At the start of his 2nd term, President Trump imposed a series of tariffs affecting nearly all goods imported into the country, causing controversy.  These tariffs on goods from countries all over the world, include steel, aluminum, cars, auto parts, furniture, pharmaceuticals and more. Since Trump’s announcement, there have been many legal challenges regarding these tariffs.

On this episode of Lawyer 2 Lawyer, Craig joins attorney, author, and professor, Raj Bhala, a University Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law. Craig & Raj discuss tariffs, President Trump's use of tariffs, SCOTUS, and their potential impact on international trade law, and the American people.

Mentioned in this Episode:

KU Professor Says Trump’s Tariffs are Xenophobic, Unlawful and Harmful to U.S. By Tim Carpenter Kansas Reflector/The Lawrence Times

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In episode 582 of Lawyerist Podcast, Zack Glaser talks with Merisa Bowers, Loss Prevention and Outreach Counsel at the Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Company, about how artificial intelligence is reshaping lawyers’ ethical duties. 

Merisa explains how deepfakes and realistic scams are creating new challenges for diligence and verification, why unregulated chatbots can accidentally create attorney-client relationships, and what disclosures lawyers should make when using AI tools. She also shares practical steps to maintain confidentiality, protect client data, and apply long-standing ethics rules to fast-changing technologies. 

Links from the episode:  

ABA Formal Opinion 512 - Generative AI 

ABA Formal Opinion 510 - Prospective Clients & Rule 1.18 

Listen to our previous episodes about non-lawyer ownership: 

Have thoughts about today’s episode? Join the conversation on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X!  

If today's podcast resonates with you and you haven't read The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited yet, get the first chapter right now for free! Looking for help beyond the book? See if our coaching community is right for you.  

Access more resources from Lawyerist at lawyerist.com. 

Chapters / Timestamps:  

0:00 – ClioCon
4:45 – Meet Merisa Bowers
6:50 – Tech Shifts & New Ethics Risks
9:10 – Deepfakes & Diligence
13:40 – AI Scams & Fake Clients
18:30 – Chatbots Creating Clients 

23:40 – Ethical Chatbot Models
26:45 – Should Lawyers Disclose AI?
29:40 – Don’t Let AI Think for You
34:20 – Protecting Client Data
36:10 – Staying Ethical with AI
37:40 – Wrap-Up & Final Thoughts 

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How are you doing? No, really, how are you doing? Guest Chris Newbold is not only the COO of ALPS Insurance – a leader in malpractice insurance for solo and small legal practices – he’s also a recognized driver in the nationwide movement to ensure well-being in the legal profession. 

Over the past decade, there’s been a focus on mental health, stress, and substance abuse in the profession. Meeting deadlines, satisfying clients, and the sometimes-confrontational nature of the job can take a toll, especially on lawyers in small practices or rural area where support can be lacking. 

Newbold shares insights from ALPS’ recent report, “The State of the Solo: Positive Trends in Solo Attorney Well-Being,” which he helped deliver. The study made a special effort to include small and rural practices. A healthy lawyer is a good lawyer, Newbold says. Taking care of yourself helps you better serve your clients. 

Questions or ideas about solo and small practices? Drop us a line at [email protected]  

Topics:

Resources:

“The State of the Solo: Positive Trends in Solo Attorney Well-Being,” ALPS Insurance

“The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change” 

Previous appearance on the Legal Talk Network, The Digital Age podcast, “The Insurance Industry Studies the Future of Law Practice” 

Mental Health Resources, American Bar Association

Law Student Mental Health Day, Oct. 10, ABA

ABA Techshow 2026

Clio Cloud Conference 2025

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Paralegals can find themselves on an island at the workplace, left without training, mentorship, and opportunities for growth and advancement in a sink or swim environment. It doesn’t have to be that way. 

Guest Eda Rosa is a former paralegal who founded her own firm, Eda Rosa LLC, in 2017. The legal consulting and training company is dedicated to transforming the legal industry from the inside out. Rosa says CLE classes are fine for the nuts and bolts, but what about training to avoid burnout and build “soft skills” that make life and work better? 

