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ABA Journal: Modern Law Library
ABA Journal: Modern Law Library
ABA Journal: Modern Law Library
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ABA Journal: Modern Law Library

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ABA Journal: Modern Law Library is a 2016 Lisagor Award-winning podcast featuring top legal authors and discussions of interesting legal theories and historical events. Join Lee Rawles each month to review a legal publication on ABA Journal: Modern Law Library.

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Feb 28, 2024

NY law prof is calling on ‘Lawyer Nation’ to reform

Ray Brescia, a law professor at Albany Law School, has taken a hard look at the country’s legal system in his new book, Lawyer Nation: The Past, Present and Future of the American...

Feb 14, 2024

‘Police & the Empire City’ explores race and the origins of the NYPD

In Police & the Empire City: Race & the Origins of Modern Policing, Matthew Guariglia looks at the New York City police from their founding in 1845 through the 1930s as “police transitioned...

Jan 31, 2024

Yale Law’s Owen Fiss talks about threats to democracy and ‘Why We Vote’

After 50 years as a professor at Yale Law School, Owen Fiss says his students are still idealistic and passionate about the rights won in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and...

Jan 10, 2024

Access to justice can be achieved, says ‘Law Democratized’ author–but not without change

In 2013, the ABA Journal named Renee Knake Jefferson a Legal Rebel for her work co-founding the Michigan State University’s ReInvent Law Laboratory and rethinking how legal services could be delivered to consumers. In...

Dec 20, 2023

How to plan your post-law life

There are lawyers who love the practice of law so much, they’ll only leave it feet first, in a box. But for those who’d prefer to exit the bar before closing time,...

Dec 6, 2023

Our favorite pop culture picks in 2023

It’s the time of year when The Modern Law Library hosts like to look back on the media we’ve enjoyed, our annual pop culture picks episode. This year, host Lee Rawles is...

Nov 22, 2023

How is the true crime genre impacting the way people think about innocence?

Human beings have told stories about violence and victims from our earliest records. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, newspapers and magazines flourished on crime coverage. Hollywood has churned out crime movies...

Nov 8, 2023

Law grad turns culinary passion into TikTok fame and a brand new cookbook

Like many others, Jon Kung figured law school would be a safe harbor to weather the storms of the Great Recession. But after graduating in 2011, Kung changed course, becoming established in...

Oct 25, 2023

How reckoning with trauma can help you, your clients and the legal profession

“You can’t think yourself out of trauma,” the introduction to Trauma-Informed Law: A Primer for Lawyer Resilience and Healing warns. “An analytical response is insufficient. As lawyers and law students, we have been trained...

Oct 11, 2023

Transform your negotiations with a win-win-win mindset, says author Sarah Federman

Moving from a “win-lose” mentality to a “win-win” mentality has been a central focus of the field of negotiation and conflict resolution since the 1980s, says Sarah Federman. Working to walk away...

Sep 27, 2023

Tales of 3 generations of Black women intertwine to form ‘Memphis’

A Tennessee lawyer shares how her lawyerly research techniques prepared her to dig into her family’s history to develop characters in her novel focused on three generations of Black women and...

Sep 6, 2023

Complex litigation judge has 50 ideas to simplify the courts

As both an attorney and judge, Thomas Moukawsher has spent the majority of his career dealing in complex litigation. And the Connecticut Superior Court judge would like to make the legal system—well,...

Aug 23, 2023

Summer reading and back-to-law-school tips

It’s time for the Modern Law Library’s summer recommendations episode, in which host Lee Rawles shares her pop culture picks with you, plus a re-airing of one of our older episodes with...

Aug 9, 2023

Trial lawyer’s tales include wins, losses and international intrigue

The year was 1961. Freshly minted attorney James J. Brosnahan had been on the job as a federal prosecutor in Phoenix for two days when he was handed his first trial: a...

Jul 26, 2023

Is family court too flawed to be fixed?

