Host of Modern Law Library and Talk Justice, An LSC Podcast
Lee Rawles joined the ABA Journal in 2010 as a web producer. She has also worked for the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal and Legacy.com. She holds an M.S. in New Media from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a B.S. in journalism from the University of Illinois.
Lee is the host of ABA Journal: Modern Law Library, the 2016 Lisagor Award winner for Best Podcast.
The leader of the Colorado Access to Justice Commission discusses their “Listening Tour” initiative on the latest episode of Talk Justice. Elisa Overall shares about the wide-reaching 22-stop tour and its findings,...
A foundational principle of Anglo-American law is that “a man’s house is his castle.” It establishes rights ranging from privacy to justifiable homicide. But what about when your castle is another person’s...
In the 1973 film Walking Tall, Sheriff Buford Pusser is a heroic law enforcement officer in small-town Tennessee whose fight against the Dixie Mafia leads to an ambush and shooting that left...
The idea that prisoners should be treated humanely was discussed by Enlightenment Era aristocrats, “but the idea that they are people who are peers is new,” says Yale Law professor Judith Resnik....
Looking for something to occupy yourself over the holidays, or to kick off your 2026? Lee Rawles is joined by her fellow Legal Talk Network hosts Stephanie Everett of the Lawyerist podcast...
Innovative programs that leverage unlicensed practice of law reform to create new pathways to justice for domestic violence (DV) survivors are featured in this episode of Talk Justice. Community Justice Advocates of...
December 8th marks the 45th anniversary of John Lennon’s death in 1980. In this special rebroadcast of Modern Law Library, we’re looking back at how his immigration helped expose corruption within the...
A recent report from LSC’s Rural Justice Task Force, “Justice Where We Live: Promising Practices from Rural Communities,” dives into a multitude of programs and approaches that address the biggest challenges to...
If you’re dreading your family’s lack of communication this Thanksgiving, here’s a conversation about another group that’s saying less and less with real consequences. In this rebroadcast, University of Texas law professor...
It’s election week in the U.S., and while many eyes are on the polls, we’re revisiting a conversation that reminds us why voting matters in the first place. In this rebroadcast, Yale...
As Halloween swiftly approaches, we’ve conjured up a classic from the Modern Law Library crypt. What do zombies and pirates have to do with the law? Grab your candy and find out...
As the Supreme Court returns to the bench, we’re raising a glass to a favorite from our archives. In this episode, Nancy Maveety shares stories from Glass and Gavel, where cocktails meet...
As Native American Day approaches on September 25, we’re revisiting a story that still resonates today. Author David Grann takes us inside the Osage murders—a chilling chapter in U.S. history where oil...
Small business owners and a lawyer discuss how free legal services can create opportunities for entrepreneurs on Talk Justice. Joshua Danrich, the 16-year-old entrepreneur behind the brand Mr. Fresh, had the idea at...
As summer winds down and school beckons, we’re looking back in our archives and assigning some back-to-school reading—grown-up style. In this episode, Professor Kathryne M. Young shares advice from her book How...
As summer winds down and school beckons, we’re looking back in our archives and assigning some back-to-school reading—grown-up style. In this episode, Judge Robert Bacharach shares insights from his book on the...
With a new legal thriller on the horizon, we’re revisiting James Patterson’s 2024 interview about #1 Lawyer. The bestselling author shares how he builds courtroom suspense and what makes a legal story...
This month, we’re revisiting some standout conversations from our archives. In this episode, three seasoned trial court judges reflect on the cases that have stayed with them throughout their years on the...
Legal experts discuss the critical role civil legal services play in addressing the legal needs of older Americans on Talk Justice. Last year, LSC-funded legal organizations assisted more than 312,000 Americans age...
Laura Cowan has leveraged her background in finance–and her experience starting a boutique law firm during the early days of the pandemic–into a program to help people launch their own virtual estate-planning...
A doctor and lawyer discuss the success of medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) on Talk Justice. They describe how MLPs support communities, improve patient outcomes and help to alleviate the burden on the health...
Since it was seized from the Knights Templar in the 14th century, the Inner Temple in London has housed acolytes of a different sort: men (and eventually women) who serve as advocates...
In Chambers v. Florida and the Criminal Justice Revolution, historian and former ABA Journal reporter Richard Brust lifts the veil on a case that laid the groundwork for some much more famous civil...
