Host Daniel F. Loud, a student at Columbia Law School, chats with Hon. Robert S. Smith, retired judge of the New York Court of Appeals, head of the appellate practice at Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP, and former professor at both Columbia Law School and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, about his article in the Society’s journal Judicial Notice about Chancellor James Kent, one of New York’s first notable judges and the author of the Commentaries on American Law. They delve into Chancellor Kent’s views on judging, the body of “American law” that developed after the American independence, and what a judge’s role should be in changing the law. Along the way, Judge Smith also offers his views on the same issues and how judging has changed since Chancellor Kent’s time nearly two centuries ago.

William H. Hinrichs, Dean of Academic Life at Bard Early Colleges, speaks with Aaron Welt on his experience as the Judith S. Kaye Teaching Fellow at Bard High School Early College in Queens and Manhattan over the past three semesters. They chat about the importance of the Society’s grant to facilitate these civics courses that focus on the legal history of New York State, the positive effect it has on students who take the courses, and the benefits and challenges of virtual learning.

In this episode, Aisha Williams, National Director of School Culture, Great Oaks Charter Schools and a former NYC school leader of a Society partner school, chats with Jehan Senai Worthy about her experience as the Judith S. Kaye Teaching Fellow for the Society’s inaugural Harlem Law Program. The discussion delves into the successes and challenges of the program, the students feedback, and the future of education in the era of virtual learning.

Host Jacob Y. Chen, Partner at Dai & Associates, P.C., talks with Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan, a justice of the New York State Supreme Court currently assigned to the Appellate Term, First Department, about her experience as a pioneering Asian American judge in New York, and the challenges — and flat out racism — she faced on the road to and during her judgeship. Justice Ling-Cohan recounts remarkable and inspiring anecdotes from her career and offers insight on what's next for the Asian American community in the legal profession.

Historical Society of the New York Courts Trustees Dennis E. Glazer and Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt trace New York’s relationship with slavery from the early days of the colony to the climate of the nation leading up to the Civil War. The episode culminates with an investigation into the Lemmon Slave Case itself. Affirmed by the Court of Appeals in 1860, the Lemmon Slave Case illustrates how NYS law was ahead of federal in finding that slaves brought into the State were not property. This went against the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision, decided three years earlier.

Host David L. Goodwin chats with Robert Pigott, general counsel of Phipps Houses, about his Judicial Notice profiles of Elihu Root and William M. Evarts, both national figures and prominent New York lawyers—one mostly remembered (Root) and one largely forgotten (Evarts). A native New Yorker himself, Bob discusses the spark that ignited his interest in history, and examines how we can learn a lot about larger-than-life figures through New York City real estate.

Before he was a Founding Father, Framer, Justice, or international diplomat, John Jay spent seven years in the trenches as one of New York's few practicing lawyers—appearing in court, collecting on debts, and working with clients. Host David L. Goodwin talks with Hon. Mark C. Dillon, Associate Justice of the NYS Supreme Court Appellate Division, Second Department, and Paul D. Rheingold, Esq., Founder of and Of Counsel at Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo & Plotkin LLP, about John Jay's early years, and how they influenced his role as a Justice and statesman.

David L. Goodwin, current member of the Board of Trustees of the Historical Society of the New York Courts, chats with Founder & President Emeritus of the Society — and Former Associate Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals — Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt about the importance of the preservation of court records, and how we have tragically lost details of historic NY events of national importance.