Podcasts about Student bar association

Dive into an inspiring episode as Kathryn Rubino hosts Albany law student Jonas Caballero. Discover Jonas's incredible journey from protesting the Iraq War to overcoming incarceration and addiction, now excelling in law school and fighting for civil rights. A must-listen for a story of resilience and advocacy.   Highlights Reporting on human rights in the West Bank. Struggle with PTSD leading to incarceration. Roadblocks faced in re-entry post-incarceration. Rejection from multiple law schools due to criminal history. Persistence and honesty leading to law school acceptance. Overcoming 1L challenges as a non-traditional student. Continuous self-reminder of mission for civil rights. Role in Student Bar Association advocating for formerly incarcerated. Positive reception and support from law school faculty. Importance of amplifying voices of formerly incarcerated students. Law school environment fostering change and acceptance. Interning with the Abolitionist Law Center. Focus on international law and prisoner rights. Need for diversion programs over incarceration. Favorite law school experience: supportive faculty.   Episode Resources Class Action Challenges Denial from Prison Early Release Programs on Basis of Disability: https://www.kllflaw.com/news-articles/class-action-challenges-denial-from-prison-early-release-programs-on-basis-of-disability Prison Rape Elimination Act at 20 – Next Steps (Speech on Capitol Hill) https://youtu.be/JgrB33WnAGM?si=6NrxQZfMN-pl9_oD&t=1194 Sexually Assaulted In A NYC Jail? Don't Hold Your Breath For A Timely Investigation https://gothamist.com/news/sexually-assaulted-in-a-nyc-jail-dont-hold-your-breath-for-a-timely-investigation Don't Lock Me Up, Help Me Clean Up (NY Daily News) https://www.pressreader.com/usa/new-york-daily-news/20181021/281547996870524   NYC Inmates Call 311 To Report Mistreatment, But Is Anyone Listening? https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-inmates-call-311-to-report-mistreatment-but-is-anyone-listening Caballero '25 Speaks to National Audience on Prison Reform https://www.albanylaw.edu/spotlight/student/caballero-25-speaks-national-audience-prison-reform   Episode Sponsored By https://www.lexisnexis.com/lexisplus  Subscribe, Share and Review To get the next episode subscribe with your favorite podcast player. Subscribe with Apple Podcasts Follow on Spotify Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

In today's episode of "Journey to Esquire," we pass the mic to Elpiniki Roussos, affectionately known to friends and colleagues as Nikki. Born and bred in the sunny climes of Nassau, Bahamas, Nikki's journey took a significant turn when she moved to Tampa, Florida, setting the stage for her remarkable career in law. Join us as we explore Nikki's academic odyssey, beginning with her initial steps at earning an associate degree in paralegal studies. We'll then journey alongside her as she pursues and secures a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Central Florida. But Nikki's quest for legal mastery didn't stop there; she furthered her education by obtaining a Juris Doctorate from WMU Thomas M. Cooley Law School in April 2023. Nikki's law school experience was nothing short of dynamic. She played a pivotal role as the parliamentarian for the Student Bar Association for three years, honed her legal skills as a member of the Mock Trial Board, and showcased her litigation prowess in competitions, including the prestigious National Chester Bedell Mock Trial Competition. Nikki has applied her wealth of knowledge and experience in her role as an Assistant State Attorney in the Juvenile sector of Hillsborough County. Her journey from the Bahamas to the courtroom of the 13th Judicial Circuit is a testament to the dedication, resilience, and passion required to navigate the path to becoming an Esquire. Social Media Website: www.journeytoesquire.com Email: info@journeytoesquire.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dive... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JourneytoEsq/ YT: https://youtube.com/@journeytoesquire Twitter: @JourneytoEsq                 https://mobile.twitter.com/journeytoesq Instagram: @JourneytoEsq  https://www.instagram.com/journeytoesq/ www.journeytoesquire.com info@journeytoesquire.com @JourneytoEsquire --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/journey-to-esquire/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/journey-to-esquire/support

On this show, in recognition of the King Holiday, we discuss the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King and the 1960s Civil Rights activists and discuss the perceptions and attitudes of younger African Americans regarding the continuing impact and importance of this legacy and history. Our guests are Marcus Bass, Deputy Director of the NC Black Alliance and Executive Director at Advance Carolina; Rhasha Barnes-Scales, a junior at North Carolina Central University and President of the NCCU Political Science Club; and James Whitaker, a third-year student at NCCU School of Law and Secretary of the Student Bar Association.

Every good citizen should come to understand religious liberty. Not just lawyers, not just people who want to go fight about it—fundamentally, it's a core part of the American commitment. What does it look like to be “on offense” for religious liberty? From battling foster care shutdowns and COVID-era mandates to preserving parental rights in education, Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of The Becket Fund, joins Kevin to discuss the everyday ramifications for religious liberty lawsuits. Mark Rienzi is the president and CEO of The Becket Fund and a Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, where he is co-director of the Center for Religious Liberty and has served as a Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He teaches constitutional law, religious liberty, and evidence, and has been voted Teacher of the Year three times by the Law School's Student Bar Association. With the team at Becket, Mark has litigated and won an uninterrupted string of important First Amendment cases at the U.S. Supreme Court including Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC (2012), Little Sisters of the Poor (2013), McCullen v. Coakley (2014), Hobby Lobby (2014), Wheaton College (2014), Holt v. Hobbs (2015), Zubik v. Burwell (2016), Our Lady of Guadalupe (2020), Little Sisters of the Poor (2020), Diocese of Brooklyn/Agudath Israel (2020), and Fulton v. Philadelphia (2021). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interview With Mitchel Ashley The Ashley Law Firm Fighting for Justice on Your Behalf #PersonalInjury #Attorney #MichelAshley Hi, and welcome to the show! On today's show I have the pleasure of welcoming Attorney At Law Mitchel Ashley to talk about personal injury, what it takes to run a successful law firm, and the process behind securing results for his clients.  Mitchel was born and raised in New York. He grew up watching his grandfather, father, uncle, and cousin work as attorneys, which influenced both his sister and him to follow in their footsteps. In 1983, he attended the University of Rochester, earning a B.A. in Political Science. Personable and trustworthy, Mitchel was elected to serve as the Vice President of his Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. Six years later, he graduated from Hofstra Law School, serving in leadership once again as President of the Student Bar Association during his third year. During this content-rich call, Mitchel reveals many of his personal life stories, including how he started his business, The Ashley Law Firm. The Ashley Law Firm seeks justice for personal injury clients and has more than a decade of in-depth experience behind him. Named on the Thompson West list of “Super Lawyers” every year since, he has brought hundreds of cases to a quick, satisfactory resolution, obtaining verdicts in the millions of dollars.  The Ashley Law Firm was accomplished personal injury attorney Mitchel Ashley on values of dedication, integrity, and personal attention. Managing multiple cases each year in a variety of personal injury areas, including auto/transport accidents, medical malpractice, dog bites, police brutality, and more.  Ashley's team fights tirelessly for the compensation and peace of mind that clients deserve. With one goal in mind - the be the best personal injury law firm in New York - Ashley has obtained millions of dollars in verdicts, bringing claims to a quick and satisfactory resolution with a compassionate, professional approach. He and his five-star team are prepared to take cases to the jury, if necessary, in order to win maximum compensation. To learn more about the topics discussed, or to contact Mitchel directly, click the link below. Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” My Future Business is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Max Sevor is not only leading SBA as its new Executive President, but he is engaged on Albany Law Review and in the GLC Fellows program! Meet him on this week's podcast. Albany Law School Student Bar Association: https://albanylawsba.org/ 2023 Barrister's Ball: https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanylaw/albums/72177720307770256 Albany Law School Student Organizations: https://www.albanylaw.edu/student-experience-support/student-organizations Class of 2023 Farewell Party: https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanylaw/albums/72177720308492594 Therapy Dogs at Albany Law: https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanylaw/albums/72177720307320426 Court of Appeals Visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanylaw/albums/72177720307654957 NYS Capitol Visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanylaw/albums/72177720303531847 Government Law Center Fellowship program: https://www.albanylaw.edu/government-law-center/government-law-center-fellowship-program Improving Interbranch Communication Project: https://www.albanylaw.edu/government-law-center/improving-interbranch-communication-project Albany Law Review: https://www.albanylawreview.org/

