I Am The Law

Allan Carlsen is fresh out of law school and just over a year into practice as a patent litigator at an elite boutique law firm. Unlike our typical episodes, the conversation with Allan focuses on how he found his job and decided on his firm, how school and practice differ, and how he navigates new situations. He talks about his experiences with the on-campus interview process, the Loyola Patent Fair, and the important difference between producing the right work product and producing a perfect work product. Allan is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law.

This episode is hosted by Katya Valasek.

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When the Navy’s research and development arm needs to buy equipment or services, Marta Rajchel helps decide how. As a procurement lawyer for the Department of Defense, she works with contracting staff and the scientists and engineers who define what the government needs. In this episode, Marta walks through a purchase from start to finish: choosing a contract structure, reviewing solicitations for ambiguity, checking bid evaluations, and representing the agency when a losing bidder files a protest. She explains why ending a contract with a poorly performing contractor can still mean paying them, and how she contracts with smaller companies outside the standard federal rules. Marta also discusses learning a dense body of regulations and how federal culture compares to private practice.

Marta is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School.

This episode is hosted by Kyle McEntee.

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When thousands of people sue a company over a harmful product, the company may create a new entity, load it with that liability, and file for bankruptcy, pausing the lawsuits and taking them away from juries. Adam Silverstein, a partner at a midsize New York firm, represents plaintiffs’ lawyers trying to get these cases thrown out of bankruptcy court. In this episode, Adam explains how he learned a new area of law after Johnson & Johnson’s first talc bankruptcy filing and what the early weeks demanded, from emergency hearings without depositions to forensic work tracing the company’s path to North Carolina. He also discusses why circuit law shapes venue fights, coordinating with co-counsel, and working opposite former allies. Adam is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

This episode is hosted by Katya Valasek.

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Big Law recruiting now starts earlier than ever, often during the first semester of law school and increasingly outside traditional campus interviews. That leaves law students making consequential career decisions before they’ve had much time to understand what working at a large law firm entails. In this special episode, Kyle and Katya draw on a dozen conversations with Big Law lawyers to show what the work looks like from the inside.

Guests describe how they found their firms and specialties, how deal and litigation teams fit together, and how junior lawyers learn through first drafts, feedback, supervision, and early opportunities to take on responsibility. They also speak candidly about one of the central tradeoffs of the work: high compensation alongside long hours and schedules driven by supervisors, clients, courts, and opposing counsel.

The episode also looks at what it takes to make that intensity sustainable, including setting boundaries, reducing hours, and finding senior lawyers who will advocate for you. Kyle and Katya examine the difference between mentors and sponsors, the path toward partnership, and why some lawyers ultimately decide to stay, cut back, or leave for something that fits their lives better.

Along the way, they use NALP and law school employment data to put Big Law in context: how recruiting timelines have accelerated, how access to large firms varies dramatically by school, and how many law graduates take this path. Check out NALP's class of 2025 research and the Law School Transparency tools on LawHub.

Featured voices:

Rachel Frank, Episode 131, Understanding the Appeal: Supreme Litigation from First Draft to Oral Argument

Juan Dawson, Episode 108, Adapting to Biglaw: Getting Plugged into the Energy Sector

Storm Lineberger, Episode 158, Fine Print, Big Money: Making Insurers Pay Up

Eric Lauria-Banta, Episode 64, Inside the Deal Room: Unpacking M&A, VC Financing, and Work-Life Balance

Audi Syarief, Episode 129, Trading in Gray Areas: How Sanctions Shape International Business

Alexis Taitel, Episode 121, From Clerkship to Private Practice: Research, Writing, and Challenging Assumptions

Bola Adeniran, Episode 96, Courtroom Theater: Early-Career Complex Litigation at a Large Firm

Ed Winkofsky, Episode 77, The Legal Side of the Casino Floor: Navigating the Regulatory Maze

Stephanie Hurst, Episode 116, Moonlighting into M&A: Tradeoffs in Practice

Samm Tillotson, Episode 115, Biglaw Class Action Litigation

Kiran Vakamudi, Episode 94, Corporate Restructuring: Dealmaking and Litigation to Avoid Financial Collapse

Lana Kuchinski, Episode 99, Partners by Law: Building a Life and Career in Law

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Angelique Torres is a legal aid lawyer who represents children navigating the U.S. immigration system. Her clients arrive at the border without a parent or legal guardian and are placed in government custody. In this episode, Angelique explains the forms of immigration relief available to her clients, including Special Immigrant Juvenile status and asylum, and how she builds trust with children as they share the difficult experiences that can shape their cases. Each case requires advocacy on several fronts: preparing clients for asylum interviews, working with parents and child advocates, challenging prolonged detention through habeas petitions, and representing a child’s expressed wishes even when others may believe a different outcome is in their best interest. She explains how changes in funding can reshape the course of legal aid work, from the services organizations can provide to the cases they can take on, and why success ultimately depends on what each child wants from their case. Angelique is a graduate of Quinnipiac University School of Law.