Training shouldn’t stop with paralegal classes and company onboarding. Continuous education and team building exercises ensure teams remain strong and develop as a unit. Every player on a legal team has a role, failure to bring along every player hurts the entire firm. 

Hear how Rosa “learned by doing,” growing into her own professional self, earning a master’s degree in law, and then turned her insights into a mission to help paralegal professionals advance their careers and live their best lives both in and out of the office. 

Resources: 

Previous appearance on the Legal Talk Network, Legal Rebels, “What Does the Future Hold for Licensed Paraprofessionals?” 

NALA, The Paralegal Association

NALA Conference & Expo 2026

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One can only hope.

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For a long time, the bar exam seemed like the nasty habit that the legal profession just couldn't quit. But there's finally some progress on that front, with Utah unveiling a new alternative pathway to licensure that values experience and the skills that an actual practitioner needs. We also check in on Cadwalader, where the firm brings on a new co-manager while taking some serious blows in the lateral market. Finally, the Supreme Court is back in session, so we look back at the summer of shadows, when the Court's shadow docket finally crashed into the reality of a president unwilling to play the game and Justice Thomas shed a little light on his decision to bail on teaching his class after Dobbs.

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Do not underestimate your influence. Megan Phillips shares successful strategies that you can use to ignite change.

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When Clio announced that it had acquired global legal research platform vLex for $1 billion in June, it was the latest in a series of big moves from the cloud-based practice management software company.

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Is your career stuck in a rut? Hear what it takes to carve a meaningful career in law, as host Michal “Mic” Rogson sits down with Jill Wine-Banks, a history making lawyer who served as the only woman on the Watergate prosecution team and left a trail of shattered glass ceilings throughout her career.

Wine-Banks shares how she built her extraordinary career tackling organized crime, a corrupt president, and led military and state legal teams. She headed the American Bar Association, corporate legal departments, and went on to host influential podcasts, published an autobiography, and serves as a legal consultant and contributor for MSNBC.

Feeling locked in place in your career? Wine-Banks offers motivational insights about taking risks, moving forward, and never settling for the status quo. What do you really want to do, and what’s holding you back?

Throughout her fascinating career, Wine-Banks continually accepted new challenges, broke down barriers, and reinvented herself over and over again.

Resources: 

iGen Politics podcast

Just the Facts podcast

Jill Wine-Banks, Wikipedia entry

“The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President,” by Jill Wine-Banks

“The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life,” by Erving Goffman, Amazon

“Gideon's Trumpet: How One Man, a Poor Prisoner, Took His Case to the Supreme Court and Changed the Law of the United States,” by Anthony Lewis

Assembly of Captive European Nations, Wikipedia

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Litigation Section

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In 1983, Bruce Lisker’s mother was violently attacked in their family home. After responding to his frantic 911 call, police quickly drew assumptions from the chaotic crime scene. Dorka Lisker was bludgeoned, stabbed several times, and near death in her Sherman Oaks home. Seventeen year-old Bruce embodied the era’s “stoner” look, he was highly agitated, and his hands were covered in his mother’s blood. The distraught teen, rather than being allowed to accompany his mother to the hospital where she died, was arrested and interrogated as the prime suspect in her murder. 

Bruce Lisker tells the story of how presumptions, the actions of a dishonest detective, and failures to examine critical evidence led to his wrongful conviction. After years seeking justice through every conceivable avenue, Bruce was finally exonerated through the determined efforts of LAPD Sgt. Jim Gavin and LA Times articles by Matt Lait and Scott Glover that shed light on the mistakes and manipulations that led to his false conviction.

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The Case Doctors tackle questions from an attorney handling a case on behalf of a client suing for negligent misrepresentation after investing in stocks on the advice of a psychic and losing untold amounts of money. In hot topics, John and Alvin discuss the settlement Google and its YouTube subsidiary reached to resolve a long-running class action case accusing them of illegally collecting children’s data to generate targeted advertising.

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