In this episode, we've lined up a trio of compelling guests to keep you informed. First, Congressman Russell Fry, representing South Carolina's 7th District, joins us to discuss critical topics, including the border crisis, Hurricane Idalia's impact on his district, and his bipartisan bill, the Fentanyl Crisis Research and Evaluation Act. Plus, we'll explore the latest developments in the Biden family investigations.Then, we'll shift our focus to New York's 3rd Congressional District with congressional candidate Kellen Curry where he discusses his bid to unseat incumbent George Santos.Lastly, friend of the show, Henry Olsen, a Washington Post columnist and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, will provide insights into the ever-evolving political landscape, including his recent analysis of Trump._Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds-Congressman Russell Fry is proud to serve the Grand Strand and Pee Dee as their Representative for South Carolina's Seventh Congressional District.Russell is a true believer in the American Dream. Growing up he watched his parents work hard for every penny they earned, and since then Russell has been doing the same. He put himself through his undergraduate education at the University of South Carolina and law school at the Charleston School of Law, where he served as president of the Student Bar Association, helped the school achieve its American Bar Association accreditation, and also received the prestigious Civility Award. After this, he practiced law along the Grand Strand for over a decade.As an Eagle Scout, Russell shares the sentiment that “you should leave your campsite better than you found it.” Every day he strives towards a goal that  “we should leave our country better than we found it.” Growing up, he saw first-hand how government's actions directly affect families living paycheck to paycheck, and he is committed to fighting for those who don't always have a voice.Russell is a public servant and active member of his community. Prior to this role, he represented State House District 106 (Horry County) in South Carolina's General Assembly for seven years. He served as Chief Majority Whip, where he fought for lower taxes, less government, pro-Second Amendment legislation, and pro-life legislation. Russell also chaired the House Opioid Abuse Prevention Study Committee, which resulted in 18 policy initiatives being signed into law and record funding for opioid prevention, education, and treatment.Russell is a loving husband to his wife, Bronwen, and dedicated father to their son, James. The family lives in Murrells Inlet with their chocolate lab, Jasper.  -Kellen CurryAs a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy Kellen spent eight years on active duty delivering critical cyber security technology for our country's military and completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan. After completing his Master of Business Administration degree at George Washington University, Kellen went on to work at J.P. Morgan's Corporate and Investment Banking Division in New York City. Kellen believes his extensive experience working in national security and in our national economy will serve him well in his bid for Congress. Kellen continues to serve our nation in the Air Force Reserves and is a student at Columbia University pursuing a Master of Science in Sports Management where he also volunteers with Positive Coaching Alliance, a non-profit organization which strives to create a positive youth sports environment in communities across the country.In his campaign, Kellen will be focusing on core issues including national defense in the face of rising global threats, economic insecurity due to persistently high inflation, increasing affordability on Long Island and raising the accountability bar in D.C. through ethics reforms.He will also be working to achieve what he calls ‘the gold standard of constituency services' which has been absent but is critical to improving the lives of NY-3 residents.-Henry Olsen is a Washington Post columnist and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He was the Thomas W. Smith distinguished scholar in residence at Arizona State University for the winter/spring 2023 semester. Olsen began his career as a political consultant at the California firm of Hoffenblum-Mollrich. After three years working for the California Assembly Republican Caucus, he returned to school to become a lawyer. Following law school he clerked for the Honorable Danny J. Boggs on the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and as an associate in the Philadelphia office of Dechert, Price & Rhoads. He then joined the think tank world where he spent the next eighteen years as an executive at a variety of institutions, serving as the President of the Commonwealth Foundation, a Vice President at the Manhattan Institute, and as Vice President and Director, National Research Initiative, at the American Enterprise Institute. He left AEI in 2013 to pursue a career in political analysis and writing at EPPC. During that time his work has appeared in variety of leading publications in America and the United Kingdom. He is the author or co-author of two books, “The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism” and (with Dante J. Scala) “The Four Faces of the Republican Party”. His biennial election predictions have been widely praised for the uncanny accuracy, and he is a frequent guest on television and radio programs. Olsen regularly speaks about American political trends and global populism in the United State, Europe, and Australia.-TRANSCRIPTIONSam Stone: Welcome to another episode of Breaking Battlegrounds with your host, Chuck Warren. I'm Sam Stone. Our first guest up today, Congressman Russell Fry, represents South Carolina's seventh District. Prior to going to the US Congress, he represented the state House in South Carolina's General Assembly for seven years, served as chief majority whip. And Chuck, we always love Congress members and senators who have served in their local, state house or local government because you just get a perspective that Washington does not offer. So we're very excited to talk with him. He is a fighter for lower taxes, less government, pro-Second Amendment legislation and pro-life legislation. Chuck, if you're pro-life today, you've got to be fighting this fentanyl epidemic, this crisis that is tearing the country apart.Chuck Warren: 100%. Congressman, you have introduced a bipartisan bill called the Fentanyl Crisis Research and Evaluation Act to learn more about how the fentanyl crisis is impacting America in South Carolina in 2021, you had 1494 deaths due to fentanyl. I mean, that's we can multiply that by 1020 because of the family members it affects, right? Their loved ones, things of that nature. What do we need to do to turn the tide back against this fentanyl crisis?Congressman Russell Fry: Oh, gosh, there's just a lot. And quite honestly, I don't even know that we have enough time in this segment, but we'll try. The first thing I think is and the first thing is you've got to stop the flow that's at the border. You've got to stop that. You've got to address that. But beyond that, what you have to realize is you need access to care. You need the ability of families to get the resources and the help they need. You need to strengthen law enforcement. And what frustrates me is this is the biggest one of the biggest health care problems that we have in this country. But beyond that, Congress doesn't know a lot about the impact on the economy, on the labor market, on housing, the impact on the Treasury, I mean, all these different things. And the fact that we don't know those frustrates me. I just got there. I'm like, wait a second, y'all don't know these data points that would help dictate good policy. So you got to stop the flow. But beyond that, you need to give lanes for recovery so that people can get back on their feet and get back to work, get back to being normal people. And fentanyl just I mean, we see it every day. 70% of the overdoses in this state are associated with fentanyl alone. And it's similar like that across the country. It's just sad to see.Chuck Warren: Well, what's so frustrating about this fentanyl crisis is a there is a role for government closing the border, finding out what these data points are, the things you're trying to investigate.Sam Stone: And pushing people into treatment.Chuck Warren: Pushing people in treatment. But what's also frustrating for me is just don't take drugs. I mean, you know, I mean, it's that's what's hard about it. Right? And so there's you know, the government has a role in this. And I don't want to pretend it does not law enforcement has a role in this. But there's also a lot of personal responsibility. And I think that's something the communities and churches I mean, the old Nancy Reagan slogan, just say no, which was mocked. I don't know. Maybe we need a campaign like that again.Congressman Russell Fry: Well, maybe. Look, and I do know that prevention for every dollar that you invest in prevention, you save, I think, $4 in health care costs and $7 in criminal justice costs. So the messaging, the PSA that people put out there, that that education component is just so big. And what's crazy look, I'm 38 years old and we all know people who partake in a little bit of marijuana or whatever. People just do that. And and in some states, it's allowed. Some states it's not. But you know what's crazy? They lived to tell the tale until recently. I mean, it's laced in everything. And that's the that's the crazy people don't go out and seek, you know, let me get some fentanyl. It's usually added into other things. And you hear about West Point cadets, you hear about students, you hear about just really everybody in all walks of life that have to deal with this. And they never live to tell the tale to get back on the recovery. So the prevention side, which you just talked about, that's critical to this.Sam Stone: Well, and and, Congressman, this is Sam. One of the things that so I've worked a lot with the city of Phoenix. And one of the things that that we know that I don't think the public is fully aware of yet is that Narcan loses effectiveness after a person has had to use it a couple of times. So the more the more someone has overdosed. And right now, we're keeping a lot of these folks alive by having Narcan everywhere. But there are limitations on that. And that's going to result in a increased death toll over time.Congressman Russell Fry: I'm right. Right. And you know what's frustrating to to that point, we just did this pilot program in South Carolina that I think other places can do. But say you say you overdose, you go to the hospital, you're recovered, you revive, you come around again, and you know what? You have this moment of clarity. At that point. A lot of people do, and they go, I need to get help. And so then they try to go get into a place to get help. And guess what? You got to wait two, three, four weeks to get into a place. Well, guess what? By that time, that addiction has already started to pull you back in and you're back doing the same thing you are again. What we've done in South Carolina, at least here locally, is fast track those people. So when these things happen. But that's one of those barriers to access that just when there's that clarity because everyone hits that point, when there's that clarity and you go, I need to get help, I need help, you got to wait around for 4 or 5, six weeks. If you can even get in somewhere.Sam Stone: You have to have help available right then and there, right?Congressman Russell Fry: So you need it. And if you don't have that peer to peer help, if you don't have, you know, medication assisted treatment or whatever, whatever options are out there, if that's not available to you, you're doing the same thing again. And you might not get a second, third and fourth chance in the future. You might overdose and pass away. And that's what we're seeing right now.Chuck Warren: With Congressman Russell Fry. He represents South Carolina's seventh district. You can catch this interview this weekend in Florence, South Carolina, on Am 1400 and of course, nationwide on other outlets. Congressman, have you talked to local law enforcement about this issue? And what are their what's their feedback to you?Congressman Russell Fry: Well, I have and unfortunately, in your listening area in Florence, there's a sheriff whose daughter just recently passed away from a fentanyl overdose. And so, again, it affects everybody, but they're seeing just the dramatic growth in it. Their officers are equipped with Narcan. They're seeing it. They're seeing the growth of this drug in rural communities, in urban centers, really everywhere. And it's and it's worse than it's ever been. So they feel frustrated. South Carolina did fortunately pass a law last year. I had when I was in the General Assembly, I was had brought it up. And sometimes these things take a couple of years to get done. But in this one, it just gives tools to law enforcement to be able to crack down on this, to be able to, you know, to unwind some of these some of these drug rings that are that are around. And so that's a big component to this, too. But they're feeling it and they see it every day. And they have to train their officers on how to deal with it because it's a dangerous substance that if it gets on your skin, one of their own might go down.Sam Stone: Yeah, we've seen that across the country with police officers who have been overdosed from from very minor exposure to fentanyl during their interactions with the public. So it's a huge issue. But Congressman, one of the things and I know you've been a big fighter for a secure border, but it seems like this is not a problem we're going to be able to address unless we start getting control of the border. And the data that just come out shows that not only are we not doing anything realistically to get control of the border, the problem is worse than it's ever been. Over 90,000 people detained by Border Patrol last month, you know, beating a May 2019 record.Chuck Warren: And that's who they.Sam Stone: Caught and that's who they caught. The fentanyl dealers are not the ones those are the ones who are turning themselves over to Border Patrol to begin the asylum process. The people were not catching are the fentanyl traffickers, the dealers, the cartel members. Right. How do we address this unless we start really securing our border?Congressman Russell Fry: Well, you can't. And that's been my message even before I got to Congress. And just doing dealing with opioids in the state level, you cannot begin to address the issue until you shut off the hose, until you shut off the flow. And it doesn't mean you can't start start trying and keep trying. South Carolina's always going to do that. Local governments are always going to keep trying to address it, but they're not in the position that the federal government is to deal with the flow. And when you have the administration touts the record amount of fentanyl that they've seized, that's great. But there's so much more that's coming through the border. We know that. We know the precursors, the chemicals are coming from China. We know that they're being manufactured. And just south we know that the cartels are shipping them up and they're not dummies. They will flood an area with 100 200 migrants and then two miles up the road, they'll sneak a you know, they'll sneak fentanyl across the border or, you know, human smuggling or human trafficking. They'll do that because all the resources are dealing with the 200 people that are just sitting there in this section of Yuma or wherever they might be. It's obscene.Chuck Warren: Well, with Congressman Russell Fry, you can get him on Twitter at Russell Fry, SC. Congressman, you you're your district was just hit by the hurricane. How is everybody doing? How's everybody coping out there?Congressman Russell Fry: I think okay. I mean, we were very fortunate. I mean, there was some tornadic activity up in the Cherry Grove section along the coast. And so you had some homes that were damaged. You have a road that that looks like it took some damage. But I would say overall, we were very fortunate. I think the storm, you know, there's never a. A great time for a storm to hit. But when it's low tide and the storm arrives, you don't have the storm surge. It was moving very quickly, so it didn't stay here long. You know, it rained five and a half, six inches, which is a lot. But it was able we were able to largely absorb it. So I think overall, we were very blessed in dealing with it. And so some some things to recover from, but not as bad as Florida and not as bad as prior storms in our area.Sam Stone: Congressman, we have just about two minutes before we go to break. And folks, we're going to be coming back with more from congressman here in just a moment. But one of the things I kind of Chuck and I have been kind of talking about these last couple of days watching this hurricane is that I think the almost every American citizen would would give thanks to God that this did not end up being a worse situation than it was, that it was not the catastrophe that was predicted. But what is kind of disconcerting to me is that it seems like the corporate media, the left media, even some Democrat officials, there was almost a palpable sense of disappointment that these two hurricanes that we've just had, the one on the West Coast and this one neither delivered the kind of catastrophe that that they almost seem to be hoping for.Congressman Russell Fry: No, it's it's it's wild. And they drive clicks and they spin up fear. We actually had some and I won't tell you who, but we had some news interviews that were canceled. And I just have to assume that it was it wasn't it wasn't chaotic enough for them. But regardless, I think I think you're right. And and it's sad to see people get spun up. We've been dealing with storms since forever. And in 1957, we had Hurricane Hazel that wreaked havoc. It was way before my time. But you talk to people, it was, I think, a Category 4 or 5 that hit this area directly. These storms are you know, they they are problematic. But what makes it worse is just the the doomsday scenarios from the media. People just need to be prepared. They need to listen to their, you know, their local local officials and state officials on how to deal with this. But then that's when FEMA comes in on the back end, is to help the recovery.Sam Stone: Yeah, absolutely. Breaking is going to be back in just a moment with more from Congressman Russell Fry.Advertisement: At Overstock. We know home is a pretty important place and that's why we believe everyone deserves a home that makes them happy. Whether you're furnishing a new house or apartment or simply looking to update and refresh a few rooms, Overstock has every day free shipping and amazing deals on the beautiful, high quality furniture and decor. You need to transform any home into the home of your dreams. Overstock Making dream Homes Come True.Sam Stone: Welcome back to Breaking battlegrounds with your host, Chuck Warren. I'm Sam Stone. We're going to be continuing on in just a moment with more from Congressman Russell Fry of South Carolina's seventh District. But first, folks, how's your portfolio doing? Been an up and down, another up and down week in the Biden stock market. What if you could earn up to a 10.25% fixed rate of return instead of taking all that risk up to 10.25% fixed? It's a fantastic opportunity from our friends at  Y refy. Check them out, invest, yrefy.com or give them a call at 888 y refy 24 and tell them Chuck and Sam sent you. All right, Congressman, before we went to break, we were talking a little bit about the issues with fentanyl, the border. And you mentioned that something I think a lot of people are becoming aware of is that the precursor chemicals for the fentanyl that we're seeing coming into the country for the meth, that is vastly more powerful than it was just a few years ago. That is coming into this country with the the tranq and other new designer drugs, the precursor chemicals are all coming to Mexico where they're turned into drugs. They're coming from China. What can we do to try to stop that pipeline?Congressman Russell Fry: Well, I think I think you've got to have a realistic one. I think that there are and we we saw this a little bit with with the Trump administration in the early stages. But you've got to stop that flow. You've got to be able to sanction those companies, stop the flow, take, you know, and look, China needs to be a willing participant here, too. And that's the frustration that I have right now, is that there was a there was an op ed the other day talking about fentanyl from a Biden administration official, but they never mentioned China. Well, they have a big role here. These chemicals are manufactured over there and they're shipped across to the cartels who put it all together and make fentanyl. And so they've got to be a willing participant. But you've got to have an administration that actually wakes up and says, we know this is coming from our southern border. We know the chemicals are coming from China. And up to this point, they're not really talking about that. And I think that's the big that's the biggest frustration.Sam Stone: You're asking Joe Biden to wake up. There's no evidence that's possible.Chuck Warren: I mean, look, if you're China and you want to hurt your competitor, I won't say we're there. Amy, let's say were their number one competitor. What do you do? You flood their country with things that will cause devastation, Right? It's an unseen war that.Sam Stone: Fentanyl, meth.Chuck Warren: Tiktok, it's not the same as firing a missile, but it has the same effect. All due respect.Congressman Russell Fry: Well, in a lot of these companies, too, I mean, they have multiple locations in different spots, right? I mean, they're just they're usually not just isolated in China. You know, these are big companies. And so they need to have some skin in the game. You need to be able to you need to be able to leverage influence there, maybe even tariff or sanction them. But at the end of the day, the flow, you know, China has a spot there. And you know what? Maybe there's there is a nefarious purpose behind this. I believe you're probably right about that. But there are ways to address it. And if they won't, then we need to there are other ways that we can force them to the table. And we need to we need to take a look at that. 300 Americans die every single day from this drug. I mean, it's just astronomical. And, you know, we've used the term poisoning because that's really what it is. It's not an overdose as much as it is fentanyl poisoning in our country. So pulling them to the table, even if they don't want to come, I think has got to be a priority of this administration.Chuck Warren: With Congressman Russell Fry of South Carolina's seventh District, you can join and help us campaign at Russell Fry SC.com or visit him on Twitter. Russell Fry, SC. First, I have two questions. First, is it true you're the eighth grade ping pong champion?Congressman Russell Fry: Oh, yeah. I still got the trophy. It wasn't it wasn't a participation trophy either. It was a real trophy.Chuck Warren: And and and the person you you, you beat, is that person still bitter about that or has he given up? Given up?Congressman Russell Fry: They probably given up. I don't know. Maybe they're bitter. I haven't talked to that person in a while.Chuck Warren: But, you know, I think I think we need a social media post with that trophy.Sam Stone: We'll be coming We'll be coming back with with more from from Congressman Gump here shortly.Chuck Warren: Exactly. All right. We have Hunter Biden and, you know, the press, which is gives the ultimate cover to the Biden administration. First of the laptop two years later, they admit it. Now we have all these alias names, 5000 emails and archives. Tell our audience what on earth is going on. I saw a tweet this morning. I just replied, The easiest way for Biden to solve this just release all the emails if there's nothing there. Right? I mean, just transparency. So tell people a little bit about it and what House Republicans can do to flesh this out more since the press is going to do everything they can to protect President Biden and Hunter.Congressman Russell Fry: Well, they're finally starting to pay attention. And I think that's maybe begrudgingly, maybe they don't want to pay attention, but they're finally starting to take notice of what's going on. But the new the new revelation, you know, look, Hunter Biden or Joe Biden had aliases that they used and that's what the Oversight Committee had subpoenaed. They used aliases, you know, Robin Wear and Robert Peters and, you know, different names that they would use. And so we subpoenaed anything that had to deal with those names or those email addresses. And again, it just shows a pattern of conduct with this family. You look at the text messages, you look at the emails, you look at the use of the term the big guy. You look at the 1023 that was released, you look at the the bank transactions and the money that flows from, at this point, four companies ultimately layered through kind of a series of money laundering actions and funneled into 20 LLCs that are all connected to multiple members of the Biden family. So this this again, just shows a course of conduct.Chuck Warren: And what people, family and what people don't understand is I own several companies, so I have various LLCs for various things. Correct. It takes a lot of work to manage 20 LLCs. You get filings, you get taxes. I mean, so this wasn't done just. To be. I mean, it was done more to be clever and hide something. They don't seem done.Sam Stone: Admittedly, they don't seem to have paid a lot of attention to the taxes part.Chuck Warren: No, but would you agree with that? I mean, doing 20 LLCs. I mean, it takes a lot of work.Congressman Russell Fry: Oh, it's a headache. And most of these LLCs were actually formed while Joe was vice president. That's that's kind of alarming. But to see and I think there was a quote in the 1023. You all have seen it. Your listeners have seen it as well. But it was toward the bottom. And the guy says it will take investigators ten years to figure out what's going on. And that's kind of proven true. I mean, we're on year I think, eight at this point, but it's taken that long because no one, DOJ and others didn't want to actually investigate this. But to when you're dealing with financial stuff, it's just so nebulous and it's hard to follow and it's hard to track and it's hard to keep people's attention. But there is enough smoke here that people realize what's going on. And I think that's why the work that we've done so far has been incredibly important on this and also why I think that this is headed toward an impeachment inquiry. It doesn't mean impeachment. You still have to do your homework and make sure you do your job. But at this point, there's just enough there. There's way more than enough to launch that process.Chuck Warren: We have about 30s left with you. Tell our audience, tell your constituents why you have faith in America's future.Congressman Russell Fry: Because I have faith in the American people and their resolve and their ability to take large amounts of information, synthesize them and make an opinion. We're seeing people wake up in a powerful way right now. And and it's not just Republicans. It's really everybody realizing what's going on. The people control this country. They always have. And they see what's going on is is, you know, shameful. But they're ready for for a better tomorrow.Sam Stone: Fantastic. Thank you so much, Congressman. We very much appreciate your time today. Folks, you can follow him. Chuck, what was that?Chuck Warren: You can follow him on Twitter, Russell Fry, SC, or you can also visit his website. Russell Frysc.com contribute, volunteer, get involved. He's doing the great work and help him out. Congressman, thank you.Congressman Russell Fry: Thank you all.Chuck Warren: Have a great weekend.Sam Stone: Folks, more from breaking battlegrounds. We're back in just a moment. Welcome back to Breaking Battlegrounds with the host Chuck Warren and Sam Stone. Big thank you to our first guest up today, Congressman Russell Fry. Fantastic discussion with him. And now we're talking to someone. Frankly, Chuck, I think this is going to be one of the most important congressional races for for Republicans in the country in this coming year. It's going to be close. Well, if you.Chuck Warren: Like honesty in public elections. Yes.Sam Stone: Yeah, Well, some of us still do. Some some of us believe in truth telling, even even on the air here where almost everyone else wants to lie to you. But, folks, we're not doing that. And that's why we have today Kellen Curry, congressional candidate running against Jorge Santos for New York's third Congressional District. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, one of those places where they don't take liars lightly and spent eight years on active duty delivering critical cybersecurity technology for our country's military. After completing two tours in Afghanistan, Kaelin went on to work at J.P. Morgan's corporate and investment banking division in New York City. Kaelin Curry, welcome to the program.Kellen Curry: Hey, how are you? Thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to be talking with you guys this afternoon.Chuck Warren: So tell us, what did the Air Force do to prepare you to run for Congress and to serve in Congress eventually?Kellen Curry: Absolutely. I think, you know, every every part of my experience in the Air Force was extremely positive. You know, the culture of serving the country, which, you know, is a culture that I come from my my you know, I'm a third generation veteran. My parents were public servants. Dad was a retired naval officer. Mom is a is a continues to be a decades long federal civil servant. And so just grew up watching them and and they both worked at Tinker Air Force Base right outside of Oklahoma City. And just, you know, I always wanted to have my own story of service. And so I think it was always in my future and going to the Air Force Academy and serving in the Air Force as an officer, you know, just the lessons of leadership, the lessons of of of being in a team and a group where you don't know who's who's a Republican or who's a Democrat, you just your mission focused. And that's the kind of perspective I bring to politics.Sam Stone: Kellen Considering especially mission focus, one of the things I like about your background, your resume, is the experience in cybersecurity. There are a few people in Congress, in the Senate who are starting to become more aware of that issue. But it's not an area where there's a lot of elected expertise. You talk about mission focus. How much do you think you'll be able to make that your mission to help educate your colleagues about the various issues related to cybersecurity on both sides of the aisle?Kellen Curry: Absolutely. I think the country has been going through and really all of society has really been going through a learning curve when it comes to cybersecurity. And it's really just a matter of how do we defend and safeguard the information that's that's on that's on our networks. And we're so we're such a networked people in in society today. And so, you know, the first and foremost is just, you know, your hygiene on the Internet. You know, when you use the same password for every website. I know some of us are guilty of that. I know I am sometimes, too. It seems like I'm.Sam Stone: Looking across at Chuck right now and laughing. Yeah.Kellen Curry: Yeah, yeah. I think, you know, we live in a in a culture in a society where you got to have a password and login for like everything you touch. And so, you know, that's the first and foremost. And then the other thing is that I think from a national security standpoint is that we just have to invest, we have to invest, and we have to nurture innovation. One of the best things about America is our is our innovative economy, and that flows into our national security. I mean, to the extent that we can nurture that, that innovation in the private sector and then leverage it to use in military applications is what my time in the Air Force was all about. And so, you know, like you said, being able to educate, you know, our lawmakers on how to procure those those technologies, how to make sure that we don't pass regulation, that that stifles that technology is really the biggest thing.Chuck Warren: What do we do about China? I mean, you were in the military, two tours in Afghanistan. What do we do about China? What do your colleagues you worked with, what what do people actually who defend this country think we should be doing with China? Yeah.Kellen Curry: Yeah. Well, first and foremost, we have to not overreact. China for sure is a is a near-peer competitor, as we say, in the military. And so they absolutely should be taken serious. But they have a lot of issues and challenges, social challenges on their end, you know, so so it's not like we're going up against an adversary that we cannot be successful in. I think, you know, going back to the innovative economy that I mentioned earlier, we have to make sure that we remain an innovative and capitalistic economy that can produce technologies of the future. You know, you think about you think about China, so much of what they want to you know, how they want to. Place American superpower is, is really through AI and quantum computing and biotechnology and these other things. So we have to continue to make those investments. We also have to do things. For example, the Merchant Marine Academy is located here in my district. And so when you think about how do we sustain naval power in the South China Sea, the merchant Marines are on the front lines of making sure that we're able to do that because they transport so much equipment and personnel into the South China Sea. So those are just a few things, a couple of things I would say. And then maybe the last is that we have to reinvigorate our all volunteer military force, which is at an all time low in terms of our propensity for people to serve.Sam Stone: And I want to talk more about that. And and the merchant Marine issue you brought up Kellen Curry. We're coming right back with more from him. He's running against Jorge Santos in New York's third Congressional District, breaking battlegrounds. Back in just a moment.Advertisement: At Overstock. We know home is a pretty important place and that's why we believe everyone deserves a home that makes them happy. Whether you're furnishing a new house or apartment or simply looking to update and refresh a few rooms. Overstock has every day free shipping and amazing deals on the beautiful high quality furniture and decor. You need to transform any home into the home of your dreams. Overstock Making Dream homes Come True.Sam Stone: Welcome back to Breaking battlegrounds with your host, Chuck Moran. I'm Sam Stone. We're going to be continuing on in just a moment with more from Kellen Curry, congressional candidate running against Jorge Santos in New York's third Congressional District. But before we do, folks, how's that portfolio of yours doing? Are you making money in this stock market, this Biden economy working out for you? It doesn't seem to be working out for most people. That's why Chuck and I recommend you check out our friends and invest. Why refy.com Go to their website. Invest y refy.com Learn how you can earn up to 10.25% fixed rate of return. That's right up to 10.25% fixed. You can turn your monthly income on or off, compound it, whatever you choose. There's no penalty to your principal if you need to withdraw your money early. This is a fantastic opportunity. So check it out. Go to investyrefy.com or give them a call at 888 yrefy 24 and tell them Chuck and Sam sent you.Chuck Warren: Well, we're with Kellen Curry here. He is running for Congress in New York, three against Jorge Santos. And you can learn more about him at Kellen Currycomb. Sam wants to follow up with some questions on the Merchant Marines.Sam Stone: Go ahead, Sam. Yeah, so that's actually Kellen, thank you for bringing that up because that's actually something that hasn't come up here before. I know a little bit about it from a friend who went through the Merchant Marine Academy. But one of the big underlying issues to national security that I don't think most people understand is our ability to transport goods and troops in wartime crisis. And to do that, you need US flagged carriers and we don't have many of them. And that's a huge issue. And we don't have enough merchant marine sailors. And that's another huge issue.Kellen Curry: Absolutely. I mean, if you if you think about it, over 90% of the ships that come in and out of American ports are, you know, our foreign crews. And so you could expect that in a conflict that China, they will do all they can to put pressure on those foreign crews and on those host governments not to make good on deliveries to our ports. And we saw what can happen with this during the pandemic. You know, when store shelves went bare and, you know, the American economy was crippled, supply chains became dislocated. So we have to be able to continue our economy even if we do get into, you know, a a hot war, if you will, in the South China Sea with with China. But, you know, to your other point, the vast majority of the military's equipment and personnel actually moves on sea. And so we have to have that capability. It has to be something that's real and that's a deterrent effect and that China understands that we can sustain ourselves in a in a naval, you know, in a naval conflict or just a naval operation in in the in that region, particularly in the South China Sea. And so, so much of this capacity over the last, you know, three or 4 or 5 decades has really left our country. And it's it's been outsourced. And so we have to work and think about how we bring more of that capability back to America. You know, we've seen industrial policy in the microchip space, and we're going to have to do a industrial policy to bring the merchant marine presence back to our country, increase the number of sealift officers, the number of merchant Marine officers, which the Merchant Marine Academy produces. And this is you know, this is one of the crown jewels of our district. It's one of the crown jewels of the nation. We need a strong federal partner for that academy. And I look forward to being that in Congress.Sam Stone: You know, one of the things I think that's underreported also, we had a different congressman on our program. Hopefully you'll be joining him in office fairly soon. But one of the things he pointed out was China's aggressive efforts via both partnership and intimidation to essentially deny that chain of Pacific islands that the US used in World War Two to eventually get to Japan. But China realizes that that chain is is our ladder in a Pacific war with them, and they're really doing a lot to take it away. You talk about that ability to deliver equipment that becomes doubly critical in this situation where we can't count on our ability to fly troops and resources into those islands.Kellen Curry: Absolutely. Absolutely. And so much of so much of how we posture to be successful against China is really going to depend on our allies in that region to make sure that we have basing options, that we have places where we can stage and host our troops and our and our equipment in a way that that China can't can't penetrate. And so it's positive that we recently had a trilateral at Camp David with some of the nations there, mainly Japan and South Korea and America. Of course, Japan and South Korea have been, you know, at odds for quite some time. And so our ability to bring those nations together is extremely important. The administration just you know, we did a big bill out of the House that eventually passed the Senate and was signed into law to. To deliver more aid to Taiwan in a way that we haven't done in the past. And so I think the administration just released about two. 2 billion or so to make sure we operationalize that that that that legislation. So that's that's a good thing. I mean, one thing about America that's unrivaled is our alliances around the world. I mean, it's a tremendous source of soft power, the ability of an American president to pick up the phone and call somebody anywhere in the world. And, you know, eight, nine times out of ten get a favorable response is is really, really important. It's going to be important against against the fight against China. So it's good that we have an administration that recognizes that. And that's one area that I do support this administration on.Sam Stone: See, Chuck, I love it when we get congressional candidates and people running for office for the first time who can talk about this whole variety wide range of geopolitical issues, because that kind of knowledge. Kalen Curry that you're just displaying is is rare for people who are entering Congress. And folks, you need to check him out and follow him at Kellen Kellen underscore Curry on Twitter. You can go to his website. Kellen Curry.com Definitely go and check him out there and support this man because we need to bring we need to retain control of Congress. We need smart people there who can talk about issues like we've been talking about. And also we need to restore some integrity to this specific seat, because, quite frankly, Jorge Santos is an embarrassment to every Republican in this country.Chuck Warren: He's a bad Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live skit. Kellen, let me ask you this question. There's two reasons. There's a couple reasons why you said you were running for office besides obviously your service in the Air Force and your tours in Afghanistan. One was running against Jorge Santos because he's ineffective. But number two, you've cited Joe Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan and you called it a disastrous withdrawal. Talk about it a little bit, what that meant to you and the people you served with over there.Kellen Curry: Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was it was heart wrenching, you know, I mean, I spent two tours there. I worked, you know, actually I worked on an old Russian base we were embedded with with our Afghan allies working shoulder to shoulder. It was a very interesting unit. I was I was attached with, you know, we had actually bought about 30 helicopters from the Russians, actually when relations were good in the early 2000. And we were trying to outfit these with new armaments for what was essentially the Afghans, like 82nd Airborne helicopter unit. And so we were doing that work. My job was to do all we could to keep these things in the air and provide all the procurement necessary to do that and to teach the Afghans how to do that as well. And so, you know, you go through things like that. You travel the country doing that work, and then you turn on and you come home and you turn on CNN and you see, you know, people clinging from planes and just the chaos and certainly the 13 Marines that we lost. And there was just there was a better way to exit that country that did not leave, you know, America diminished on the global stage.Kellen Curry: And I think watching that, certainly every veteran that spent time there watching that and then, of course, you know, by going to the Air Force Academy, I had friends that went there that unfortunately did not come back home. And, you know, you internalize all that and and it moves you, you know, emotionally. And then you look over and you see we have somebody here in Congress who's just wholly unfit. And the fact is that our veterans and the American people writ large, they deserve the best leadership that our country can provide so that we can avoid those situations, but also so we can have trust that the agenda that our elected representatives are pursuing is, is the agenda of the people and not their own personal agenda. And so, you know, all of those things, I think moved me to to think about how I could serve again. And and this was something that that that came up. And I did a lot of the research and asked a lot of the questions and eventually got to the point where I decided to go for it. And here I am.Chuck Warren: Well, we certainly need more leaders like you in Congress and you've had some great life experiences. So, for example, you ran the 60m at the Air Force Academy. What did track and field teach you about leadership?Kellen Curry: Yeah, you know, I've always been active in sports. And I think, you know, for me as an athlete, you know, you've got mom and dad there to, you know, to make you into the person that that you that you eventually become. But but something happens in that relationship with coaches and with athletes that's just special. And it enriches the life of a young person. You know, Track did that for me. High school football did that for me. I still stay in touch with coaches from high school. Wait, what.Sam Stone: Position did you play? We got to we got to get the important stuff in here.Kellen Curry: Yeah, I was a I was a defensive back. I didn't have any hands, so I couldn't catch anything. So they put me on that side of the ball. But. But yeah, man, I enjoyed sports of all kind and just the relationship building. Being in the team building and in the lessons that you learn from those experiences, they just make you a well rounded person and and enjoy traveling the country and running track at the Air Force Academy. It was a real highlight for me.Sam Stone: All right. So so now we know you were a DB. So the important question becomes, are you a Deion Sanders DB or are you covering everybody, locking them up or are you Troy Polamalu? You're coming in there to knock their head off?Kellen Curry: I'm covering them up, man.Chuck Warren: Yeah, Yeah. You're a blanket.Kellen Curry: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I was only like £160 soaking wet, so there wasn't a whole lot of hitting I could do, but. But I could run and I could run and chase and cover folks. And so, so really enjoyed the ups and downs of what you learn in that sport and just in sports in general. So really enjoyed competing.Chuck Warren: You worked in investment banking after the Air Force One issue you're going to have to deal with when you're elected is our deficit in national debt are it's just not a path we can continue. What do you propose we do on it? How do we pay down our debt? How do we get our finances in order?Kellen Curry: Yeah, I think the first thing we have to do is we have to be honest with the American people about where we are. I mean, the fact is we're not going to cut our way out of this hole. We're not going to, you know, grow our way out of the hole in terms of, you know, achieving, you know, astronomical GDP growth rates year over year. I think in order to bend the curve on the debt, we're going to have to get away from annual deficit spending at some point. And and listen, we are transitioning right now from a low interest rate environment to a high interest rate environment. So the interest on the debt is going to become more material than what we've seen in the past, and it's going to create more pain. So, you know, some of the first things that I think we're going to have to do is we're going to have to get our arms around how do we make our entitlement programs more solvent. We know that Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, these programs are going to become insolvent here in the next ten, 15, 20 years. And so we've got to get serious about how do we restructure these things and do it in a way where Democrats aren't going to go out and say, oh, here comes the Republicans again. They're going to end these programs as you know it and all that. So so we have we need presidential leadership on this issue to move the country in this direction and get serious about it, because it will become something that that begins to crowd out what we can do in the defense space, the investments that we have to make there, and certainly the investments that we have to make on the domestic side as well. But but the entitlement programs is something that's going to be a forcing a forcing function that makes us get real about how we spend and how we allocate money. We definitely need more members of Congress who are going to hold the line on spending as we go forward here in the next several decades.Sam Stone: Kellen, we have only about two minutes left here before we let you go. What has been the initial response from folks on the ground there in the third Congressional District in New York? You know, as they're learning about you and that you're taking on Santos in this race.Kellen Curry: You know, it's been tremendously positive. I think a lot of a lot of what was in the trajectory of the Santos story, I think at this point here, you know, people on the ground are just kind of sick and tired of hearing about the guy.Chuck Warren: So.Kellen Curry: You know, they they are they are hungry for what comes next. We are the first campaign that's been out there on doorsteps and the reaction has been positive. They want to know who the candidates are, what they're talking about, what their ideas are for moving the district forward. And they're ready for the stain of of of Mr. Santos to be removed. And so I think at this point, we've all kind of learned our lesson, that we have to wake up and make sure we're paying attention in these elections, that we get out and vote and that we know who we're voting for. And so I think you're going to see a lot of people who are just excited about about doing that work as citizens and taking responsibility to make sure that they get to know the candidates. They're getting to know me. I think they like what they hear and what they see, and I think we're going to be successful here.Sam Stone: I love that folks. Thank you so much, Kellen Curry. We really appreciate having you on the program today. Folks. You can follow him at Kellen underscore Curry on Twitter at Kellen Currycomb. Make sure you tune in to breaking battlegrounds next week when we're back on the air. But in the meantime, we always have a little extra segment for our podcast listeners. Go to all your favorite podcast places, download us subscribe, and we'll see you next week.Advertisement: The 2022 political field was intense, so don't get left behind in 2024. If you're running for political office, the first thing on your to do list needs to be securing your name on the web with a your name Web domain from GoDaddy.com. Get yours now.Sam Stone: All right, Welcome to the podcast. Only segment of breaking battlegrounds. Folks. Thank you for tuning in as always. And special thanks to Congressman Russell Fry and Kellen Curry for their appearances today. Fantastic discussions from them. But now we're continuing on with somebody that, frankly, Chuck, I always loved talking to him more than almost any of our guests, friend of the program and repeat returning guest Henry Olsen, Washington Post columnist and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Henry, thank you so much, as always, for joining us.Henry Olsen: Well, thank you, as always for having me back.Chuck Warren: Henry, Tell us about your new podcast, by the way. Let's get a plug for it. Tell us about it. Sure.Henry Olsen: My new podcast is called Beyond the Polls, and I interview leading election analysts and poll analysts every two weeks. And we talk about all things political. We talk about the Republican race and we talk about where Biden is. And I always have somebody from one of the key swing states in my segment called State of Play, where the person who's on the ground knows the state best can give you the lowdown. So it's every two weeks you can find it on all the podcast formulas.Chuck Warren: So since you've been doing that, tell us something that has stood out to you, talking to your guests, a little nugget that has stood out to you.Henry Olsen: The importance of what I'm calling the double doubters, that if you go back to 2016, the reason the polls were upended is that 18% of Americans didn't like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and they switched in the last week from being undecided or third party voters to backing Trump over 20%. My pollsters, analysts are telling me, are double doubters with respect to Biden and Trump. And that's before the mudslinging between them really starts in earnest. That sounds to me like if we do get the rematch that the polls suggest, we're going to get the same sort of late break that may confound the experts.Chuck Warren: So that perfect segue into your your column this week. Trump might have the lead in Iowa, but he has one big weakness. What is that weakness?Henry Olsen: That weakness is churchgoing evangelicals, that they are the group that has swung behind one candidate and propelled them to victory in each of the last three caucuses. Actually, the last four. They gave George W Bush a narrow plurality in 2000. And I spent a week there. And the polls say he's got a lot of support among evangelicals, but the people on the ground may be willing to back him, but they're looking around. They want to see is there somebody better, somebody who supports our values, supports our issues and doesn't have the baggage? Iowa evangelicals historically break late. They wait until the last few months to make a decision. So it's not saying Trump isn't going to win, but don't be surprised if you see them switch to somebody who they think can give them 80% of the fight with 10% of the baggage.Sam Stone: Now, is it just the baggage or are there specific policies that Trump is weak with them on? The one that popped to my mind was Covid and allowing the closure of churches. Is there something like that that's playing?Henry Olsen: I'll tell you, I was surprised in my conversations at the lack of policy disagreements. I would have expected more of the evangelicals to note things like that, but also note his backing away from a strongly pro-life stance, saying that the whole point of overturning Roe was to negotiate without saying what he actually stands for. I did not get that from anybody. I really got a question of that. His long standing concerns about his character remain. And the question of is this guy so tied down by his character and legal problems that he can't effectively beat Joe Biden. And they're really scared of Joe Biden.Chuck Warren: They should be. They should be. Let's do a little switch here and let's talk about the Hunter Biden stuff. Do you feel look, you're in D.C.. You're a columnist for The Washington Post. Do you feel what people call the legacy media is really starting to pay attention to this issue or are they still trying to just sweep it under the floor mat?Henry Olsen: You know, I would say it's between and it depends on which legacy media outlet you're talking about. There's beginning to be enough there, there. Right. You know, in the sense that you just can't ignore some of the things that are now being said under oath as opposed to things that were being speculated about or which relied on, you know, on emails, copies of emails found on laptops. And so I think we're only 1 or 2 revelations away. If those revelations exist of the legacy media actually having to pay much more attention to it. I think they're no longer in the sweep under the rug. They hope that it goes away. But if it doesn't, I think there's been enough there that they actually will have to turn their attention to it.Chuck Warren: Do you find any reasonable explanation why he would have 5000 emails under an alias?Henry Olsen: A reasonable explanation? Yeah.Chuck Warren: I mean, look, I mean, the easy way to handle this is just release them all. If there's nothing there, there's nothing there. Just make it transparency and embarrass the Republicans. That's an easy way to handle this, right? If there's nothing there.Henry Olsen: Yeah, well, I never want to get into the argument that stereotypically is offered by autocratic police departments. If you have nothing to fear, you have nothing to hide.Sam Stone: Guys, guys, I don't know this. I've got to say, this is like going when you've got this. This is like going to the ATM after 3 a.m. Nothing good is going to come from this. When you have fake email addresses and you're in office, nothing good is ever going to come from that.Henry Olsen: Yeah.Henry Olsen: You know, the thing is, I can imagine reasons you would want to do it like evade, you know.Sam Stone: Like did you see Gretchen Whitmer's guy communicating with her in Greek alphabet letters?Chuck Warren: Oh, that's cool.Sam Stone: To avoid FOIA.Henry Olsen: Yeah. No, I hadn't. I hadn't heard about that one. You know, just goes to show they all should have been watching Bill and Ted because I.Chuck Warren: Think there's.Henry Olsen: Greek alphabets when Bill interviewed Socrates. But.Henry Olsen: You know.Henry Olsen: I can imagine good reasons for 5000 emails under multiple aliases, depending who he's communicating with. But again, the thing is, at some point, we're going to find out at least some of them. And if they aren't benign, you know, like personal stuff, that you just don't want to have somebody you know, somebody who's you're concerned about hacking and they'll looking for the words Joe Biden. I could imagine that if you were a foreign government and you might want to have malware placed on Joe Biden's personal friends and anything that says Joe Biden gets sent to Beijing. Yeah, I can imagine that as a vice president and wanting to avoid things like that. But again, we'll see whether eventually some of these will be produced. May not be 5000, may be 200, maybe 500. And we'll see what they say.Chuck Warren: Interesting. If we wrap up here, anything you think we should be looking for here in news the next month or two? Something that's going to pop up that you feel we should keep our eyes on?Henry Olsen: You know, I think there's the usual, you know, who knows what's going to happen in the counteroffensive in Ukraine? Who knows what's going to happen with the Chinese economy. I would say, though, that, you know, the second debate is going to take place at the end of the month, September 27th, out at the Reagan Library. And it's going to be make or break time for some of these people. You know that the one in Milwaukee was really kind of first impression, kind of like speed dating. The second one is going to find out whether anybody wants to return the phone call. And so I think you're going to see a little bit more fire, a little bit more opposition. And it could be that somebody breaks out or somebody crashes to the earth.Sam Stone: I would like to see a couple more people drop out before then. I would narrow it to 4 or 5 maybe.Chuck Warren: I think what's really impressive is the cultural references Henry's used today speed dating and Bill and Ted. That's the most amazing thing of this aspect today. One last question. One last question, Henry. I think Republicans have a really good chance of taking the Senate. What are your thoughts?Henry Olsen: Absolutely. I think they should be the favorites. Even if Biden wins re-election. That has to do with the math. Yes. You know, so poll came out today or yesterday from a respected pollster showed Jon Tester only getting 43% against either of his opponents, Sherrod Brown. There's been polls show that Brown's in a neck and neck race. But the important thing is where is the longtime incumbent? And he's sitting at 45%, which is roughly around where a Democrat should get flip those two seats. The Republicans control the Senate. And then you've got all the other seats. This is a map that heavily favors Republicans. Joe Manchin haven't even mentioned him. You know, these are three states that Trump carried by between 6 and 30 something points. It's just hard to see where Republicans don't get those 2 or 3 seats. And then it's very hard to see how they would lose other seats that they hold given what are up to throw control back to the Democrats?Chuck Warren: Well, being a Republican, I have complete faith my party can blow it one way or another. So amen.Sam Stone: Amen. Our skills are legendary.Chuck Warren: Henry Olsen, thanks a million for visiting with us today.Henry Olsen: Thanks for having me on.Chuck Warren: Folks. This is breaking battlegrounds. We hope you've enjoyed this week's show and we'll be back next week. And if you can visit us at Breaking Battlegrounds or anywhere you find your podcasts. Have a great weekend. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com