Jane M. Spinak did not set out to write a book arguing for the abolition of family court. She thought she would be making the case for a set of sensible reforms....

Jul 12, 2023

Didn’t get it in writing? There may still be a way, says author of ‘Litigating Constructive Trusts’

“If you don’t have it in writing, you’re out of luck.” That’s the common wisdom you’ll hear from TV judges, helpful uncles, well-meaning friends and even lawyers in your life. But while...

Jun 21, 2023

‘My Mom, the Lawyer’ explores women’s work and personal lives through the eyes of their children

While directed at young children, a lawyer's book also speaks to lawyers who are moms, letting them know that being both can be a busy but fulfilling life.

Jun 7, 2023

SCOTUS faces ‘a catastrophic loss of institutional legitimacy,’ warns author

In his new book, The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America, Michael Waldman identifies three times the U.S. Supreme Court caused a public backlash against itself—and warns the court may be well...

May 17, 2023

‘The Shadow Docket’ shines light on an increasingly uncommunicative Supreme Court

In The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic, University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck argues the U.S. Supreme Court is expanding...

May 10, 2023

End of the Cold War launched new efforts to build the rule of law

As chunks of the Berlin Wall were being torn down by jubilant crowds on November 9, 1989, James Silkenat was serving his term as chair of the ABA International Law Section. But...

Apr 19, 2023

Author and lawyer explores English family’s ties to Nazi Germany in ‘The Mitford Affair’

When it comes to taking on stories about larger-than-life women, lawyer and author Heather Terrell, who writes under the pen name Marie Benedict, has a long track record.

Apr 5, 2023

‘Never Far from Home’ brings readers from NYC projects to 90s hip-hop scene to Microsoft offices

Bruce Jackson grew up shuttling between Brooklyn and Manhattan public housing projects. His journey led him to Hofstra University, then Georgetown Law. He ditched a white-shoe firm job to launch a career...

Mar 29, 2023

Why NYT v. Sullivan mattered in 1964 and is under attack today

The 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan protected the civil rights movement, established the “actual malice” standard, and is the basis for modern American libel law. But in recent years, criticism of...

Mar 8, 2023

In ‘Her Honor,’ trailblazing women judges take center stage

When Lauren Stiller Rikleen was approached in 2020 by the ABA Judicial Division to help compile autobiographical stories from women judges in America, a powerful motivating factor for her was to capture...

Feb 22, 2023

In ‘Myth America,’ historians challenge misinformation about our past

Some American patriotic myths are harmless; George Washington may have chopped down a cherry tree at some point in his life, but the popular story told to children where young George fesses...

Feb 8, 2023

Bestselling author relished collaboration for ‘Heat’ follow-up

In 2022, Heat 2 debuted at the top of the New York Times’ bestseller list, showing that there is still a strong appetite for stories about a ruthless bank robber and a...

Jan 25, 2023

From Amanda Knox to Kyle Rittenhouse, lawyer discusses justice and due process in the digital age

As Anne Bremner served as legal counsel and spokesperson for the group Friends of Amanda Knox, she saw online lynch mobs and the tabloids convict Knox in the court of public opinion...

Jan 4, 2023

Lawyer digs into big data for new legal thriller ‘Code 6’

Lawyer and author James Grippando made a name for himself writing legal thrillers, including the bestselling series of novels featuring Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck. He wanted to try something a...

Dec 21, 2022

This lawyer tackled lifelong anxiety to free herself from ‘The Box’

Since childhood, Wendy Tamis Robbins experienced debilitating anxiety and panic attacks. Her perfectionism pushed her to achieve in sports and academics, and her high level of achievement masked her mental anguish from...

Dec 7, 2022

Our favorite pop culture picks in 2022

In our annual Year in Review episode, Lee Rawles speaks to her ABA Journal colleagues Blair Chavis, Julianne Hill and Stephanie Francis Ward to find out how they spent their downtime in...

