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.
In Let The Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty, Maurice Chammah shares how Texas became the country's capital punishment capital.
The rules surrounding what we wear can be unwritten social mores or codified in law. Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History explains why.
Most lawyers are cautious about change, but in The Modern Law Firm, Heinan Landa says technology adoption is key to getting and keeping clients.
White Fright author Jane Dailey discusses what America's history with lynch mobs can teach us about the attack on the Capitol.
Lee Rawles speaks with editor Victor Li and reporters Lyle Moran, Amanda Robert and Stephanie Francis Ward to find out which books helped them make it through 2020–and what listeners could be adding to their own 2021 reading lists.
Brittany Barnett shares how formative experience changed her and made her identify strongly with Sharanda Jones, an incarcerated woman Barnett met during law school.
John Howard Steel tells the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles about the unlikely history of Pilates–both the exercise phenomenon and the man himself.
Katherine James explains how she uses her theater background to advise lawyers.
Legal ethics experts Lawrence J. Fox and Susan R. Martyn walk through the Six C’s” of legal ethics and share their advice for what lawyers most need to keep in mind during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Steven Wright discusses how he got into creative writing, what it's been like to teach students at the University of Wisconsin Law School remotely, and the possibility of turning The Coyotes of Carthage into a TV series.
Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman are sounding a warning about the direction of SCOTUS rulings on the separation of church and state.
Larry Tye takes an in-depth look at Joseph McCarthy's life, in his book 'Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy'.
Brooke Lively discusses her book and breaks down the 6 key numbers that will help you understand the financial health of your law practice.
Jessica Henry speaks about some of the strange and heart-rending stories she's uncovered and how the legal community can work towards eliminating such injustices.
Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law outline the way that well-meaning movements ended up funneling people into environments where they faced even more scrutiny and punitive measures.
ABA President Judy Perry Martinez and Marty Balogh of the Meetings and Travel Group share behind-the-scenes information about the ABA annual meeting.
Aya Gruber talks about unintended consequences of feminist criminal law reforms as well as her personal experience as a public defender.
Alex S. Vitale explains the troubling origins of modern policing, why commonly suggested reforms like training and increased diversity have not been successful, and much more.
Robert Katzber explains why he chose to praise and criticize people by name, and why jury duty is such a valuable experience.
Renee Knake Jefferson and Hannah Brenner Johnson talk about their research project into the careers and personal lives of nine women who could have been elevated to the Supreme Court.
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson and Jonathan Yusef Newton share their thoughts on how distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the experience of law school.
Maurice Possley talks about his investigation, his writing partnership with Michael Segal, some of the more surprising turns his research took, and how Chicago city politics impacted the case.
Mary Lancaster discusses the best books and podcasts for people who want to know more about infectious diseases and their recommendations on good fiction reads.
Gilda R. Daniels talks about her book, Uncounted: The Crisis of Voter Suppression in America, a story of historical efforts of voter suppression and the modern-day dangers that face voters now.
Lee Rawles brings our audience a glimpse at what they've been reading around the ABA offices.
Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly talk about their book The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation, discuss their report on Kavanaugh's nomination in real time, and their talk with women who accused him of sexual assaults.
William Groner talks about how legal battle with billion-dollar stakes changed him personally, the challenge of "being ahead of the science," and why the heroism his clients showed is now more important than ever.
Sharon Bala talks about her fictional novel and the true stories behind it, as well as what "To Kill a Mockingbird" means to her.
Simon Tam joins the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles to discuss his new book, Slanted: How an Asian American Troublemaker Took on the Supreme Court.
Mike Chase discusses different crimes: impersonating a mailman; importing pregnant polar bears; selling mail-order dentures; and letting movie makers film with your falcon.
Casey Cep talks about how her time reporting on the controversial release of Go Set a Watchman led her to start seeking another book that could be hidden in Harper Lee's sealed papers: The Reverend.
Cara Robertson talks about the evidence from the Lizzie Borden crime scene, the differences between her trial and what we might see in a similar case today, and why each generation seems to have a different take on Lizzie Borden.
Dave Cullen discusses his new book, “Parkland,” and how the Parkland students he met were able to create the impact they have in the year since the tragedy at their school.
Nancy Maveety talks about her book, "Glass and Gavel: The U.S. Supreme Court and Alcohol," and how she came to write this in-depth history.
Three judges share their own stories in their book “Tough Cases: Judges Tell the Stories of Some of the Hardest Decisions They’ve Ever Made."
Darren Heitner talks about the latest edition of his book, how to pursue a career in sports law and some of today’s hot topics in college and professional athletics.
Ken Starr talks about his book "Contempt: A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation," which unveiled the salacious details of President Bill Clinton's affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Katie Watson talks about her book, “Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law & Politics of Ordinary Abortion”, and discusses ways to have productive conversation about abortion.