Attorney Scott Kuboff is a partner at Lowe Scott Fisher Co., LPA, focusing his litigation practice on personal injury, bicycle accident claims, medical negligence, and wrongful death. Scott attended the University of Toledo where he earned a Bachelor's of Business Administration and graduated cum laude with College Honors.  Scott then attended Cleveland State University College of Law where he was the President of the Student Bar Association and active in Moot Court. Following his graduation, Scott immediately began his practice with a prominent Cleveland criminal defense firm where he gained extensive courtroom and trial experience.  In 2013, Scott transitioned his practice to helping people injured by the carelessness and recklessness of others; representing injured individuals in automobile collisions, bicycle collisions, dental negligence and medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, and school injury claims.   As an avid cyclist and trail runner, Scott is a true advocate for the families of cyclists and pedestrians who have been injured on Ohio's roadways.  He is a regular presenter on bicycle accident and pedestrian laws to the legal community as well as local cycling and multisport clubs. Scott currently serves on the Executive Board of the Cleveland Academy of Trial Attorneys, the Board of Trustees for the Cleveland State Law Alumni Association, and is the Assistant Cubmaster for Pack 3269 in Aurora. In his spare time, Scott loves spending time outdoors with his wife, Teri, and two boys, Carter and Max.   You're just as likely to find the Kuboff's fishing at LaDue or West Branch as you will camping at one of the Geauga Parks or hiking through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottkuboff Lowe Scott Fisher Co., LPA : https://lsflaw.com/ Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://emotiontrac.com/calendly/

