Lawyer 2 Lawyer - Law News And Legal Topics

As law firms slowly climb out of this recession, have their legal practice management skills changed? Lawyer2Lawyer co-host and attorney J. Craig Williams welcomes Rudy Bazelmans, Regional Director of Expense Reduction Analysts and Jim Calloway, Director of the Oklahoma Bar Association's Management Assistance Program, to explain the current state of the legal industry, new law practice management skills, what attorneys have done to cut costs and how to keep costs down in the future.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear "Fisher v. University of Texas." This case could bring about the end of college admissions policies based on race. Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi, along with Huffington Post Supreme Court Correspondent Mike Sacks and UCLA School of Law Professor Richard Sander, examine the possible fate of affirmative action in college admissions.

Just this month, after a long three year legal battle, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that California’s Proposition 8, which is the ballot measure that banned gay marriage, is unconstitutional. The question remains-will this case now head to the U.S. Supreme Court? Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams, join Jennifer C. Pizer, Legal Director at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law and Vikram David Amar, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at the University of California, Davis School of Law, to take a look at this ruling and what this means for the future of gay marriage in America.

For decades, a program called Eugenics gave state boards the right to deem someone "unfit to procreate." The outcome of this was 66,000 Americans were selectively sterilized between the late 1920’s and the 1980’s. Lawyer2Lawyer co-host and attorney J. Craig Williams welcomes Professor Alfred Brophy, from the University of North Carolina School of Law and Attorney James Bowden from Waller Lansden, to discuss this controversial practice, the US Supreme Court’s shocking decision on eugenics and why forced sterilization "is" technically constitutional.

The world’s tiger population has declined by 97%. The African elephant population has been cut in half. 33% of open-ocean sharks are now threatened with extinction. These and other alarming statistics have created worldwide legal action to save the Earth’s endangered species. Lawyer2Lawyer co-host and attorney J. Craig Williams explores laws and initiatives designed to save threatened species with attorney and WildAid board member, David Kracke of Nichols and Associates in Portland, Oregon.

The capsizing of the luxury cruise ship, Costa Concordia, off the coast of Italy has created a torrent of possible criminal charges against the captain and civil litigation against the cruise line company in courtrooms around the world. Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams, along with Attorney Joseph McFaul, special counsel for Sedgwick LLP in Irvine, California, sort through the plethora of legal issues associated with this cruise ship tragedy.

Since 2010, there has been great debate over the controversial ruling, Citizens United. Most recently, the Montana Supreme Court challenged the decision while Senator McCain called it "one of the worst decisions I have ever seen." Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi welcome, Attorney Joseph M. Birkenstock, former chief counsel of the Democratic National Committee and Bradley A. Smith, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Center for Competitive Politics and former Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission, for an in-depth discussion on the impact of the ruling during an election year and its influence on the upcoming Presidential election.

Decriminalizing medical marijuana, fighting to repeal healthcare reform and using social media as evidence are just a few of the topics trending in the legal industry in 2012. Lawyer2Lawyer co-host and attorney, J. Craig Williams discusses the hottest trends currently transforming the legal world with attorney and legal trend-watcher Danny Cevallos, the founding partner of Cevallos & Wong, L.L.P.

From the spectacle of the Casey Anthony trial, to the great debate over the health care law, to the controversial immigration law in Arizona, 2011 was a big year in the law. Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi welcome returning guest, Stephen L. Kaplan from the firm Hicks, Mims, Kaplan & Burns, to review his 2011 predictions and look ahead to a brand new year, 2012!

War dogs serve bravely alongside the men and women of the U.S. Military. Their handlers consider them heroes, but the military still classifies military working dogs as equipment. Up until recently, these canine soldiers were left behind or even euthanized after the fighting stopped. Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi welcome Ron Aiello, the president and co-founder of The United States War Dogs Association, and Carter Dillard, the director of litigation for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and discuss what laws need to change so that war dogs get the respect that they deserve from the U.S. military.

Music makes the world go ‘round and on this holiday edition of Lawyer2Lawyer, co-hosts and attorneys, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi celebrate with a music themed show! First up, Bob and Craig welcome Attorney Jeffrey M. Aresty, founder and current President of Internetbar.org and Attorney Ruha Devanesan, the Executive Director & Vice President of IBO, to talk about the mission of the Internet Bar's PeaceTones Legal Empowerment project. Later in the program, we share a holiday treat from a great songwriter and longtime friend, Attorney Larry Savell! Happy Holidays!