Kathryne M. Young talks about her book, How to Be Sort of Happy in Law School, which talks about what alumni would advise their younger self and how to get along with your fellow students.
Jeremy Richter on why he decided to channel energy into blogging during the early years of his practice as an insurance litigator.
Kimi Jackson, Maria Woltjen, and Anne Chandler talk about the common legal issues that immigrants face at the border, such as family separation.
Melba Pearson, Richard Pena, Moire Corcoran, Matt Redle, and Jeremy Alexis talk about the Miranda Rights Warnings Project, a project that seeks to use technology to translate Miranda Warnings for people who don't speak English.
Joshua Matz discusses his book "To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment" and why he believes that the partisan use of impeachment rhetoric over the past 40 years has not been positive for U.S. democracy.
In this special episode, the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles speaks with Lisa Scottoline, C.E. Tobisman and Scott Turow about their nominated books, their creative processes, and the role they believe lawyers play in society.
This August, lawyers from around the country will come to Chicago for the ABA Annual Meeting. Wondering whether to make the trip yourself?
Amy Werbel explains how Comstock’s religious fervor and backing by wealthy New York society members led to a raft of harsh federal and state censorship laws.
Victor Li explains how Nixon leveraged his time at Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander to resurrect both his political viability and the firm’s financial standing.
Prof. Issa Kohler-Hausmann explains the impact a change in tactics had for New York City police, courts and residents, and discusses her new book, “Misdemeanorland: Criminal Courts and Social Control in an Age of Broken Windows Policing.”
Mary Ziegler discusses what Roe v. Wade's legacy has been, and how it advanced–or failed to advance–Americans' right to privacy.
Adam Winkler, author of We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights, shares what he learned from his investigation into how corporations have achieved constitutional protections.
Tucker Carrington, author of "The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South," discusses flawed forensics, coroner system racism, and the effect these have on innocents.
Jasmine Guillory tells the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles that writing served as a stress release from her legal work and functioned as her creative outlet.
Mark Torres shares what the process of writing the children's book “Good Guy Jake” was like and why he feels it's necessary for kids to learn about the modern labor movement.
Bryan Garner speaks about what gave him the confidence to ask a sitting Supreme Court justice to co-author two books, the four style issues he and Scalia were never able to agree on, and what it was like to write his first memoir.
Jeffrey Vagle speaks about his new book discussing government surveillance and a seminal Supreme Court case in 1972, the effects of which are still felt today.
Orly Lobel speaks about how an intellectual property dispute between the maker of Barbie and the creator of Bratz spun into a legal battle that would last more than a decade.
Paul Butler discusses racial inequities built into the system and the way to fully address the harm done to civil rights by the criminal justice system.
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson discusses data-driven surveillance technology, how it can be used and misused, and how implicit bias can taint results.
Sheryll Cashin discusses how the concept of race was introduced in America and her book, "Loving: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy."
When UTA Flight 772 was downed over the Ténéré Desert in Niger, 170 people lost their lives, including seven Americans
Find out how you can help the victims of Hurricane Harvey in this special episode of Asked and Answered.
Floyd Abrams, Tom Clare, and George Freeman talk about the potential impact of Trump’s interaction with the media and his war on “fake news.”
In this legal podcast, Floyd Abrams discusses his book “The Soul of the First Amendment."
ABA President Linda Klein and Marty Balogh talk about the upcoming 2017 ABA Annual Meeting in New York City in August.
Kory Stamper talks about her work as a lexicographer and editor for Merriam-Webster.
An interview with 2017 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction finalists, Jodi Picoult, Graham Moore, and James Grippando.
In this podcast episode, Richard Rothstein talks about his new book, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America.
David Grann talks about how he first learned of the murders that inspired his book "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI."
Author of “Water Tossing Boulders: How a Family of Chinese Immigrants Led the First Fight to Desegregate Schools in the Jim Crow South” discusses this little known chapter of history.
Keramet Reiter, a University of California Irvine professor, discusses her book "23/7: Pelican Bay Prison and the Rise of Long-Term Solitary Confinement."
George Psiharis and Billie Tarascio talk about how you can use big performance data to improve your law practice.
You became a lawyer to practice law, not to write a blog about law. Blogging, however, is an important tool when marketing your firm. So how, as a lawyer, can you make this process more manageable? In this report from On The Road, host Lee Rawles talks to Tim Baran of Good2bSocial about essential DIY...
Kevin Davis discusses his new book "The Brain Defense: Murder in Manhattan and the Dawn of Neuroscience in America's Courtrooms."