Attorney Scott Kuboff is a partner at Lowe Scott Fisher Co., LPA, focusing his litigation practice on personal injury, bicycle accident claims, medical negligence, and wrongful death. Scott attended the University of Toledo where he earned a Bachelor's of Business Administration and graduated cum laude with College Honors.  Scott then attended Cleveland State University College of Law where he was the President of the Student Bar Association and active in Moot Court. Following his graduation, Scott immediately began his practice with a prominent Cleveland criminal defense firm where he gained extensive courtroom and trial experience.  In 2013, Scott transitioned his practice to helping people injured by the carelessness and recklessness of others; representing injured individuals in automobile collisions, bicycle collisions, dental negligence and medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, and school injury claims.   As an avid cyclist and trail runner, Scott is a true advocate for the families of cyclists and pedestrians who have been injured on Ohio's roadways.  He is a regular presenter on bicycle accident and pedestrian laws to the legal community as well as local cycling and multisport clubs. Scott currently serves on the Executive Board of the Cleveland Academy of Trial Attorneys, the Board of Trustees for the Cleveland State Law Alumni Association, and is the Assistant Cubmaster for Pack 3269 in Aurora. In his spare time, Scott loves spending time outdoors with his wife, Teri, and two boys, Carter and Max.   You're just as likely to find the Kuboff's fishing at LaDue or West Branch as you will camping at one of the Geauga Parks or hiking through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottkuboff Lowe Scott Fisher Co., LPA : https://lsflaw.com/ Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://emotiontrac.com/calendly/

