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Legal Talk Network, the leading legal podcast network, announces the launch of a new format on the long-running “ABA Law Student Podcast,” produced in partnership with the American Bar Association’s Law Student Division since 2016. The first episode of the 2023-2024 season “Don’t Let Law School Crush Your Creativity” released Monday, September 18 on Legal Talk Network with three new hosts. The new format features two Law Student Hosts and a Faculty Host who will bring their varied interests to the listeners, and then discuss their findings in a recap.
“By reformatting the show to foster a true team dynamic, we aim to better serve our listeners by tapping into a broader perspective and developing a more consistent, long-term voice,” said “ABA Law Student Podcast” Producer Evan Dicharry. He conceived the new format and developed it with the Editorial team at ABA’s Law Student Division.
“Our unique hosting model and approach to communicating with law students ensures we are providing the type of advice and inspiration that students will actually find helpful during their law school journey,” said Karen Perez-Garcia, Sr. Specialist Digital Content at ABA’s Early Career Strategy Group. “It’s exciting to be able to deliver this in podcasts because we know it’s more efficient for law students to fit the content in with their other commitments.”
Todd Berger, Professor of Law at Syracuse University School of Law has been a guest on Legal Talk Network podcasts over the years and will now serve as the Faculty Host of the Law Student Podcast. His role is to provide context to the discussions and interviews the Student Hosts research and bring back to the show. “It’s always great to work with talented students who bring intellect, creativity and diverse perspectives. Leah and Chay do just that, and we have a season of great episodes ahead.”
Chay Rodriguez, in her third year of law school at Atlanta’s John Marshall School of Law, works full-time at a prominent entertainment company and attends law school part-time. As a mid-career student, she will bring a practical eye to the idealism that often attracts younger students to the discipline. “Before taking advantage of the opportunity to study the law,” Chay wrote in her application, “I assumed it was one-dimensional, like a hammer, used only one way. Now, I know it is more like a Swiss army knife, multi-dimensional, and I am fascinated by how attorneys and legal scholars interpret the law and use it to meet an end.”
Student Host Leah Haberman is a 3L at Columbia Law School planning to work in an area of public interest after graduation. “I’m excited to have the conversations on ABA Law Student Podcast that I wished we were having at law school!” Leah brought the first story for this season to explore how writing inside and outside of law school are markedly different. In her case, that difference was a frustrating realization because she identified personally as someone who wrote well.
Leah invited Michelle Falkoff, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of Communication and Legal Reasoning Program at Northwestern to discuss how to balance that need to deliver in specific formats against the personal need to maintain a personal drive to feel creative. “I want my students to feel empowered by their writing,” said Professor Falkoff. “I want them to feel they are making conscious choices at every level of their writing so they can make their work beautiful.”
The Student Hosts were selected through an extensive audition process: 38 hopefuls sent in three-minute audio clips discussing a legal topic they were personally passionate about. After surviving the early cuts, all three went through a rigorous process to think strategically about the stories they wanted to bring to the audience, microphone training, and a chemistry test to make sure they not only worked well together but sounded good and energetic together.
Upcoming episodes of the 2023-2024 season of “ABA Law Student Podcast” are planned to include discussion of unorthodox career options for lawyers, how to commit to your passions effectively without burning out, trends in legal practice, and changes in the industry.
“I’m excited we’ve pulled together such a talented and engaged team with Leah, Chay, and Todd, and look forward to furthering and elevating the conversation with today’s law students,” said Dicharry.
Legal Talk Network is a leading podcast network that covers a wide range of legal topics, including legal news, practice management, and career development. With a diverse roster of hosts and guests, the network is committed to advancing the legal profession by providing quality educational content and fostering a community of legal professionals who are passionate about improving the practice of law. For more information visit legaltalknetwork.com.
ABA Law Student Division is the largest professional student organization in the country with 43,000 members. The Editorial Board of the ABA Law Student Division oversees and writes content for Student Lawyer and the production of ABA Law Student Podcast.
Lisa, as Legal Talk Network's Director of Partnerships & Marketing, is the bridge between show sponsors and the production team. She helps sponsors develop their message and choose the most effective shows for reaching their target audience. Lisa has consulted with clients in both digital marketing and traditional broadcast media, and loves podcasting because the medium celebrates creativity and makes room for diverse content. She loves driving fast and lives at Lake Tahoe with her family.