Should the U.S. Supreme Court broadcast its sessions to the American public or should cameras be kept out of the SCOTUS chamber? Proponents of cameras say they are needed for transparency. Opponents call the idea potentially unconstitutional and harmful. Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Nancy Marder, Professor of Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law and Eric P. Robinson, Deputy Director of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Courts and Media at the University of Nevada in Reno, for an in depth discussion on both sides of this very important issue.

With two wars winding down, there are great efforts in the legal community to help returning troops, their families and all other veterans with the many legal issues they face back home. Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams join Attorney Nan Heald, the Executive Director of Pine Tree Legal Assistance and Jim Strickland, a nationally recognized expert on disability benefits, to discuss their personal missions to assist our service members with disability benefits and the Service Members Civil Relief Act. They also talk about the role of the VA and how lawyers can help these brave men and women who serve our country.

The fight against drunk driving has been going on for more than a century. On this week’s Lawyer2Lawyer, host Bob Ambrogi welcomes Atlanta DUI Defense Attorney, George Stein and the author of One for the Road: Drunk Driving since 1900, Dr. Barron Lerner of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, for an in-depth discussion on the history, laws, initiatives, and successes and failures surrounding drunk driving.

With court closings, dismissal of cases, and giant backlogs, the American court system is in crisis. In this edition of Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams join Attorney Laura Abel from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and Attorney Stephen N. Zack, former President of the American Bar Association, to take a look at the impact of massive budget cuts on our courts, the cases, the staff and just how long this will all last.

With former defensive football coach Jerry Sandusky accused of raping children and university officials charged with covering up the crimes, the Penn State child sex abuse scandal raises countless legal questions. Could the university be held liable? Could other university officials, including legendary coach Joe Paterno face criminal charges? What laws need to be changed to prevent this from happening again? In this edition of Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams along with Professor Marci Hamilton of the Cardozo School of Law and Attorney Philip Masorti, Senior Partner at Masorti-Sullivan P.C. discuss the complexities of this growing scandal.

Cyberbullying, sexting, downloading music illegally. What is a teen to do when they find themselves in legal trouble or maybe even a victim of a possible crime? On this edition of Lawyer2Lawyer, co-host and attorney, Bob Ambrogi chats with Judge Thomas A. Jacobs, founder of AsktheJudge.info, about this interactive legal forum for teens. Judge Jacobs explains how technology has changed the face of law in the teen community, what teens everywhere need to know about their personal rights and how they can educate themselves through laws and recent court decisions.

On our last podcast, Legal Blogging, Ethics and First Amendment Rights, we were joined by three bloggers who discussed the case surrounding Richmond, Virginia attorney, Horace Hunter and the Virginia State Bar Association, over a controversial blog post. On this edition of Lawyer2Lawyer, co-host and attorney, Bob Ambrogi chats with Attorney Horace F. Hunter from Hunter & Lipton, PC, about this widely-publicized controversy, his appeal and the impact of his now infamous blog post on the legal blogosphere.

Should lawyers blog about specifics in their cases? The Virginia State Bar Association has sanctioned Attorney Horace Hunter for blogging about a case and he’s appealing based on First Amendment rights. A Washington Post article first brought attention to this story which has wide impact in the legal blogosphere.. Lawyer2Lawyer co-host and attorney, Bob Ambrogi welcomes Kevin O’Keefe, CEO and Publisher of LexBlog, Eric E. Johnson from The University of North Dakota School of Law and Peter Vieth, Legal Editor for Virginia Lawyers Weekly, to talk about this controversial case, lawyers blogging and their First Amendment rights.

There is a public debate in Topeka, Kansas regarding prosecution of misdemeanors in some domestic violence prosecutions, stemming from serious budget cuts to the judicial system. Lawyer2Lawyer co-hosts and attorneys, Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams join Attorney Joyce Grover, Executive Director at Kansas Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence and Viktoria Kristiansson an Attorney Advisor for AEquitas, to take a look at this controversy’s impact on domestic abuse victims, the general public’s response, the District Attorney’s change of heart and spotlight National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.