In Episode 1, I sit down with my friend Khamisie Green. Khamisie is a law student, minister, and father! He is concluding an internship with Lockheed Martin and he is making waves on the Campus of Texas Southern University (TSU) at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Khamisie serves as the Chief of Staff for the Student Bar Association, Vice President of the Black Law Association, and was recently selected for Thurgood Marshall's Law Review! 

In recent years, many of us have grown increasingly concerned with the state of religious freedom in our country. This week, Matt Krause shares how First Liberty Institute is protecting religious freedom for all Americans.  Episode At A Glance: This week on The SavvyCast, Matt Krause joins me to talk about First Liberty Institue. First Liberty is the nation's largest legal organization dedicated exclusively to defending Americans' religious liberty. While most of their clients are Protestant Christians, First Liberty will represent anyone no matter their religion, and they have a win rate of over 90%. In this episode, Matt shares how First Liberty is protecting religious freedom, how everyday people can make a difference in this fight, and so much more!  Who Is Matt Krause? Matt Krause serves as Of Counsel with First Liberty Institute. Along with litigation matters, Matt helps in a variety of other areas such as donor development and media outreach. He is currently finishing up his fifth term in the Texas House of Representatives. Since 2013, he has represented House District 93 in Tarrant County. He currently serves as the Chairman of the General Investigating Committee. During his five terms in the House, Matt has consistently been recognized for his efforts to defend and advance religious liberties. Additionally, Texas Values has named him a “Faith and Family Champion” several times. He has also received special recognition from pro-life groups for his efforts to defend the preborn. Matt was a founder and Co-Chairman of the Texas Prayer Caucus and a founder and officer of the Texas Freedom Caucus. Prior to joining the Texas Legislature, Matt ran the Texas office for a national non-profit constitutional litigation firm. Matt was also part of the inaugural class at Liberty University School of Law. During his time in law school, Matt served as the President of the Student Bar Association, was an Editor for the Law Review, and was a member of the national moot court team. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and is licensed by the State Bar of Texas. Questions Answered In This Episode: What is First Liberty doing to protect everyone's religious freedoms, even those who are not religious? How is First Liberty structured differently than a typical legal institution? How do they use affiliate attorneys? What is the lemon test? And what is the history and tradition test? What is the history behind our country limiting public displays of religion? How can YOU make a difference in the fight for religious freedom? Resources Mentioned In This Episode: For anyone watching or listening who is an attorney and wants to get involved, call First Liberty: 972-941-4444 Restoring Faith in America First Liberty's IG First Liberty's Website First Liberty Live! Podcast I hope you enjoyed this episode! As always, if you have time to rate, review and subscribe to The SavvyCast on Apple Podcasts, it would be SO appreciated! If you would prefer to watch the podcast interview, check it out on Youtube. Blessings to you! If you like this podcast, check these out:  Let's Talk: Q & A with Congressman Gary Palmer Meteorologist Ashley Gann Shares All Things About Her Job, Family, And Faith  

Claire Stratton ‘23 is nearing the end of her time here at Albany Law School but - as she might say - BOY HOWDY did she make the most of it! The outgoing SBA President and Editor in Chief of the  Journal of Sci. & Tech. joins this week's podcast! Student Organizations at Albany Law School: https://www.albanylaw.edu/student-organizations 2023 Barrister's Ball: https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanylaw/albums/72177720307770256 Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology: https://www.albanylawscitech.org/ Student Bar Association at Albany Law School: https://albanylawsba.org/

