Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer

Join Elie and Joe as they give tips to prospective law students about where they're thinking about going to law school and offer their advice on it. Offers from Penn and Berkeley? They got thoughts about it.

Elie and Joe chat with Joshua Lenon, Clio Lawyer-in-Residence, about global cybersecurity threats and what lawyers can do about them -- for both themselves and their clients. We also discuss potty training philosophies, so if you're looking for guidance on that, Elie has you covered.

Next week, Above the Law will unveil its comprehensive law firm brand rankings based on an extensive survey of in-house counsel. Joe and Elie sat down with Above the Law Research Director Brian Dalton to talk a little about the ranking and what clients are looking for in a law firm.

Elie and Joe talk to Slate's Jordan Weissman about Trump's plans to change the nature of student debt, how Elie finally paid off his educational debt, and concussions in the NFL. Don't worry, it all fits together.

Bitcoin and its ilk enjoyed a surge in value toward the end of 2017, but the pendulum is always poised to swing back dramatically in this largely unregulated market. Joe and Elie chat with Thornton McEnery of Dealbreaker about the cryptocurrency market, the role of big banks (read: our clients) in the crypto landscape and what's on the horizon in the U.S. and abroad to regulate the market.law lawyer legal podcast attorney practice

Roll out the red carpet for the second edition of the Thinking Like A Lawyer annual awards. On this star-studded evening, Joe and Elie honored the best — and by that they mean the worst — of the year in law. We laughed, we cried, it was better than Legally Blonde.

Jonathan Shapiro's career took him from the DOJ, to politics, to writing and producing hit shows from The Practice to The Blacklist to Amazon's Goliath. Along the way he even took a detour back into Biglaw. Joe and Kathryn sit down for a wide-ranging discussion about how a lawyer breaks into Hollywood and how penning lines for James Spader differs from practicing law.

Joe and guest host Kathryn Rubino talk to Jeff Ton of Bluelock about what's on the horizon for 2018. Ransomware attacks, data disasters, robot lawyers... it actually isn't all as bad as that sounds. Lawyers are notoriously behind the times with technology, so take this podcast as your wake up call. These are the obstacles your practice will face and the tools you'll be working with to solve them.

Elie and Joe talk with Above the Law's Kathryn Rubino about the challenges faced by women who go into Biglaw. From the struggle for equitable leave policies to hazing to sexual harassment, the legal industry is fraught with obstacles. Kathryn's new project, The Jabot aims to bring together a community to discuss these and other issues facing women and minorities.

Joe and Elie talk to Cristian Farias about producing a legal podcast non-lawyers listen to, and explaining the Supreme Court to a law audience.

Joe and Elie talk with Ray English, Career Services Director at Arizona State Sandra Day O'Connor School of Law, about when to start finding a job. (SPOILER ALERT: Now). And how to start finding yourself.

College football is back in all its amazing and absurdist glory. Texas already lost to Maryland?!?! Cam Newton has a little brother?!?! Joe and Elie took advantage of the dawn of another season to examine the ultimate "JD Advantage" job by talking with Shutdown Fullcast co-host and SB Nation contributor Ryan Nanni about college football and how an NYU Law grad transitioned from Biglaw to covering college sports.

Remember the right to vote? That was a fun right, wasn't it? Elie and Joe talk to Professor Rick Hasen about the voting rights and redistricting battles being waged at the nation's highest courts. Also, apparently you can run a whole course on what's wrong with election law by only using examples from North Carolina. Good job Tar Heels.

When Peter Thiel bankrolled Hulk Hogan's ultimately successful suit against Gawker, he didn't just make every litigation financier look bad, he struck another blow in a systematic war on journalists being waged by the powerful. Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press, a new documentary by Brian Knappenberger, probes the Hogan case and other assaults on the press featuring interviews with Gawker principals, the staff of the Review-Journal -- the Nevada paper taken over by Sheldon Adelson, and free speech guru Floyd Abrams. Oh and we have a very serious talk about robot cops.

Joe and Elie discuss the relatively sleepy Supreme Court Term with Goldstein & Russell's Tejinder Singh. How has Gorsuch changed the Court? How mad can one guy get over a footnote? What's really happening with that travel ban? We get to the bottom of all these questions.

