Sticky Lawyers

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Raised on an Indiana farm by an engineer dad who farmed after work, attorney John Schwarz has never been a stranger to long days and manual labor. He knows firsthand the struggles farmers face dealing with the USDA Farm Service Agency, grain contracts, solar leases, and all the farm-related legal issues in between. As a row crop farmer, he’s deep in the dirt with them.

This sticky farm lawyer describes his mission to help other farmers in a profession fraught with big risks. Listen as John tells us how he balances two full-time jobs, markets his practice by writing for farming magazines, and what he believes are the biggest challenges for farmers today. 

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Cielomar Puccio grew up dancing in Puerto Rico. And although she didn't pursue it professionally, her passion for ballet led her to a unique niche law practice. Based in Miami, Cielo's practice focuses on helping dancers, choreographers, and others in the arts with immigration and intellectual property matters.  

With a background in advertising and PR, Cielo has grown her practice through continued participation in the local ballet community, referrals, and a robust social media presence. Join us as we learn how this sticky lawyer pursues visas for artists with extraordinary ability, secures copyrights for arts-related businesses, and navigates the complicated process of copyrighting choreography, especially as viral dances explode on TikTok. 

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Frank Bibeau’s life as a member of the Anishinaabe or Ojibwe people in northern Minnesota has largely been governed by his reservation’s tribal laws and customs. And manoomin—or wild rice—plays a central role in his culture as a primary food that requires protection. But what happens when the tribe’s right to manoomin is threatened by state and federal laws or industry? Another sticky lawyer is born.

After years as a state employee and journalist, Frank earned a law degree to find novel ways to help indigenous people maintain their rights. Thinking outside the box, he focused on creating written tribal codes and rights of nature that could be examined in U.S. courts and influence how environmental practices are managed. Listen as he tells his fascinating tale of taking on big government and corporations.

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Hira Jaleel is Pakistan’s first accredited Animal Law attorney, who has fought a lion's share of legal battles around animal welfare and animal rights, helping to shape federal and provincial legislation around animals in Pakistan. She vividly recounts troubling issues around live animal markets and the exotic animal trade that needs government oversight in her native country. 

Now an Animal Law teaching fellow and adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School’s Center for Animal Law Studies, Hira describes how cultural customs and views play into animal laws and rights globally. Listen along as she describes a burgeoning legal niche that could use more attorneys willing to fight for animals.

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What do you get when you combine a computer scientist, an attorney specializing in Intellectual Property law, and a comic book aficionado? A very interesting sticky lawyer. 

James Daily pursued a master’s degree in computer science while earning his law degree at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. Now he represents clients in intellectual property matters while working for his alma mater’s Center for Empirical Research in the Law and teaching law students about technology’s impact on legal practice.

Listen as James educates us on artificial intelligence and the practice of law, where it is a useful tool, and where caution is needed. He also dives into his side gig as an author and blog writer who explains legal topics through the lens of superheroes. As Robin would say, “Holy Sticky Lawyer, Batman.” 

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Jasmine Moy did not always love the practice of law, but she has always loved food and the fine dining experience. As a young attorney in New York, she fueled her passion for the foodie world by treating herself to wonderful high-end restaurant experiences and writing articles about them as a hobby. She eventually pivoted from litigation to restaurant and hospitality law, and another sticky lawyer was born. 

Jasmine used her restaurant connections from writing to create a legal client base, often representing celebrity chefs, restaurateurs, and hoteliers in New York and across the U.S. Listen as she explains her legal focus, how social media has changed customer reviews in the industry, the chef’s role in a restaurant’s success, and how creating a great restaurant vibe is one of the keys to its success. 

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Erik Weber is an attorney, a champion runner and running coach, an author, and a motivational video creator and speaker. Oh, and he is also autistic. His own special education experiences, and his unique ability to understand and advocate for special needs students, have helped countless families navigate the IEP process in California.

A passion for helping the disabled community has fueled Erik’s greatest accomplishments to date. As a law student, Erik wrote a paper exposing deficiencies in state-run institutions for people with disabilities, which led to California staffing regulation reforms and more oversight in group homes. And along with running marathons, he formed a running team for special needs kids to help them develop self-confidence, and learn, in his words, “how to be their own heroes.” Join us to meet a sticky lawyer like no other. 

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While nearly a quarter of the U.S. population lives in rural America, only 2% of attorneys practice there. Phil Garland has spent 50 years as a general practice lawyer in Garner, Iowa — population 3,000. He has been his town's one-stop shop for legal representation and created a thriving practice through his relationships with residents, local businesses, and other lawyers in his county.

But finding young lawyers to consider small-town practices is a nationwide problem. As chair of the Iowa State Bar Association's Rural Practice Committee, Phil spearheaded a Rural Practice Program to encourage summer clerkships in Iowa's small-town legal practices to give law students another option after graduation. His current partner Carrie Rodriguez benefited from that program. Together these Sticky Lawyers give us a glimpse of the benefits (including short work commutes) and challenges of small-town practices.

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A deep-dive into the horrors of food-borne illnesses may not seem like an appetizing path for a young attorney forging a legal career. But for Washington based-attorney Bill Marler, handling plaintiff cases after the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak gave him unique expertise and led to a niche practice that specializes in representing those affected by food-borne illnesses. He is now one of the nation’s leading food safety experts and a prominent advocate for food safety policy in the U.S. and abroad.

In this episode, Bill shares some juicy tidbits about the prevalence of food-borne illnesses and how most claims aren’t pursued due to difficulty in proving causation. We also learn about how this sticky lawyer’s love of blogging predated the internet but led to numerous referrals and Marler Clarke’s reputation as the leading food safety firm in the nation. 

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Growing up Muslim in America, Sumbul Ali-Kalamari was accustomed to explaining her religious culture to non-Muslims, especially in the Stanford University dorms. After becoming a corporate attorney and earning an LL.M. in Islamic Law, the cultural questions continued. She wrote her first book in 2008 and has made a career of writing, lecturing, and educating the public to promote intercultural understanding in the world – while also actively practicing law.

In this episode, Sumbul gives us a broad education on the evolution of Islam and Islamic Law over the centuries, dispelling myths and shining a light on often misunderstood nuances. She explains Shariah’s feminist roots and a legal system based on the notion that an amicable settlement is best. And she tells how a childhood crush on William Shatner’s Captain Kirk led her to draw parallels to Star Trek in her books.

Join us on this journey through the origins and tenets of Islam and learn about how this Sticky Lawyer has followed a calling to educate others to create understanding and acceptance.