ABA Journal: Modern Law Library

Author and lawyer Scott Turow’s latest legal thriller Suspect reintroduces readers to Clarice “Pinky” Granum, the granddaughter of attorney Sandy Stern—a character from the author's novels The Last Trial and his blockbuster debut Presumed Innocent.

In this special two-part episode of the Modern Law Library, the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles speaks with Lisa Napoli, author of Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR, and we hear from Nina Totenberg herself about her new book, Dinners With Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships. Totenberg appeared at an American Bar Foundation event to celebrate the launch of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Endowed Fund for Research in Civil Rights & Gender Equality.The history of National Public Radio, the outlet that made Nina Totenberg a household name, is shorter than many people imagine. Its first broadcast hit the airwaves in 1971. Napoli shares how NPR helped craft the careers of women like Susan Stamberg, Linda Linda Wertheimer, Cokie Roberts and Totenberg, but also how these women helped shape the network and national conversations. Totenberg changed the way the Supreme Court was reported on, says Napoli, and she discusses defining moments of Totenberg’s career.The second half of the episode is made of highlights from Totenberg’s conversation with E. Thomas Sullivan, the president of the ABF, in front of a Washington, D.C., audience that included former Ginsburg clerks. Totenberg spoke about her book, her friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and what the justice really thought about the Notorious RBG meme. She reflects on Justice Ginsburg’s relationship with Sandra Day O’Connor; the current “grey” makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court; and why Ginsburg chose not to retire in 2013.

Justice William O. Douglas could be known for his fiery opinions, turbulent personal life and longtime presidential ambitions. But Judge M. Margaret McKeown is shining a light on his groundbreaking environmental advocacy in Citizen Justice: The Environmental Legacy of William O. Douglas—Public Advocate and Conservation Champion.McKeown, who sits on the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was on a hike when she came upon a cabin belonging to two friends of the justice, Olaus and Margaret Murie. Learning more about the Muries’ history as environmental advocates and preservationists brought her down the path that led to Citizen Justice, she tells the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles in this episode of the Modern Law Library.Seeing himself as entitled to advocate as a citizen for causes he believed in—despite his seat on the U.S. Supreme Court—Douglas did not hesitate to lobby federal agencies and the general public to protect wilderness areas from development. McKeown discusses how this could conflict with the code of ethics that she and other federal judges–but not U.S. Supreme Court justices–are bound by, and the implications for public trust.Douglas’ childhood in Yakima, Washington, was marked by frailty and illness, but he became an avid outdoorsman and hiker in his adolescence and adulthood, keeping up a brisk clip and covering many miles per day. One of his favorite areas to hike in the Washington, D.C., area was along the disused Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. When the editorial board of the Washington Post advocated for the construction of a parkway on top of the old canal, Douglas wrote a letter strenuously objecting, and invited the editors to join him on a 187-mile hike of the length of the C&O Canal to see the wilderness he wanted to protect. It became the first of his “protest hikes,” and marked one of his favorite methods for convincing others of the importance of conservation: taking people on camping, fishing and hiking trips into wilderness areas.A loyal New Dealer, one of the few areas of disagreement Douglas had with President Franklin D. Roosevelt was FDR’s bend towards conservation over preservation on public lands, McKeown says. She discusses the development of the conservation and environmental movements, in which Douglas was a powerful player. Douglas was the first justice to even use the word “environmental” in a Supreme Court opinion. She also delves into Douglas’ positions on Native American rights, which were supportive—unless they were pitted against the interests of fish.

It’s no secret that lawyers are asked to attend or preside over many kinds and types of meetings. From attending a professional association’s annual meeting with hundreds of fellow attorneys (as the ABA just held in August) to being asked to chair a non-profit board or preside at an HOA meeting, lawyers are often looked to for guidance. But not everyone has formal training in running a meeting, and there are huge differences between a small firm’s partner meeting with six lawyers in a board room and a Zoom meeting with 3,000 attendees.The good news–according to author, attorney and parliamentarian Jim Slaughter–is that no matter the size or composition of a meeting, Robert’s Rules of Order has advice for that. But you find the 816-page Robert’s Rules of Order, 12th Editiondaunting, Slaughter has written Robert’s Rules of Order Fast Track to give people a slim and accessible guide, and will soon be releasing Notes and Comments on ‘Robert’s Rules,’ Fifth Edition.Rather than hindering or slowing down a meeting, Robert’s Rules of Order can provide a structure that heads off potential problems at the pass. In his fast track guide, Slaughter brings up common problem areas and how to deal with them. He and the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles discuss the viral videos of city council or school board meetings that have gone off the rails with attendees who are deliberately being disruptive. But Slaughter points out that sometimes a meeting participant derails a meeting by virtue of a talkative personality, and that, too, can be addressed by a chair who has a good command ofRobert’s Rules. Abiding by Robert’s Rules can also help groups avoid legal jeopardy.In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Slaughter and Rawles discuss why a book first written in the 19th century is useful today; best practices for running Zoom or hybrid meetings; the common mistakes Slaughter sees most often; and the misconceptions people have about meeting minutes.