Lost in the shuffle of big headlines at the end the Supreme Court Term was the decision to take on New Jersey's challenge to PASPA, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, otherwise known as the "why you can only bet on sports in Nevada law." But as guest Steve Silver of The Legal Blitz explains, this is a potentially huge state's rights case directly linked to the Shelby County voting rights opinion.

With Harvard following Arizona's lead and accepting GRE scores in the admissions process, more schools are starting to warm to the exam. But is the GRE really as good as the LSAT? Are schools just doing this as a cash grab at the expense of the profession? Elie thinks the GRE is basically filled out in crayon. Joe thinks it's a perfectly acceptable alternative test. Jeff Thomas of Kaplan Test Prep joins the show to say they're both a little right.

Above the Law unveils its 2017 law school rankings and uncorks a few surprises. Elie and Joe discuss the new rankings, the ATL methodology, and why everyone should consider the Above the Law rankings if they're deciding on law school with special guest Brian Dalton, Above the Law's Director of Research.

As a new crop of law school graduates prepares for the bar exam, Joe and Elie talk to James Mullen of Law School HQ about the "last test you'll ever take." What is a "UBE" and is it a good development? Why are so many people struggling to pass the bar? And, really, what's California's problem?

Between fake drug bust prom proposals and pulling people over out Christmas gifts, police departments across the country are trying to improve their image in the worst way possible. Joe and Elie discuss how this isn't so much "cute" as "a glaring violation of the Fourth Amendment."

Joe and Elie open the mailbag and answer questions from listeners trying to decide where to go to law school. Even if you're not facing the precise decisions these listeners have, they hit on major issues that all students should consider in making a law school decision.

Joe and Elie discuss how they chose their law schools, and how others should do what they say, not necessarily what they did.

Elie and Joe watched the Oscars like everyone else, and when they saw the Best Picture screw up, they immediately thought what every other lawyer thought... blame the accountants. Caleb Newquist, the founding editor of Going Concern joins the show to talk insider accountant baseball on PwC's embarrassing mistake and why the Oscars won't fire the firm no matter how bad this looked.

Joe and Elie chat with libel law expert and former Bloomberg Global Media Counsel Charles Glasser about the state of the press going forward. Glasser explains why he’s actually optimistic about freedom of the press, despite Trump’s campaign rhetoric about “opening up” libel law and the mainstream press deciding to hold off-the-record meetings in Trump Tower. This episode originally aired on November 30th, 2016.

Elie and Joe talk to Gordon Caplan, co-chair of Wilkie Farr, about the firm's representation of Alma Kashkooli, a 12-year-old Iranian girl coming to the U.S. for highly specialized eye surgery in the midst of the administration's travel ban. From arguments in the Turkish airport, to seniors waiting on the courthouse steps to file emergency motions, the saga of aiding this little girl shows the importance of Biglaw pro bono work for people in need.

In this rebroadcast episode of Thinking Like A Lawyer, Elie and Joe talk with a drone law expert about the expanding rights of drones and the diminishing rights of property owners who want to stop them. Steven Hogan is an associate with the law firm Ausley & McMullen and practices in the areas of commercial litigation and state and federal tax law.

Elie and Joe talk about Apple, Samsung, knock offs, child labor, Melania Trump, and open toed shoes... in that order... with Fashionista editor Tyler McCall.

Joe and Elie nominate, debate, and pick winners for a slew of end-of-year awards. The prize money is in the mail. By check. Subject to shipping and handling.

Joe and ATL Editor Kathryn Rubino discuss Biglaw bonus season as firms place the final cherry atop associate compensation after a tumultuous year of raises. Then they walk through college football bowl season and preview every matchup between teams with ABA accredited law schools because that's exactly what people thinking like lawyers would do.

Joe and Elie chat with libel law expert and former Bloomberg Global Media Counsel Charles Glasser about the state of the press going forward. Glasser explains why he's actually optimistic about freedom of the press, despite Trump's campaign rhetoric about "opening up" libel law and the mainstream press deciding to hold off-the-record meetings in Trump Tower.

Joe and Elie talk to fellow ATL editor David Lat about the recent APP Conference in Philadelphia bringing together practitioners and thought leaders to discuss the future of legal practice. And Elie and Joe argue about public schools.

