Legal Speak

Legal Speak is a weekly podcast that makes sense of what's happening in the legal industry. Each episode tackles a subject that's worthy of a deep dive—from law firm profit hacks to Supreme Court showdowns to the most promising plays in legal tech. Hosted by Senior Litigation Reporter of the Daily Report Cedra Mayfield and Senior Staff Writer for the American Lawyer Patrick Smith, Legal Speak offers straight talk from experts, plus an inside-the-newsroom perspective on market-shaping stories.

Times Are Tough! A Shame-Free Guide to Surviving Career Disruption

May 29, 2020

The legal industry shed 64,000 jobs in April as impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic permeated the economy. That leaves a lot of people figuring out the next steps of their careers in a difficult economic climate. On this episode, Baker Botts special counsel Cynthia Cole talks about losing her first job out of law school...

Back to Brick-and-Mortar: Law Firms Reopen S-L-O-W-L-Y in the COVID-19 Era.

May 22, 2020

Temperature checks, plexiglass partitions and crowd-controlled elevator access are just some of what's in store at law offices for the foreseeable future as they begin to reopen in the COVID-19 era. In this Legal Speak podcast, Law.com business of law senior editor David Bario describes what the workplace will look like...

Calming the Imposter Monster: You Don't Know Everything, And That's OK.

May 15, 2020

Despite three years of law school, passing the bar and snagging a job, lawyers often are plagued by feelings of being ill-equipped to handle the challenges that practicing law throws at them. They've got the credentials and they look the part, but they don't feel the part. Those feelings have a name: imposter...

Hold the Phone! The Supreme Court Is in (Virtual) Session

May 8, 2020

On this Legal Speak podcast, Supreme Court correspondent Marcia Coyle checks in with Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partner David Bowker, whose May 5 argument in USAID v Alliance for Open Society International was one of the first Supreme Court sessions to proceed by telephone. Bowker discusses the...

Summer of Our Discontent: Big Law Associate Programs Get Major Overhaul

May 1, 2020

Forget swanky lunches, cocktail parties and boat outings. The coronavirus pandemic means this year's summer associate programs, for those law firms still conducting them, are online endeavors at this point, as Zoom meetings replace law firms' best laid plans. You'll hear from Skadden’s Gavin White, a partner in New...