On this episode of How To Sell a Business Podcast, Scott Oliver, Director at Lewis Kappes, joined host Ed Mysogland to talk about how to make sure a deal is compliant. They covered the process of reviewing proposed deals and preparing them for SBA compliance, the importance of using a seasoned SBA legal counsel, factors that can create problems, how to best work with SBA counsel, standby notes, and more. Lewis Kappes Headquartered in downtown Indianapolis, Lewis Kappes offers the depth and experience you would expect from a large law firm, with the responsiveness and attention you would receive from a small firm. They take a team approach to help you achieve your goals. This allows them to adapt to developments and react quickly and efficiently to pressing matters, while placing the diverse experience and expertise of the entire firm at your disposal. Lewis Kappes is a proud member of the Law Firm Alliance (LFA). Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter Scott Oliver, Director, Lewis Kappes Scott Oliver practices in the areas of commercial finance, real estate, and corporate transactions. He represents state and national banks involved in commercial financing, as well as clients involved in business/real estate transactions, including: real estate acquisitions/sales, business acquisitions/sales, leases, entity formation and governance, commercial issues, contract preparation, contract negotiations, and compliance. As a closing attorney, Scott represents banks and non-bank lenders involved in SBA and conventional financing. He works in all stages of the lending process, including credit review, compliance, eligibility, lien perfection, title review/negotiations, preparation of security instruments/loan documents, subordination/intercreditor agreements, workouts, collections, foreclosure, and bankruptcy. Over the course of his career, Scott has closed hundreds of SBA 7(a) loans, SBA 504 loans, SBA CAPLine loans, and a wide range of conventional facilities. While stationed in the heart of Indianapolis, his team has closed transactions throughout the country in all 50 states. Through his corporate practice, Scott represents a variety of businesses, from closely held corporations to multi-million dollar entities. He advises clients in transactions involving real estate matters, acquisitions, sales, partner buyouts, and general commercial contracts and disputes. His representation also involves guiding new and emerging companies through entity selection, formation, growth, and governance. Outside of his traditional practice areas, Scott is an Adjunct Professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, teaching Legal Communication and Analysis. He is an active member of the Indianapolis Bar Association where he holds various leadership positions and manages small and large-scale events for the local community. Scott earned his B.A. from Purdue University, where he graduated with highest distinction and served as the graduation commencement speaker. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. During law school, Scott was the President of the Student Bar Association, a member of the Moot Court Executive Board, Vice Magister of Phi Delta Phi, a legal research and writing tutor, and a student teacher at Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. LinkedIn Ed Mysogland, Host of How To Sell a Business Podcast The How To Sell a Business Podcast combines 30 years of exit planning, valuation, and exit execution working with business owners. Ed Mysogland has a mission and vision to help business owners understand the value of their business and what makes it salable. Most of the small business owner's net worth is locked in the company; to unlock it, a business owner has to sell it. Unfortunately, the odds are against business owners that they won't be able to sell their companies because they don't know what creates a saleable asset. Ed interviews battle-tested experts who help business owners prepare, build, preserve, and one-day transfer value with the sale of the business for maximum value. Ed is the Managing Partner of Indiana Business Advisors. He guides the development of the organization, its knowledge strategy, and the IBA initiative, which is to continue to be Indiana's premier business brokerage by bringing investment-banker-caliber of transactional advisory services to small and mid-sized businesses. Over the last 29 years, Ed has been appraising and providing pre-sale consulting services for small and medium-size privately-held businesses as part of the brokerage process. He has worked with entrepreneurs of every pedigree and offers a unique insight into consulting with them toward a successful outcome. Connect with Ed: LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook

This episode is recorded at the end of January 2023 in order to serve as a recap of the 2022 year in immigration law and policy in the United States as well as the developments so far in January 2023. 2022 marked the continuation of prosecutorial discretion  and the Uniting for Ukraine program by the Biden administration but was also marked by litigation attempting to bring down the prosecutorial discretion flexibility for ICE and USCIS officers and trial attorneys as well as further litigation by restrictionist immigration groups looking to bring down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) with a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in October 2022 partially affirming the denial by the district court of part of the 2012 program and a remand for a new decision on part of the case..  2023 saw the announcement of parole for Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans building upon a program for Ukrainians and later Venezuelans to be paroled in 2022. Jessica is joined by Miami based attorney Tamika Grace Judge of Jude Law  in Florida. In these episodes we discuss: Tamika's life and education in Dominica and her representation of clients from the Caribbean; Tamika's work with different populations especially and Haitians in particular; Tough cases Tamika and Jessica have handled and how they managed these legal issues; The intersection of the criminal justice and immigration systems and how those systems can be biased against certain people or groups: Tamika's experience in representing black immigrants in contrast to people of other backgrounds; The January 5, 2023 announcement by the Biden administration regarding parole mentioned above; the winding down of TItle 42 and the expanded use of expedited removal as well as the use of a new CBP app for phone/computer use required for all asylum applicants and parolees entering recently; The recommendations of Jessica and Tamika for best practices including not to rely on anecdotal advice from family members or neighbors. JESSICA SMITH BOBADILLA, ATTORNEY (HOST)  Jessica Smith Bobadilla is an attorney, former law professor, expert witness and media commentator on all things immigration and human rights related. You can contact her practice in California at http://www.attorneyjessica.com or (559) 264-2500.  You can also follow the podcast on Facebook and Instagram at I Am Attorney Jessica and send us an email with show suggestions or feedback at iamattorneyjessicapodcast@gmail.com TAMIKA GRACE JUDE, ESQ. (GUEST)  Tamika Grace Jude, Esq. is an attorney licensed to practice in the state of New Jersey. (If you are located in another state, don't worry. Immigration law is Federal and Attorney Jude is able to practice Immigration Law in all 50 states.) Attorney Jude is an immigrant from the beautiful island of Dominica in the Caribbean. As an immigrant herself, she is very familiar with the immigration process. After completing her Associates Degrees at the Dominica State College, she attended the University of the Virgin Islands where she pursued two Bachelors Degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She was very passionate about immigration law and went on to Barry University-Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, where she graduated with her Jurist Doctor Degree and a Litigation Honors Certificate. Attorney Jude served as an Associate Editor for the Barry University Environmental Earth Law Journal, served within the Student Bar Association as a senator for all three years of law school, worked in the Immigration Clinic, was a member of the Trial Team and was on the executive board of multiple student organizations on campus including the Immigration Law society and is a member of Phi Alpha Delta. She was also the recipient of an immigration stipend from Barry University. While at law school she volunteered with a small law firm in Orlando Florida and participated in free naturalization clinics for the community. Since graduation, she served as a law clerk for an immigration firm in Vienna, Virginia. These experiences have equipped her with the knowledge necessary to be a successful immigration attorney. She has filed multiple petitions, represented clients in removal proceedings and prides herself on providing excellent customer service and always being available to her clients.   Tamika can be contacted at info@judelawoffice.com or at (305) 859-4519.  You can also follow her on Facebook at JudeLawllc.

This episode is recorded at the end of January 2023 in order to serve as a recap of the 2022 year in immigration law and policy in the United States as well as the developments so far in January 2023. 2022 marked the continuation of prosecutorial discretion  and the Uniting for Ukraine program by the Biden administration but was also marked by litigation attempting to bring down the prosecutorial discretion flexibility for ICE and USCIS officers and trial attorneys as well as further litigation by restrictionist immigration groups looking to bring down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) with a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in October 2022 partially affirming the denial by the district court of part of the 2012 program and a remand for a new decision on part of the case..  2023 saw the announcement of parole for Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans building upon a program for Ukrainians and later Venezuelans to be paroled in 2022. Jessica is joined by Miami based attorney Tamika Grace Judge of Jude Law  in Florida. In these episodes we discuss: Tamika's life and education in Dominica and her representation of clients from the Caribbean; Tamika's work with different populations especially and Haitians in particular; Tough cases Tamika and Jessica have handled and how they managed these legal issues; The intersection of the criminal justice and immigration systems and how those systems can be biased against certain people or groups: Tamika's experience in representing black immigrants in contrast to people of other backgrounds; The January 5, 2023 announcement by the Biden administration regarding parole mentioned above; the winding down of TItle 42 and the expanded use of expedited removal as well as the use of a new CBP app for phone/computer use required for all asylum applicants and parolees entering recently; The recommendations of Jessica and Tamika for best practices including not to rely on anecdotal advice from family members or neighbors. JESSICA SMITH BOBADILLA, ATTORNEY (HOST)  Jessica Smith Bobadilla is an attorney, former law professor, expert witness and media commentator on all things immigration and human rights related. You can contact her practice in California at http://www.attorneyjessica.com or (559) 264-2500.  You can also follow the podcast on Facebook and Instagram at I Am Attorney Jessica and send us an email with show suggestions or feedback at iamattorneyjessicapodcast@gmail.com TAMIKA GRACE JUDE, ESQ. (GUEST)  Tamika Grace Jude, Esq. is an attorney licensed to practice in the state of New Jersey. (If you are located in another state, don't worry. Immigration law is Federal and Attorney Jude is able to practice Immigration Law in all 50 states.) Attorney Jude is an immigrant from the beautiful island of Dominica in the Caribbean. As an immigrant herself, she is very familiar with the immigration process. After completing her Associates Degrees at the Dominica State College, she attended the University of the Virgin Islands where she pursued two Bachelors Degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She was very passionate about immigration law and went on to Barry University-Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, where she graduated with her Jurist Doctor Degree and a Litigation Honors Certificate. Attorney Jude served as an Associate Editor for the Barry University Environmental Earth Law Journal, served within the Student Bar Association as a senator for all three years of law school, worked in the Immigration Clinic, was a member of the Trial Team and was on the executive board of multiple student organizations on campus including the Immigration Law society and is a member of Phi Alpha Delta. She was also the recipient of an immigration stipend from Barry University. While at law school she volunteered with a small law firm in Orlando Florida and participated in free naturalization clinics for the community. Since graduation, she served as a law clerk for an immigration firm in Vienna, Virginia. These experiences have equipped her with the knowledge necessary to be a successful immigration attorney. She has filed multiple petitions, represented clients in removal proceedings and prides herself on providing excellent customer service and always being available to her clients.   Tamika can be contacted at info@judelawoffice.com or at (305) 859-4519.  You can also follow her on Facebook at JudeLawllc.