Joe and Elie have only ever worked in New York law firms, so they're taking some time to focus on the ins and outs of legal markets around the country. First up is Philadelphia, New York's kid brother, to find out exactly what goes on in this city that -- for some firms -- is paying New York-level salaries.

Elie and Joe chat with SCOTUSBlog contributor and Supreme Court litigator Tejinder Singh about the upcoming Supreme Court Term. The docket lacks the blockbuster issues of past years, but there are still some critical cases pending before the 8-member Court.

With Elie unavailable, Joe brings on Chad Burton and Nicole Bradick of CuroLegal to cohost a wide-ranging discussion with LegalZoom General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Chas Rampenthal about the role LegalZoom plays in the future of the legal profession from the perspective of both clients and other lawyers. We also ask the most important question: How well did John Travolta capture O.J. Simpson lawyer and LegalZoom cofounder Robert Shapiro.

Joe and Elie debate the Clinton Foundation, back to school issues, and the efficacy of taking classes with "famous" professors, just so you can name drop at parties.

Joe and Elie chat with Drew Rossow of the law office of Gregory M. Gantt in Dayton, Ohio, and author of Gotta Catch... A Lawsuit? about the legal challenges surrounding Pokémon Go. It's worth noting that technology moves fast, and since recording this episode, Niantic has released updates via Pokemon Go that have begun to address how both players and businesses can “opt out” and “opt into” the game, along with addressing some safety concerns with more interactive disclaimers.

Law firms all across the country fell all over themselves last month to hike associate salaries. Elie and Joe chat with Professor Bill Henderson of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, an expert in legal industry economics, to discuss what just happened and where the industry goes from here. Spoiler: he's not sure everyone should have given out those raises...

Discussing the whole summer experience of Biglaw life. From summer associate etiquette to proper lunching locations, to living as a full-time associate in a world of summers, we discuss how to tackle the summer and reminisce about our own summer adventures.

Joe and Elie chat with Research Director Brian Dalton about the latest law school rankings from Above the Law and trends in legal education. Do you want to know where you should go to law school? Do you just want bragging rights over your colleagues from rival schools? Either way this podcast is for you.

Joe and Elie chat with Dean Strang, the breakout legal star -- if that's the right word for a documentary -- of Netflix's Making A Murderer. Along with attorney Steven Chung, the gang chats with Strang about the state of the criminal justice system and the persistent plague of prosecutorial overreach.

Elie and First Amendment Lawyer Marc Randazza talk about the Hulk Hogan verdict, the right to be forgotten, and how Europe seems to be getting along just fine without ruining everybody's Google footprints.

Elie and Joe talk to Professor Peter Irons about Justice Scalia's vacancy and the often very personal stories of the people who bring their cases to the United States Supreme Court. Listen to Elie's mind being blown in real-time by a personal account of the life of Fred Korematsu.

Elie and Joe talk with a drone law expert about the expanding rights of drones and the diminishing rights of property owners who want to stop them.

Joe and Elie chat with election law expert Professor Rick Hasen about the Iowa Caucuses, Ted Cruz's infamous mailer, and Citizens United as the presidential election kicks into gear.

Do Droids have rights in the Star Wars universe? Are they "pets?" Does Jabba's treatment of droids reveal him to be more evil than the Empire? Spoilers follow.

With the Court seemingly poised to strike down affirmative-action in Fisher v. Texas, Elie, Joe and Renwei Chung debate how we got here and the future of diversity in higher education.

Elie and Joe chat with Robert Schenk of Schenk Smith and proprietor of the Wedding Industry Law Blog about the oft-overlooked legal minefield that is getting married. Venues, vendors, and "DJ-Gate" loom large as Schenk explains how he found this niche and used it to build his small firm practice.

Joe and Elie chat with Slate Senior Business and Economics correspondent Jordan Weissmann about the economics of law schools. From Northwestern renaming itself for a huge endowment to a law professor taking to the media to say he sees no problem taking tuition from students who will never be able to practice, the economics of legal academia deserve a serious look. Is the model doomed?

Joe and Elie chat with Gary Ross of Jackson Ross about starting your own firm, the unique challenges of transactional small law, and his blockbuster Above the Law column about legal sexual prowess.

Joe and Elie talk with Vanderbilt Career Services Officer Nick Alexiou about the legal job market, and the presidential job market.