Jan. 18, 2024
A Career (or Two or Three) in Service: A Government Attorney, ABA Leader, and Emergency Medical Technician
Chris Jennison is a government attorney with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He’s an American Bar Association Officer and Young Lawyer Member-At-Large. He’s also a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician and board president with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. Oh, and he’s also a f…
Jan. 4, 2024
From Wyoming to the Hague: Becoming an International Human Rights Lawyer
Haydee Dijkstal grew up in Wyoming, but frequent travel to visit the families of her Puerto Rican mother and Dutch father piqued her interest in international relations at a young age. In fact, it led her all the way to The Hague and a career in international criminal law and human rights law.
I…
Dec. 21, 2023
How a Data Privacy Attorney and Extreme Athlete Goes With the Flow
Swimming by the time he learned to walk, Adam Grant soon ran faster than the other kids in school and biked when others drove cars. His interest in triathlons and ultra-marathons was a natural path for him. But creating a dat...
Dec. 7, 2023
Making an Impact Through BigLaw Pro Bono Service
Most attorneys hope to impact their clients’ lives and livelihoods by providing expert representation. As chief pro bono counsel at Arnold & Palmer’s New York office, Lucy McMillan’s legal career is keenly focused on making positive change for those who often can’t afford good legal representation.…
Nov. 21, 2023
Farming and Law: How One Sticky Lawyer Manages to Do Both
Raised on an Indiana farm by an engineer dad who farmed after work, attorney John Schwarz has never been a stranger to long days and manual labor. He knows firsthand the struggles farmers face dealing with the USDA Farm Service Agency, grain contracts, solar leases, and all the farm-related legal i…
Nov. 2, 2023
From the Barre to the Bar: An Immigration and IP Lawyer for the Ballet World
Cielomar Puccio grew up dancing in Puerto Rico. And although she didn't pursue it professionally, her passion for ballet led her to a unique niche law practice. Based in Miami, Cielo's practice focuses on helping dancers, choreographers, and others in the arts with immigration and intellectual prop…
Oct. 12, 2023
A Tribal Lawyer Who Champions the Rights of Nature
Frank Bibeau’s life as a member of the Anishinaabe or Ojibwe people in northern Minnesota has largely been governed by his reservation’s tribal laws and customs. And manoomin—or wild rice—plays a central role in his culture as a primary food that requires protection. But what happens when the tribe…
Sept. 28, 2023
Pioneering Animal Advocacy: Pakistan's First Animal Law Attorney
Hira Jaleel is Pakistan’s first accredited Animal Law attorney, who has fought a lion's share of legal battles around animal welfare and animal rights, helping to shape federal and provincial legislation around animals in Pakistan. She vividly recounts troubling issues around live animal markets an…
Sept. 14, 2023
Thinking About the Future of Law, Technology, and AI, As Well As Legal Issues Superheroes Face
What do you get when you combine a computer scientist, an attorney specializing in Intellectual Property law, and a comic book aficionado? A very interesting sticky lawyer.