This episode is hosted by Katya Valasek.

Editor’s note: This interview was recorded before changes to the federal funding structure for legal services for unaccompanied children. Angelique’s description of her organization’s federal funding reflects the arrangement at the time of recording and is no longer current.

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If you've listened to I Am the Law for any length of time, you know the practice of law rarely looks the way it does on screen. Hours of preparation, client calls, problem solving, and stress don’t exactly make for catchy courtroom stories. But for many lawyers, those fictional portrayals were our guests' first introduction to the profession. In this special episode, Kyle and Katya ask their guests two questions: Who is your favorite lawyer from pop culture, and what does pop culture get right or wrong about being a lawyer?

The answers reveal where fiction overlaps with the realities of legal practice, and where it falls short. Guests reflect on the characters who inspired them, the preparation and pressure behind legal work, the emotional stakes of representing clients, and the sense of purpose that draws people to the profession. Pop culture may compress timelines, heighten the drama, and oversimplify the work, but it can still capture something real about what motivates lawyers and why the work matters to them.

Featured voices:

• Doron Gold, Episode 143, The Therapist Who Left Law: Treating Perfectionism in Lawyers
• Jimmy Lai, Episode 151, An Introvert's Path to Running an Immigration Law Firm
• Devin Morse, Episode 144, Public Defender to Private Practice: Criminal Defense From Scratch
• Vineet Dubey, Episode 146, Poisoned Goods: Suing to Clean Up Consumer Products
• Mark Purpura, Episode 153, Building a Practice Around Delaware's Corporate Code
• Randy Prebula, Episode 142, Scientist to Regulatory Lawyer: Getting Medical Devices to Market
• Storm Lineberger, Episode 158, Fine Print, Big Money: Making Insurers Pay Up
• Richard Hy, Episode 155, After the Headlines: Lawsuits in the Wake of Disaster
• Jonathan Merel, Episode 154, More Than Legal Advice: Building a Firm for High-Conflict Divorce
• Jennifer Long, Episode 156, Sharpening the Craft of Special Victims Prosecution
• Charles Star, Episode 157, One Career in Three Acts: Big Law, Contract Work, Plaintiff Firm
• Yuliya Flynn, Episode 148, Concierge Outside Counsel: Compliance, Contracts, and Keeping Clients Deal-Ready
• Michelle Hanlon, Episode 149, Space Law: The Work Behind an Emerging Practice
• Elizabeth Stong, Episode 152, Federal Bankruptcy Judge: Running a Second Chance Court

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Leanna Taing is a lawyer for Los Angeles County, where she represents the Office of Public Guardian in mental health conservatorship proceedings. In this episode, she explains what happens when someone is unable to care for themselves due to a mental health condition and no family or friends can step in. Leana walks through how cases move from hospital referral to courtroom, why these civil cases require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and what it means to cross-examine someone whose autonomy is at stake. She also discusses managing a caseload in the hundreds, the shift from bench trials to jury trials, and how she transitioned into this work after seven years in child welfare law. Leana Taing is a graduate of UCLA Law.

This episode is hosted by Katya Valasek.

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Learn more about Seton Hall

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Frances Prizzia began her career as a public defender. Today, she runs her own criminal defense practice, representing clients facing charges ranging from DUI and assault to murder. In this episode, Frances explains how a criminal charge can often have damaging consequences outside the courtroom, affecting a clients’ housing, immigration status, professional licenses, and family matters. These are areas that public defenders frequently have limited ability to address. She walks through an attempted murder case involving a client with schizophrenia to show how mental health history can shape defense strategy. Frances also breaks down preliminary hearings, plea negotiations, and the many factors that go into deciding whether to take a case to trial when the stakes can mean decades in prison. This leads to her desire to build a more holistic practice and the hard limits of what a lawyer can do when clients insist on making their own choices. Frances is a graduate of Santa Clara University School of Law.

This episode is hosted by Kyle McEntee.

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Kimberley Baker Guillemet helped form the Los Angeles Office of Reentry to ensure that when someone leaves prison, limited employment options do not lead to a cycle of crime. In this episode, she discusses her work helping the formerly incarcerated rejoin society and altering conditions that lead to initial jailings. Kimberley is a graduate of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

This episode is hosted by Kyle McEntee.

Mentioned in this episode:

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Learn more about Oklahoma City University School of Law

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Chukwukpee Nzegwu is a junior associate practicing commercial litigation at a large, general practice law firm. While he didn't go to law school to do commercial lit, he's found it both exciting and challenging. He explains that his decision was influenced by the opportunity to gain trial experience and be involved in oral advocacy. Chukwukpee discusses his work as a problem solver for clients involved in lawsuits and highlights the complexity of commercial litigation. He shares his experiences working on cases from the beginning to the end, including drafting motions, researching statute of limitations arguments, and participating in appeals. Chukwukpee is a graduate of the University of Maryland.

This episode is hosted by Kyle McEntee.

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Learn more about Seton Hall

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Learn more about Oklahoma City University School of Law