On November 5th, 2024, people across the nation will head to the polls and cast their vote for president of the United States. It is looking more and more like another battle between President Joe Biden & former President Donald Trump with policy and rhetoric indicating an even more divided nation than in the prior election. With policy issues like immigration, abortion, IVF, guns, employment, and the economy taking center stage in this race, this election could once again be a controversial one. 
So, with a nation divided, can our democracy be saved? In this episode, Craig is joined by attorney David Pepper, as they discuss the upcoming presidential election, the state of democracy in the U.S., the current policy issues that could impact the election, and how we can save our democracy. 
Mentioned in this episode: 
Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual
Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines

The Presidential Election & Saving our Democracy

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For tech trends from an in-house perspective, Dennis and Tom welcome Dennis Garcia of Microsoft to their Fresh Voices series. In-house teams are riding the new wave of AI technologies along with the rest of us, but there are unique aspects to their roles in the legal world. Dennis Garcia discusses his team’s approach to AI and other emerging tools, ethical responsibilities for tech competence, collaboration in legal tech, and much more. 
As always, stay tuned for the parting shots, that one tip, website, or observation that you can use the second the podcast ends.
Have a technology question for Dennis and Tom? Call their Tech Question Hotline at 720-441-6820 for the answers to your most burning tech questions.
 
Links Mentioned:
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft SharePoint
LinkedIn
Microsoft Copilot
 
Show Notes - Kennedy-Mighell Report #365
A Segment: Fresh Voices on Legal Tech with Dennis Garcia

https://www.linkedin.com/in/denniscgarcia/ 
B Segment: Continued conversation with Dennis Garcia
Parting Shots:

Anker 555 USB-C Hub https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087QZVQJX?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1  

Gaiatop USB Desk Fan https://www.amazon.com/Gaiatop-Portable-Airflow-Personal-Cooling/dp/B0BWDHVW9X/

Fresh Voices on Legal Tech with Dennis Garcia

Zack talks with Lab Coach Chad Fox about how developing law firm processes can build value for a practice. They specifically discuss how his experience in franchises showed him that the difference between success and failure can often be as simple as creating and abiding by standard operating procedures. 
Links from the episode:  
Check out and register for LabCon 2024! 
CosmoLex: Complete Legal Practice Management for Modern Law Firms  
 
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!

#504: Leveraging Franchise Know-How in Law Practice, with Chad Fox

Guest Shelly A. Walker has enjoyed a career spanning nearly three decades of perpetual growth and advancement. Hear how she learned to move forward with every step, up to her current position as regional office administrator and paralegal manager for a large law firm. Successful careers in the paralegal profession don’t just happen. It takes work, ambition, and drive. Preparation creates opportunity. 
Walker took advantage of every chance to learn and advance. The paralegal profession never stands still, and Walker explains how seizing opportunities to build skills advanced her career. One example is how she recognized the importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and helped her firm create a DEI committee, which she went on to lead. 
She encourages today’s up and coming paralegals to understand their worth and show initiative. Speak up with confidence at your organization and demonstrate your value with everything you do. If you’re looking for advice on advancing your career, this episode offers valuable tips. Step up, stand out, and succeed.
If you have insights you’d like to share or a topic you’d like us to take on, please send us a note at Jfrancisco@lawgical.com and HaveASipp@gmail.com.

Advancing Your Career: Advice From A Real-Life Success Story

From COVID-19 response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the results of 50 states having individual approaches to public health, medical outcomes and healthcare access raise troubling questions. A husband-and-wife team of University of Utah professors dig into the ethics of the American healthcare system in States of Health: The Ethics and Consequences of Policy Variation in a Federal System.
Leslie P. Francis is a professor of law and philosophy with a background in bioethics, and John G. Francis is a professor of political science with a focus on European comparative politics, federalism and comparative regulatory policy. The spouses had partnered on three previous books together. When looking for their next project, they decided to examine the consequences of states opting out of Medicaid expansion and what power federalism could have in protecting American citizens’ health. But soon more news events and landmark cases expanded their focus.
The result is States of Health. The book examines the tensions between state and federal powers in a number of areas, including reproductive rights; gender-affirming care; medical marijuana; public health and pandemics; right-to-try laws; patient confidentiality; and care quality and life expectancies.
In this episode of The Modern Law Library, the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles speaks with the Francises about their collaborative writing process, and what conclusions they have drawn about the benefits of federalism and states’ rights.
The Francises argue that since it is the federal government that determines citizenship and census decisions, state differences go too far when they make “basic decisions about who counts at all, and what it means to count.” They add, “Movement is a critical aspect of who counts: the ability to come and go, or to leave one state more permanently for another.” The Francises argue that freedom of movement for the purpose of medical treatment is crucial for patients, but also point out when states control licensure for medical providers, that too can restrict freedom of movement.
The value of 50 individual laboratories of democracy can be appealing to a scientific mind. But at what point can it be argued in the healthcare space that a federal government needs to step in, if the outcomes in some of those laboratories are decreased lifespans and higher mortality?

When states’ rights and healthcare access clash

Trump's attorneys seems as asleep at the switch as their client.
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Having called Stormy Daniels a liar repeatedly in its opening, the Trump defense team was then shocked and appalled that the prosecution elicited testimony to rehabilitate her credibility. The hits didn't stop there as they attempted to get out of the mess they'd landed in by sex shaming someone whose sexuality is their whole business. Trump lawyers do a lot better when the judge is running their defense. Meanwhile, an organization moved to preemptively pare down Trump's SCOTUS shortlist to the least qualified, worst behaved candidates and its been a very Ponzi-rific week for one Biglaw firm.

The Presidential Election & Saving our Democracy

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