ABA Law Student Podcast

In law school and as they enter the legal profession, law students need to have the ability to understand and appropriately interact with diverse groups. Host Ashley Baker talks to Kennedy LeJeune, Miosotti Tenecora, and De'Jonique Carter about the importance of developing cultural competency as a law student. They discuss the need for more training for all legal professionals and offer their strategies for overcoming personal bias and developing respect for diverse cultures and world views.

In this episode, host Kristoffer Butler talks to Jerome Crawford and Tiffany Buckley-Norwood about how the legal profession can become more welcoming for attorneys of color. They discuss what real efforts for diversity should look like in law firms and encourage all legal professionals to create truly inclusive and accessible firms. They also talk about how law students can reach back into their communities in order to encourage more young people to consider entering law school.

In this episode, host Ashley Baker talks to Shawnita Goosby, Crystal Taylor, and Meghan Matt about how they manage their lives as mothers in law school. They offer advice on how to create support systems that can help parents handle the stresses of law school and encourage other parents to take heart and know that it can be done!

Host Kristoffer Butler talks to Dr. Maria-Vittoria Carminati and Dr. Michael Foerster about the future of space and telecommunications law. We are fundamentally a people of exploration and adventure, and our attempts at reaching further into space create a need for forward-thinking laws that will protect other planets and our own. Dr. Carminati and Dr. Foerster discuss this exciting area of the law and give young lawyers insight into how to enter this field.

Having difficulty navigating your hectic law school schedule? You’re not alone! Your new hosts, Ashley Baker and Kristoffer Butler, talk to Negeen Sadeghi-Movahed, chairwoman of the ABA Law Student Division, about law student life and her goals as chair. They discuss tips for handling a busy schedule, give internship advice, and talk about prioritizing what matters during finals.

Host Caitlin Peterson talks to Melissa Waugh about her experience as a mother to hyphenated kids and a part-time lawyer specializing in special education law. She discusses how being a mother helps her connect with her clients and and the advantages of specializing in a niche area of the law. She also shares a plethora of resources for young lawyers who are interested in special education law including books, courses, and the requirements they would need to meet.

Judge Wilhelmina Wright is the first African American woman to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court. Host Caitlin Peterson talks to Judge Wilhelmina Wright, who shares advice with young, aspiring judges about building confidence, taking responsibility, and overcoming barriers in their careers. She also shares what it was like growing up with the lingering effects of segregation and the support she found in her community.

The documentary RBG explores the quiet rise of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg into a pop culture icon and, more importantly, a powerful voice in the nation’s highest court. Hosts Caitlin Peterson and John Weber talk about the movie with the people who made it, Betsy West and Julie Cohen. They discuss what makes the film unique, from music choice to why they chose the subject, as well as what makes Justice Ginsburg worthy of her own documentary.

It can be hard to maintain mental wellness as a law student because of established stigmas and a lack of available resources. But, because wellness helps with success, students are taking action to change how law schools approach this subject. We discuss how students are collaborating with their schools to bring attention to mental health issues and how other schools, divisions, and firms can help get the word out.

The rhetoric of the Trump administration has brought a lot of attention to the topic of immigration and refugees. In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast, host John Weber talks to Carl Hernandez about the immigration clinic at Brigham Young University. Their clinic is managed mainly by students and meets a great need in the Utah community which has a large immigrant population. Carl discusses how the clinic got started and how it provides access to justice to immigrants and refugees while also providing experience to the law students that keep it up and running.

Carl Hernandez teaches constitutional litigation and professional skills courses at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU and has initiated and supervises clinical alliances with the Utah State Legislature, non-profit organizations, community-based organizations and economic development agencies.