The Rainmaker Genome Project surveyed 3,000 partner-level professionals in 41 firms. And it turns out that what makes a lawyer an effective rainmaker is not necessarily what makes a salesperson an effective...
Guests from a Kansas pro bono partnership discuss how private businesses and in-house attorneys can support legal aid initiatives in their communities on Talk Justice. In 2017, Koch was interested in making...
For nearly 30 years, Richard Susskind has written books asking lawyers to envision the future of the law and the legal profession in ways that stretch the imagination. Susskind has been one...
Execution by lethal injection is seen by many Americans as a less barbaric alternative than older methods like hanging, firing squads and electrocution. It is easy to assume that the process must...
Jorge Goldstein entered the fields of science and law at a time of immense change for them both. In the 1970s, huge strides were being made in biogenetics and microbiology, and in...
Guests from a Wisconsin program creating web platforms that help users solve legal problems discuss their Legal Tune Up tools on Talk Justice. LIFT, or Legal Interventions for Transforming Wisconsin, was formed by...
Peak performance in high-stress environments. It’s the goal for the basketball players taking the court during March Madness, but just as much for players on a different kind of court. Lawyers can...
What if we are asking the wrong questions when selecting American judges? Mark Tushnet thinks our current criteria might be off. “We should look for judges who are likely to display good...
Should you need a license for that? For law professor and antitrust expert Rebecca Haw Allensworth, there are huge problems with professional licensing in America—and her solutions might not make anyone completely...
For some people, retirement is an opportunity to kick back and finally relax. But for Roger M. Witten, it was a chance to finally tackle that book he’d been thinking about writing....
Legal aid and tech experts discuss self-help kiosks on the latest episode of Talk Justice. The under-resourcing of legal aid makes it impossible to provide meaningful legal help to every person who...
A federal judge’s new book is giving readers a rare inside glimpse at how a judge determines which prisoners deserve to have their sentences overturned. In his memoir, Disrobed: An Inside Look at...
It’s the time of year when The Modern Law Library likes to look back on the media that we’ve enjoyed: our annual pop culture picks episode. This year, host Lee Rawles is...
Ami Cullen grew up loving horses and competing in hunter/jumper events. But when it came to her career, she decided that law would be her calling. She graduated from law school and...
J. Craig Williams believes empathy is an important quality to be a trial lawyer. It’s served him in his profession, and it’s a tool he has also been using as an author...
Glenn Fine's career-long crusade against corruption might have its roots in his college days as a point guard for the Harvard basketball team. He played his personal best against Boston College–in a...
The first image conjured in your mind by the word “sheriff” might be the protagonist of a Wild West movie or Robin Hood’s foe, the Sheriff of Nottingham. But unless you’re a...
Experts discuss the professionalization of pro bono legal services on Talk Justice. Pro bono work is often thought of as a side project that lawyers perform, but legal aid organizations that can...
Most—though not all—of the 13 short stories in Company deal with members of the Collins family. Three generations of narrators bear witness to the changing fortunes of the family, and as with any witness...
Jill Barton spent the first decade of her career working as a journalist, with the Associated Press Stylebook always at hand to determine word usage and punctuation choices. But when she became an...
Justice David W. Ellis has served on the Illinois Appellate Court for the 1st District for nearly 10 years. But readers may know him better as author David Ellis, writer of more...
Experts discuss the findings from a new survey on Americans’ knowledge of civil legal issues on Talk Justice. The recent survey of more than 2,000 Americans was conducted by The Harris Poll...
Do you need some distractions during vacation travel or while lying directly under your A/C unit and sweating? It’s time for The Modern Law Library’s summer recommendations episode, in which host Lee...
Legal aid leaders from Florida and Illinois reflect on four years of remote court and consider the benefits and limits of virtual appearances, as well as the inconsistent policies surrounding them on...
Finances are a fraught area for many attorneys. Despite a high earning potential, new lawyers often start out with a financial disadvantage due to the opportunity cost of the years devoted to...
Originalism is the ascendant legal theory espoused by conservative legal thinkers, including the majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices. But far from being an objective framework for constitutional interpretation, says author and...
Networking is something that comes naturally to some people. But if the idea of talking to strangers makes you break out into a cold sweat, there’s help and hope, says Deb Feder,...
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