James Daily pursued a master’s degree in computer science while earning his law degree at Washington University in St. Lou…
Aug. 31, 2023
A Multi-Course Conversation With a New York City Restaurant Lawyer
Jasmine Moy did not always love the practice of law, but she has always loved food and the fine dining experience. As a young attorney in New York, she fueled her passion for the foodie world by treating herself to wonderful high-end restaurant experiences and writing articles about them as a hobby…
Aug. 15, 2023
A Lawyer on the Spectrum Champions Special Education Law
Erik Weber is an attorney, a champion runner and running coach, an author, and a motivational video creator and speaker. Oh, and he is also autistic. His own special education experiences, and his unique ability to understand and advocate for special needs students, have helped countless families n…
Aug. 3, 2023
Small-Town Attorneys Practicing in a Legal Desert
While nearly a quarter of the U.S. population lives in rural America, only 2% of attorneys practice there. Phil Garland has spent 50 years as a general practice lawyer in Garner, Iowa — population 3,000. He has been his town's one-stop shop for legal representation and created a thriving practice t…
July 18, 2023
Was It Something You Ate? The Adventures of a Food Poisoning Attorney
A deep-dive into the horrors of food-borne illnesses may not seem like an appetizing path for a young attorney forging a legal career. But for Washington based-attorney Bill Marler, handling plaintiff cases after the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak gave him unique expertise and led to a niche…
July 6, 2023
An Education About Shariah From an Islamic Law Expert
Growing up Muslim in America, Sumbul Ali-Kalamari was accustomed to explaining her religious culture to non-Muslims, especially in the Stanford University dorms. After becoming a corporate attorney and earning an LL.M. in Islamic Law, the cultural questions continued. She wrote her first book in 20…
June 22, 2023
A Proud Polish-American Consul (and Counsel)
For an attorney who once had political aspirations and started his career in public finance law, Richard Walawender’s deep Polish roots and serendipitous timing helped him create a fascinating law career that started in the 1980s Solidarity movement and continues today in his role as Honorary Consu…
Nov. 29, 2022
An Election Lawyer and Lobbyist Who Builds Relationships to Preserve Democracy
The 2022 midterms may be over, but who are the election lawyers behind the scenes? We found one – meet Katherine Knox.
Election law piqued Kate’s interest during a law school internship, and she hasn’t looked back. As one of the most highly regarded lobbying and election law attorneys in Maine,…
May 20, 2022
Painting a Picture of Art Law
From forgery schemes to Nazi-looted art to patrimony laws to sanctions on Russian oligarchs, Steven Schindler has seen it all. As the leader of Schindler, Cohen & Hochman’s art law group, he proves that one interesting client can propel you to a niche practice area that shapes the rest of your care…
April 26, 2022
Game On: A Video Game Lawyer Who Plays By His Own Rules
Zachary Strebeck has always loved games, whether on a board or a video screen. In law school, he took classes and participated in internships to gain the skills he knew he would need to represent clients in the games industry. And a niche law practice was born.
A digital nomad who works from a l…
Jan. 6, 2022
An Eco-Conscious Lawyer Who Makes Going Green an Attractive Business Option
Environmental warriors are often inspired by stories of ecological travesties or climate problems that speak to their souls, and Donald Simon is living proof. A National Geographic magazine article he read as a kid in Ohio sparked a lifelong passion for protecting the earth.
Although he began wo…
Dec. 20, 2021
A Celebrity and High-Wealth Divorce Lawyer Talks About Building His Practice
Christopher Melcher never dreamed about representing celebrities and wealthy clients in divorce court. Instead, as a young lawyer, he met an LA attorney with a high-end solo practice in divorce and family law who invited him to join the practice. He dove into the world of representing wealthy and c…
Dec. 6, 2021
Practice Local, Think Global
What do five-minute interviews, going broke on the first day of a fellowship in Nairobi, opening a high-end hosiery franchise, and being appointed to an international trade committee by the Obama administration have in common? They are all experiences that shaped the fascinating life and legal care…
Nov. 11, 2021
A Conversation With a Lawyer's Lawyer
We've talked to attorneys on this podcast who represent clients' needs in distinct, niche areas of the law. But what about lawyers? They're humans with needs and a few flaws, just like the rest of us. Who do they call when they need a lawyer to represent them?
If they're smart, they will hire t…
Oct. 6, 2021
A Music Lawyer Who Protects Artists, Songwriters, Their Songs, and Their Legacies
She loves Elvis Presley, classic rock, and Northern Soul, and has a successful legal career in the music industry. Meet Erin Jacobson.
With a private practice in L.A. that has grown exponentially since its inception in 2009, Erin helps Grammy and Emmy winning singers, musicians, songwriters, l…
Sept. 23, 2021
An Out-of-This-World Lawyer Making Good Use of Space
Thousands of kids have likely dreamed of working for NASA as an astronaut. But how many science fiction-loving youngsters dream of being a NASA lawyer when they grow up? Meet Laura Montgomery.
Although NASA didn’t end up on her CV, Laura spent more than two decades as a space lawyer with the FA…