Nov 30, 2022

Can change really come from within the system? These 13 prosecutors think so

Miriam Aroni Krinsky worked as a prosecutor in Los Angeles County in the 1980s and 1990s as the War on Drugs was waged. Mandatory minimum sentences and tough-on-crime laws sent prison populations...

Nov 16, 2022

‘By Hands Now Known’ shines light on cold cases of lynchings and racial violence

By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners examines how the federal government enabled the subjugation of Black Americans; the relationship between racial violence and political power; and community resistance to Jim...

Oct 26, 2022

How do you calculate damages in injury trials?

For any plaintiff who’s been injured or any young attorney just starting out in the field of tort law, it can be daunting to calculate what monetary damages–and nonmonetary damages like pain...

Oct 12, 2022

Author and lawyer Scott Turow made generational leap for new legal thriller

Scott Turow says stepping into Pinky’s shoes was one of the biggest challenges that he faced when writing the first-person page-turner.

Sep 21, 2022

Nina Totenberg’s early life, NPR legacy and friendship with the Notorious RBG

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...

Sep 7, 2022

9th Circuit judge shines light on Justice William O. Douglas’ environmental campaigns

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...

Aug 24, 2022

Sick of meetings that go off the rails? Robert’s Rules of Order can help

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...

Aug 10, 2022

Summer Pop Culture Picks and What Else We Lost When Roe was Overturned

Host Lee Rawles shares her Top Picks for Books, Movies, TV Shows and Podcasts. And a look at Roe v. Wade and its impact on the the right to privacy.

Jul 27, 2022

After collaborating with bestselling author, judge discusses new solo book

An Illinois judge talks about his writing process and career and how he balances the demands of writing with his work on the bench.

Jul 13, 2022

The modern US Border Patrol is a national police force with dangerous capabilities, author warns

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...

Jun 29, 2022

Authors of ’50 Lessons for Happy Lawyers’ share some top tips

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...

Jun 8, 2022

Do you have what it takes to break into esports?

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...

May 25, 2022

Work for Canadian residential school survivors informs lawyer’s debut novel

A lawyer explains how her work informed the writing of her book and why many Indigenous people still feel the impact of the Canadian school system to this day.

May 11, 2022

Wiretapping’s origins might surprise you

On the cover of Brian Hochman’s book The Listeners: A History of Wiretapping in the United States is a martini cocktail, complete with skewered olive. Someone attempting to judge a book by...

Apr 20, 2022

How–and why–Kazakhstan gave up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons

During its time as a Soviet republic within the USSR, Kazakhstan was the site of massive nuclear tests, both above and below ground. The cost to the environment and health of the...

Apr 6, 2022

Ex-Tesla attorney leveraged her contract expertise into a book and thriving LinkedIn community

In August 2020, contract attorney Laura Frederick accepted a challenge: Post to LinkedIn once a day, every day, for a month. Frederick thought she might be able to keep up a string...

Mar 30, 2022

‘No Equal Justice’ shares George Crockett Jr.’s civil rights legacy

Detroit has been the site of many civil rights and labor rights battles, and many notable Black attorneys have called the city home. The first Black president of the ABA, Dennis Archer,...

Mar 16, 2022

The justice system is the antagonist in retired judge’s legal thriller novel

A retired judge talks about his career and his writing process, and he offers some tips to lawyers itching to write their first book.

Feb 23, 2022

Tough decision to make? Here’s how to break it down like a lawyer

Professor Kim Wehle shares a more methodical approach to avoiding kneejerk or strictly partisan decision-making.

Feb 9, 2022

Regulate cryptocurrencies and fintech products before it’s too late, urges author

Prof. Allen speaks about the promise and downsides of some "cutting-edge" financial products, and why innovation is not inherently good.

Your Hosts
Lee Rawles

Lee Rawles joined the ABA Journal in 2010 as a web producer. She has also worked for...

Matt Reynolds

Matt has been a legal affairs writer at the ABA Journal since January 2020. His work has...

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