It’s time for the Modern Law Library’s summer recommendations episode, where host Lee Rawles shares her pop culture picks with you, plus a re-airing of one of our older episodes that has become relevant again. In this case, it’s a 2018 conversation with Mary Ziegler about her book Beyond Abortion: Roe v. Wade and the Battle for Privacy. Ziegler shares information about other areas of the law in which Roe was used as precedent beyond reproductive rights. Tune in to hear about what Lee has been reading, watching and listening to this summer.Recommendations:BOOKS Medicus series by Ruth Downie Sparks & Bainbridge mysteries by Allison Montclair An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good and An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten Dial A for Aunties and Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutanto Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking (memoir) and Please to the Table (cookbook) by Anya Von Bremzen How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis Denali’s Howl: The Deadliest Climbing Disaster on America’s Wildest Peak by Andy Hall New Handbook for a Post-Roe America: The Complete Guide to Abortion Legality, Access, and Practical Support by Robin Marty MOVIES Everything Everywhere All At Once RRR PODCASTS Brown History Podcast Dish Get Out Alive The Icebox with Isaac K. Lee: The Book of Lasso Maintenance Phase TV SHOWS Only Murders in the Building, Hulu Rutherford Falls, Peacock Ms. Marvel, Disney+

After several collaborations with bestselling author James Patterson, Judge David Ellis of Illinois decided to go it alone for his latest book, Look Closer. In this episode, the ABA Journal's Matt Reynolds talks to Ellis about his Patterson partnership, his own crime fiction and how he balances his judicial work with his writing.

In Nobody is Protected: How the Border Patrol Became the Most Dangerous Police Force in the United States, geographer Reece Jones argues that Supreme Court precedent, a growing workforce and mission creep have made the U.S. Border Patrol a national police force that operates without appropriate accountability.In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Jones and the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles discuss the creation of the U.S. Border Patrol in 1924 in the wake of racist immigration laws. Jones shares how a "Wild West" mentality thrived within the service in its early years; how language restricting the Border Patrol's actions to within a "reasonable" distance resulted in a 100-mile border zone; and how two California public defenders in the 1970s brought four critical cases before the U.S. Supreme Court that dealt a heavy blow to Fourth Amendment rights in the border zone.Jones describes how the original mission of the Border Patrol to curtail illegal immigration expanded to include drug searches and anti-terrorism missions. That mission creep resulted in Border Patrol agents snatching protestors off the streets of Portland, Oregon, during protests after the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020.They also discuss how Border Patrol checkpoints could potentially be used in states that criminalize abortions to control and monitor the travel of pregnant people within the 100-mile border zone.

Even during times less tumultuous than the one we are in now, lawyers as a profession report high levels of stress. Finding the way to keep motivated and healthy on an individual level while fighting systemic problems is no easy task. It was this challenge that lawyers Nora Bergman and Chelsy Castro set out to address in their new book, 50 Lessons for Happy Lawyers.In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Bergman and Castro share experiences from their respective backgrounds in coaching and psychotherapy, and some of their work creating wellness programming tailored for the legal profession. They intend their book to be a jumping off point for attorneys looking to increase resilience and happiness in their personal and professional lives. Rather than ticking off 50 boxes, the authors encourage readers to look at 50 Lessons for Happy Lawyers to find the lessons that speak to them. (For host Lee Rawles, one of those was the suggestion to make a "to don't" list to remove unnecessary tasks from her plate.)Tune in to hear Bergman and Castro discuss the research that went into 50 Lessons for Happy Lawyers, the other books in the 50 Lessons for Lawyers series, and their advice for lawyers who are finding it difficult to cope with the stress of their professional and personal lives.

Are you a lawyer who plays League of Legends late at night? A World of Warcraft warrior who engages in courtroom combat during your daytime gig? And have you ever wished you could break into esports on a professional level–whether you're armed with a game controller or a briefcase?Well, esports is a growing industry, and if you'd like to make it part of your legal practice, a background in gaming can help, says Justin M. Jacobson, author of The Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming. Jacobson started in sports and entertainment law, and he says when representing musicians and athletes, knowing how to engage with your clients and speak in a vernacular they're accustomed to is key to forming a productive–and long-term–relationship with them.In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Jacobson speaks with the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles about his own career journey into esports management and legal representation, tips for law students on what classes could be useful for this practice niche, and the common mistakes he sees inexperienced clients make. When writing his manual, Jacobson wanted it to be useful not only to lawyers looking to practice in this area, but also people who are involved in the esports industry in other ways. In addition to a history of the video game contests that eventually developed into the multimillion-dollar esports industry, Jacobson breaks down the major stakeholders in the sector, including the event organizers, the game publishers, the teams and the talent. From contract writing to immigration issues, intellectual property disputes and tax write-offs, The Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming touches on many different areas of law.Esports athletes or their friends, loved ones and business managers could also be served by Jacobson's clear breakdowns of issues that crop up for professional gamers. Tune in for Jacobson's advice for parents of talented young gamers who are looking to make a career in esports. 

As a lawyer, Michelle Good spent years investigating the trauma that Canada’s residential school system inflicted on Indigenous people. As an author, it took her nine years to write her first novel about the lives of five teenagers who leave a church-run school and coalesce in Eastside Vancouver, British Columbia. For Good, it was imperative that she took her time to get the story right. Her patience paid off.