moment in history come about? Rocky Dhir welcomes Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod and Sharon Sandle to learn about this period in Texas history and the surprising series of events that led to the appointment of female judges. They go into detail about the challenges faced by these legal trailblazers—Nellie Robertson of Granbury, Edith Wilmans of Dallas, and Hortense Sparks Ward of Houston—and also discuss notable women’s issues of the era and highlight several other female legal pioneers. Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod is Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit with Chambers in Houston, Texas. Sharon Sandle is Executive Director of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society and Director of the Law Practice Resources Division at the State Bar of Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Throughout the history of our justice system, transgender prisoners’ issues have largely been ignored. Is that intentional indifference still predominant in the current landscape of our prisons? Nikki Marcotte and Trisha Rich talk with Alan Mills of the Uptown People’s Law Center about his career in prisoner rights litigation, including his work in the Monroe case and his opinions on the recent decision made by the 7th Circuit US Court of Appeals in Monroe v. Bowman. They discuss the issues surrounding gender affirming care in Illinois prisons, the impacts of politics and media, and how attorneys can get involved in prisoner rights issues. Alan Mills is Executive Director at Uptown People’s Law Center in Chicago, Illinois. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Statutes are hard.-----Apparently, Clarence Thomas just didn't understand how to read the nearly 50-year-old statute requiring him to report massively expensive gifts. That's the Judicial Conference's official take in a new letter to the Senate panel looking into the ethical cesspool. The letter becomes public just as Chief Justice Roberts releases his annual report asserting that most criticism of the Court should be seen as improper intimidation and even violence. Before the holidays, we discussed Biglaw firms bucking the trend and not paying out special bonuses. Happy to report that they've reversed course. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal judge’s new book is giving readers a rare inside glimpse at how a judge determines which prisoners deserve to have their sentences overturned. In his memoir, Disrobed: An Inside Look at the Life and Work of a Federal Trial Judge, Judge Frederic Block introduced readers to his colorful life and career. In Crimes and Punishments: Entering the Mind of a Sentencing Judge, he explained the rationale judges use when deciding sentences, and the human toll it can take. And now, in A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It, he’s shining a light on how judges consider resentencing and compassionate release. Without the passage of a key federal law in 2018, A Second Chance would not have been written. A bipartisan piece of legislation signed by President Donald Trump and supported by the ABA, the First Step Act was one of the biggest criminal justice reforms in the past decade. Among its sentencing reforms, it allows federal judges to reconsider sentences given out during tough-on-crime crackdowns, and for prisoners to petition for compassionate release. Block, who is a senior judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, soon found himself asked to reconsider sentences under the First Step Act. In the book, he outlines the crimes and rehabilitations (or lack thereof) of six federal prisoners. From a former police officer who assaulted an innocent Haitian immigrant to a trio of mobsters, Block selected an array that represents the types of cases he’s being asked to consider. Later in the book, he reveals the fate of each—whether life sentences were overturned or unrepentant prisoners were returned to their cells. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Block tells ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles how his own views on sentencing have changed since he ascended to the bench in the 1990s. In a case that made the news after A Second Chance went to press, Block overturned a sentence he gave out 27 years ago, during his second year on the bench. Block had imposed a quintuple life sentence on Walter Johnson after the man was convicted of robbery, cocaine possession and witness tampering. At 61, Johnson has now been released from prison, and Block discusses that decision in the episode. Block sees a moral imperative for all strata of the justice system to work together to address mass incarceration. In addition to calling on judges to be open-minded when considering resentencing offenders, he encourages criminal defense attorneys to go through their lists of former clients to see whether any would be eligible for relief under the First Step Act. Most importantly, Block is calling upon citizens to lobby for sentencing reforms like the First Step Act on the state level, since the legislation only applies to federal prisoners. He points out that only about 200,000 of the approximately 2 million incarcerated Americans are federal prisoners; the vast majority are overseen by state courts. Block also discusses the public response to President Joe Biden’s recent clemency decisions, and how collateral consequences have influenced his initial sentencing decisions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our continuing discussion on legal research examines the strengths and weaknesses of AI and the importance of deep and complete human analysis of all research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nisha Anand, the Chief Executive Officer of Dream.org, joins SideBar to discuss how she builds bridges across political divides to find real solutions. Nisha employs the “radical act of finding common ground” with unlikely allies while still staying true to her progressive values. She provides a hopeful message that collaboration can achieve change and overcome polarization and political divides. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices