I Am The Law

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

Space Law: The Work Behind an Emerging Practice

Michelle Hanlon spent 25 years as a cross-border M&A lawyer before earning an LLM in space law and reinventing her practice around an environment that nobody quite contro

Concierge Outside Counsel: Compliance, Contracts, and Keeping Clients Deal-Ready

Yuliya Flynn is a partner at a small business law firm where she acts as concierge legal counsel for small and mid-size companies — handling the kind and breadth of work

Small Firm, Big Mountain: Ski Injury Law in Colorado

Evan Banker didn't plan to become a ski lawyer, but a chance opportunity led him to a niche practice handling collisions on the slopes. He explains how skiing accidents b

Poisoned Goods: Suing to Clean Up Consumer Products

Vineet Dubey is an environmental litigator in California who sues companies selling consumer products tainted with toxic chemicals. His primary legal vehicle is Californi

Outside In-House Counsel: Small Business Lawyer (replay)

Philip Selio, a solo practitioner, helps small businesses and entrepreneurs with their corporate law needs. He discusses managing all aspects of a solo shop -- and how it