I Am The Law

A Young Associate's Story: Navigating the Transition from Law School to Lawyer (replay)

Allan Carlsen is fresh out of law school and just over a year into practice as a patent litigator at an elite boutique law firm. Unlike our typical episodes, the conversa

Translating Engineers’ Needs into Airtight Agreements

When the Navy’s research and development arm needs to buy equipment or services, Marta Rajchel helps decide how. As a procurement lawyer for the Department of Defense, sh

Liability Detour: Litigating Against Bankruptcy as Strategy

When thousands of people sue a company over a harmful product, the company may create a new entity, load it with that liability, and file for bankruptcy, pausing the laws

Inside Big Law

Big Law recruiting now starts earlier than ever, often during the first semester of law school and increasingly outside traditional campus interviews. That leaves law stu

Arriving Alone: Legal Aid for Detained Immigrant Children

Angelique Torres is a legal aid lawyer who represents children navigating the U.S. immigration system. Her clients arrive at the border without a parent or legal guardian

What Lawyers Think Pop Culture Gets Right, and Wrong, About Their Profession

If you've listened to I Am the Law for any length of time, you know the practice of law rarely looks the way it does on screen. Hours of preparation, client calls, proble

Proving Someone Can't Care for Themselves: Mental Health Conservatorship Trials

Leanna Taing is a lawyer for Los Angeles County, where she represents the Office of Public Guardian in mental health conservatorship proceedings. In this episode, she exp

Defending the Whole Client: Criminal Charges and Their Hidden Consequences

Frances Prizzia began her career as a public defender. Today, she runs her own criminal defense practice, representing clients facing charges ranging from DUI and assault

Criminal Justice Advocacy from Within the L.A. Mayor's Office (replay)

Kimberley Baker Guillemet helped form the Los Angeles Office of Reentry to ensure that when someone leaves prison, limited employment options do not lead to a cycle of cr

Commercial Litigation at a Large Firm (replay)

Chukwukpee Nzegwu is a junior associate practicing commercial litigation at a large, general practice law firm. While he didn't go to law school to do commercial lit, he'

Regulating Ethics in Politics: Advisory Opinions and Agency Operations

Amanda Arriaga is General Counsel for the Texas Ethics Commission, the state agency that oversees campaign finance, lobbying, and financial disclosure. In this episode, s

Fine Print, Big Money: Making Insurers Pay Up

Storm Lineberger is a fourth-year associate at global large firm Haynes Boone who practices insurance coverage litigation on the policyholder side. When an insurer denies

One Career in Three Acts: Big Law, Contract Work, Plaintiff Firm

Charles Star thought he'd become a union-side labor lawyer but like many law students, he followed the pull of Big Law instead. The prestige and paycheck were there, but

Sharpening the Craft of Special Victims Prosecution

Like most prosecutors, Jennifer Long learned on the job. Now she helps train them. After starting her career in a DA's office, Jennifer moved into handling child abuse, d

After the Headlines: Lawsuits in the Wake of Disaster

.Richard Hy is a lawyer who represents people harmed in large-scale incidents, from mass shootings to defective products to public health crises. In this episode, he expl

More Than Legal Advice: Building a Firm for High-Conflict Divorce

Jonathan Merel runs a mid-sized family law firm built around high-conflict divorce. In this episode, he talks about the kinds of cases his firm takes on, how he sets stra

Building a Practice Around Delaware's Corporate Code

Mark Purpura thought he might head to Wall Street but found his niche in law instead. Now a Delaware-based attorney, he works on the deals that keep the financial world m

Federal Bankruptcy Judge: Running a Second Chance Court

Judge Elizabeth Stong calls bankruptcy court a "second chance court," a forum where companies in financial distress and individuals buried in debt can find a path forward

An Introvert's Path to Running an Immigration Law Firm

As an international student graduating from a U.S. law school, Jimmy Lai struggled to find employers willing to sponsor him. Rather than leave the U.S., he chose to build

IRS Tax Lawyer: From Tax Strategist to the Government (replay)

Deepan Patel explains his role at the IRS. While the IRS has many types of lawyers, he focuses on business taxpayer guidance, which ensures certainty for businesses makin