The Hon. Alberto R. Gonzales, White House counsel and U.S. attorney general under President Bush, talks about his new memoir, "True Faith and Allegiance."
Florida attorney Larry Loftis discusses his book about Dusko Popov, the "real James Bond," and what he discovered while researching this incredible character.
Talmage Boston talks about historical context when judging a president's actions and what history tells us about the future of the Trump administration.
Leon Wildes and his son Michael join the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles to discuss the legacy of the John Lennon Immigration case and the effect on their family.
Georgetown law professor Rosa Books shares the experiences she had in the U.S. government which led her to write her new book.
Journalist Alison Flowers discusses her book and what efforts have been made to help the wrongfully convicted reconstruct lives for themselves.
On the morning of March 21, 1981, the body of 19-year-old Michael Donald was found hanging from a tree in Mobile, Alabama. The years that followed saw the conviction of his two killers and a civil case brought by Donald’s mother which bankrupted the largest Klan organization in the United States. In this episode of...
Author Allison Leotta has used her 12-year experience as a federal sex-crimes prosecutor in Washington, D.C., to bring real-world issues into her fiction. Leotta has written five novels chronicling the adventures of her protagonist, prosecutor Anna Curtis. The most recent, The Last Good Girl, takes on the issue of campus sexual assault at a fictional private...
Lee Rawles speaks with Risa Goluboff about her new book, 'Vagrant Nation: Police Power, Constitutional Change, and the Making of the 1960s.'
A year before Netflix’s viral hit Making of a Murderer was making headlines, Manitowoc County prosecutor Michael Griesbach released his book “The Innocent Killer: A True Story of a Wrongful Conviction and its Astonishing Aftermath”. Griesbach was the prosecutor who worked to free Steven Avery after DNA evidence proved he had been wrongfully convicted of a terrible assault. In...
The Secret of Magic is a book within a book. It is both the title of Deborah Johnson’s 2015 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction-winning novel, and (in the world of that novel) a reclusive writer’s scandalous 1920s children’s book, which dared to feature black and white playmates solving mysteries together in a magical forest. The...
In the hands of author Linda Fairstein, fictional sex-crimes prosecutor Alex Cooper has enjoyed a career spanning 17 books and almost two decades. Cooper’s 16th adventure, Terminal City, was selected as one of the three finalists for the 2015 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. Fairstein spoke with the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles to discuss...
Mary Norris has been a copy editor for the New Yorker since 1978. In her new book, Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, she offers clear and understandable grammar lessons for some of the most common conundrums faced by English speakers. Along the way, she also lifts the veil on the editorial...
In February 2011, an Ecuadorean court found the Chevron Corporation liable for environmental damage caused by oil-drilling activities in the rainforest region El Oriente in the 1970s and 1980s. Chevron, which in 2001 purchased Texaco (the company which had actually operated the oil wells), was ordered to pay $19 billion to the class-action plaintiffs who brought...
In this episode of the Modern Law Library, moderator Lee Rawles chats with Above the Law’s David Lat about his novel Supreme Ambitions, his career, and his time as the anonymous author of the sometimes-scandalous blog Underneath Their Robes. Read more about Lat and his book at the ABA Journal.
The Amish religion is a branch of Christianity that adheres to a doctrine of simplicity, nonviolence and forgiveness. How then did a breakaway group come to be implicated in the first federal trial to prosecute religiously motivated hate crimes within the same faith community? From September to November in 2011, there was series of five...
Before their successful partnership on Hollingsworth v. Perry, the federal case that overturned California’s anti-same-sex-marriage law, the most prominent case Ted Olson and David Boies had been involved in together was Bush v. Gore. Olson, who argued on behalf of George W. Bush, prevailed over Al Gore, who was represented by Boies. But people who...
Alafair Burke’s fascination with crime stories came far before her career as a novelist, or her work as first a prosecutor and then a law professor. “When I was growing up in Wichita, there was an active serial killer there who called himself ‘BTK,’ which stood for ‘Bind, Torture and Kill,’ which is kind of...
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York goes so far back in our nation’s history that it predates the U.S. Supreme Court by several weeks, says author James D. Zirin. Established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, it is known as the “Mother Court.” The Manhattan courthouse has seen some of...
Gil Kraus was a Jewish business lawyer in Philadelphia. But when the head of the Jewish fraternal order Brith Sholom approached him in 1939, it wasn’t for business advice. Instead, Louis Levine had a proposition for Kraus. Brith Sholom (of which Kraus was a member) had recently built a 25-bedroom dwelling in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. It...
How did an 18th-century British judge whose advice on how to treat American revolutionaries was “if you do not kill them, they will kill you” come to be cited in more than 330 U.S. Supreme Court opinions? William Murray was born in 1705 to a Scottish family in decided disfavor with the crown due to...
