Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer
Legal Talk Network
Thinking Like A Lawyer is a podcast featuring Above the Law's Joe Patrice, Kathryn Rubino, and Chris Williams. Each episode, the hosts will take a topic experienced and enjoyed by regular people, and shine it through the prism of a legal framework. This will either reveal an awesome rainbow of thought, or a disorienting kaleidoscope of issues. Either way, it should be fun.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 18, 2020 • 32min
Ain't No Party Like A COVID Party
As law schools return, one student gets a stern warning about a COVID kegger, law firms get a new ranking, and an unqualified judge issues the sort of baseless decision that landed him on the bench in the first place. A rundown of the week that was in legal news.
Aug 11, 2020 • 25min
That Took A Threatening Turn
America's bar examination authorities have turned to threatening Character & Fitness repercussions for their critics marking a new, darker phase of the bar exam drama. How in the world did it come to this? Also, we talk about Kanye's double agent attorney and PACER gets a slap from the federal courts.
Aug 4, 2020 • 27min
Firms Slowly Begin To Return To Normal Pay
It may be too early to declare the legal profession back to normal, but we've now seen some major law firms reverse course on cost cutting and even announce some bonuses. Meanwhile, it took all of a couple hours for the in-person bar exam experiment to net its first positive COVID test.
Jul 28, 2020 • 29min
It's Bar Exam Time!
Multiple states are going forward with the test this week. Good luck to everyone.
Jul 21, 2020 • 36min
The Fight For Diploma Privilege
This week, Joe chats with Dr. Pilar Escontrias, Donna Saadati-Soto, Efrain Hudnell, and Emily Croucher, co-founders of United for Diploma Privilege. Follow them @DiplomaPriv4All.
Jul 14, 2020 • 33min
Chief Justice Hits His Head And Remembers Rule Of Law
The Supreme Court year is finally over.
Jul 7, 2020 • 19min
When Attorneys Attack!
It was an eventful week in legal news, but the biggest story was definitely the St. Louis personal injury attorneys who pulled guns on protesters and why lawyers have special obligations to maintain professionalism at all times. All that and more of the major stories of the week.
Jun 30, 2020 • 31min
Addressing Law School Racism & Neomi Rao's School Of Legal Writing Don'ts
A new account compiles the acts of racism that compound at Harvard Law School, but they could emanate from almost any law school. We take a look at this account and the response of law schools around the country to recent events, including one law school that's taking an aggressive anti-racism stance. Also, we discuss Neomi Rao's Michael Flynn opinion which left a lot to be desired as a work of professional legal writing.
Jun 23, 2020 • 27min
A Wild Week At The Supreme Court
A decidedly conservative Supreme Court made discrimination against the LGBTQ community illegal and then turned around and wiped out the Trump Administration's effort to cancel DACA. What was in the water last week? Joe and Kathryn break down why the opinions weren't nearly as revolutionary as the results they brought might make them seem.
Jun 16, 2020 • 28min
Explaining Michael Flynn's Case To Non-Lawyers And Other Challenges
With an independent report by a federal judge branding the Department of Justice "corrupt" this seems like a good time to revisit exactly how we got here. Your elderly aunt on Facebook has a lot to say about Michael Flynn and most of it is wrong. Joe and Kathryn unpack the case and also discuss the case of a lawyer who egged a judge's car.