We have the amazing privilege to have Chris Marohn on this episode where he shares a valuable story from early in his career to remind us to surround ourselves with smart people who are willing to disagree with us. Chris illustrates the value of meeting people where they are while taking the time to communicate to people that they are important and that their voices are heard. He advocates for mental health awareness and reminds us that there is a lot of work trauma in many of our past experiences. He shares that we aren't the person that can reach everyone, but we can show them enough love to get them moving in a positive direction. We don't have to do things the way they have always been done and we need to work harder to recognize our own implicit biases. Many don't want to face or even overcome their biases because it would force them to change or leave their comfort zone. We can lead others even those we don't have authority over by showing interest in them and by asking for their sincere help because people want to feel needed and connected and that is why we need to take the time to get to know them and pay attention to the members on our teams so we can help offer them right opportunities to grow at the most opportune time.    Chris started his career in politics. He was encouraged by all those around him to get involved and make the changes he wanted to see in the world. During his high school and undergraduate years, he worked with various political and policy organizations to help farmworkers in the Sacramento Valley. He continued his passion for elimination of bias and anti-racism during his time working at various levels of political campaigning and government. He has served in posts from Washington DC to local city government in the pursuit of equity under the law.   Currently, Chris is working with The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law as the Director of Employer Relations in the Office of Career and Employment Services. Previously, he was the Director of the Continuing Legal Education program at ASU Law. In his current role, Chris, is responsible for Diversity Summer Clerkship hiring and advising. He meets with students of diverse backgrounds encouraging and mentoring them into achieving their legal career goals, while trying to diversify the legal profession. Chris has recently been tasked with overseeing the pipeline to law school program with Phoenix Unified School District, with the focus of helping underserved communities get the tools needed to be successful in law school.   Chris graduated in 2012 from Monterey College of Law in Monterey, California. During this time we worked full time, campaigned for members of congress and local office, was president of the Student Bar Association and local chapter of Delta Theta Phi.   Chris and his wife, Megan, have been married for ten years and are passionate about advocacy in ending Breed Specific Legislation, as they have a loving American Staffordshire Terrier, and coaching Special Olympics Baseball.   Resources & Links: Take Tests on Implicit Bias - Implicit Association Tests https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html    Christopher Marohn - Building Bridges: Tim Overton  https://jrcls.org/articles/building-bridges-tim-overton   Carl Hanson - Something About Mental Health https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/carl-l-hanson/something-about-mental-health/         

Diana C. Schimmel, Esq. has been practicing family law for over a decade. She works with families in the Greater Philadelphia area, South and Central New Jersey. In addition to guiding families through the difficulties divorce and custody matters can cause, she also focuses her practice on building families through the adoption process. Diana earned her Juris Doctorate from the Widener University Commonwealth School of Law in Harrisburg, PA. As a law student, she was a member of the Student Bar Association as well as an associate staff member and then a senior staff member of Widener Law Journal. Diana earned her Bachelor of Arts in Government & International Politics with a minor in Dance from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Diana served as the interim law clerk to Judge Donna M. Woelpper in the Family Court of Philadelphia, Juvenile Dependency Branch. She also worked as a child advocate attorney for the Defender Association of Philadelphia in its Child Advocacy Unit. She opened Schimmel Family Law in 2013 and worked as a solo practitioner for almost four years before partnering with two other local family law attorneys. She is the co-founder of the Young Professionals Council of The Field Center for Children's Policy, Practice and Research and of the Adoption Professionals Council of HelpUsAdopt.org. She is a member of the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Burlington and Mercer County Bar Associations, all in their family law subdivisions. She also volunteers with the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program, The Montgomery Child Advocacy Project, The Support Center for Child Advocates and The Women's Resource Center. She has been selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers' annual Rising Stars List since 2014, and she was named a Lawyer on the Fast Track by The Legal Intelligencer – a prestigious award she earned as one of its youngest recipients. Diana was also listed as a Top Family Law Attorney by Philadelphia Life Magazine every year since 2014, and she was named Best Overall Advocate by the Widener Intensive Trial Advocacy Program. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and daughter. Listen to this informative The Confident Retirement episode with Diana Schimmel about family law and adoptions.   Here is what to expect on this week's show: The biggest takeaway from Diana's time as a clerk. What is Diana's exact ideal client for the practice? Important things to guide you through an insurance process The biggest opportunity for her and the firm. The grey divorce group is the fastest growing.   Connect with Diana: https://familylawmks.com/diana-c-schimmel-esq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-c-schimmel-57045a63/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marlie H. Willer is an experienced trial lawyer that has dedicated her practice to 100% litigation. Marlie focuses her practice on medical malpractice, with a particular emphasis in obstetric negligence. She has successfully litigated hundreds of brachial plexus cases across the country. Throughout her career, she has advocated for children and families in states including Massachusetts, Maine, Wisconsin, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Tennessee, Washington, and Oklahoma. Marlie believes that every family and child that has been injured due to no fault of their own deserves to have a voice. Families and children that have suffered birth trauma are often left in the dark and sent home without any explanation other than – well these things happen. As a mother herself, Marlie has a great appreciation for the confusion and concern that the parents of children injured at birth face. As a practitioner, she aims to comfort and accompany families during this difficult time—while advocating aggressively in court on behalf of injured children and their families. Marlie earned her undergraduate degree from Boston University in philosophy and cultural gender studies. Marlie went on to receive her law degree from New England Law Boston, where she served as an Ambassador for the Student Bar Association and was inducted into the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. Before opening her own practice, Marlie worked at Kenneth M. Levine & Associates, a nationally recognized birth injury firm, for a decade honing her skills in the courtroom and learning the medicine of obstetrical birth injuries. Marlie has been a guest speaker at the United Brachial Plexus Camp and the New England Brachial Plexus Group Family Day. Marlie was a co-speaker with Kenneth M. Levine & Associates at the AAJ Brachial Plexus Seminar where she discussed attacking ACOG's Neonatal Brachial Plexus Palsy pathophysiology and causation theory. Marlie's pro bono work includes representing clients in family law and landlord-tenant cases for the Volunteer Lawyers Project, along with representing minor clients in immigration status actions through Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). When not in the office, you can find Marlie enjoying the outdoors with her family hiking and skiing. Website Lirowillerlaw.com Social Media Handles @birthinjurylaw

Claire Stratton does it all at Albany Law School, but we will just stay out of the way and let her speak for herself! A fixture among the current students, she is the Executive President of the Student Bar Association and the Editor-in-Chief of the Albany Law Journal Science and Technology Vol. 33. Coming to the school all the way from Texas amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, Claire Stratton loves it on New Scotland Ave and the school owes a debt of gratitude to the high school counselor that directed her toward a path in law. Albany Law School Student Bar Association: https://albanylawsba.org/ Albany Law Journal of Science & Technology: https://www.albanylawscitech.org/ Albany Law on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanylaw/albums Keenan Loder ‘23 - Editor-in-Chief of Albany Law Review, Vol. 86: https://soundcloud.com/user-952955809-873766748/keenan-loder-23-editor-in-chief-of-albany-law-review-vol-86 Jenean Taranto selected as Associate Dean of Student Affairs: https://www.albanylaw.edu/about/news/jenean-taranto-selected-associate-dean-student-affairs Rosemary Queenan selected as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs: https://www.albanylaw.edu/about/news/rosemary-queenan-selected-associate-dean-academic-affairs

Today in the Big Chair... We have Joe Briggs! Listen as we discuss why you should give more respect than expected; Why make the pivot to a lawyer?; How to multitask; Excellent work product beats presentation; Being intentional with your downtime. _______________ Thanks for listening! Follow our host on Marlynn Jones, TheCareerSkillsArchitect on https://my.captivate.fm/dashboard/podcast/db7b0fcb-faf0-4ca7-bdec-6018fb02238e/LinkedIn,https://www.linkedin.com/company/career-skills-architect/ (LinkedIn,) https://facebook.com/careerskillsarchitect/ (Facebook), and https://www.instagram.com/mjones_careerskillsarchitect/ (Instagram). https://www.justeldredgemedia.com/ (This is a JustEldredge Media Production) --------------------- After working in corporate America for a few years, Mr. Briggs transitioned into education as the Special Assistant to the President of Florida A&M University while also pursuing a master's degree at the same institution as a State University System Fellow. Once he completed his master's degree, Mr. Briggs decided to further his education goals once again at the Florida State University College of Law earning his juris doctorate in 2006. During his time in law school, Mr. Briggs was employed as a law clerk by the top tier public finance firm Bryant Miller Olive and was also selected as a United States Senate Legal Extern. Mr. Briggs also completed two years of national leadership on the National Black Law Students Association Executive Board while also serving as a Lieutenant Governor in the ABA Law Student Division, Vice President of the Student Bar Association, and a member of his law school trial team. After completing his externship as a US Senate Legal Fellow, Mr. Briggs was hired by the NFL Players Association to manage their Financial Programs Department. Currently, he is the Public Policy Counsel of the NFLPA and the first individual to lead the NFLPA Government Relations Department. Mr. Briggs is also a professor at Georgetown University and often speaks on subjects ranging from politics to sports and everything in between.

Speakers:Bonnie Stepleton, Director of Student and Career Services at the UNM School of Law and a member of the NM Well-Being Committee.Christina Bustamante, first-year law student at UNM School of Law, 1L representative of the Student Bar Association's Well-Being Committee, and the law school representative to the NM Well-Being Committee.Mark Blosser, second-year law student at the University of New Mexico and member of the Student Bar Association's Well-Being Committee.Thank you for listening! This episode was produced by the State Bar of New Mexico's Well-Being Committee and the New Mexico Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program. All editing and sound mixing was done by BlueSky eLearn. Intro music is by Gil Flores. The views of the presenters are that of their own and are not endorsed by the State Bar of New Mexico. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment or legal advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Lloyd SegalFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaLloyd Segal (born 22 March 1948) is the President of the Los Angeles Real Estate Investors Club, author, real estate investor, mentor, and national public speaker.[1][2] He is also the former President of the Will Rogers Polo Club.[9]Early life and educationLloyd Segal was born and raised in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He is the eldest of five children of Seretta (nee Ruben) and Harold Segal, both business leaders in Pittsburgh.  The family belonged to the Tree of Life Synagogue, where Segal celebrated his bar mitzvah.Segal attended Wightman Elementary School and Taylor Allderdice High School, graduating in 1966. In high school, Segal was on the cross-country, basketball, and debate teams. In the summer after graduating high school, Segal worked for Jett's Traveling Circus and Petting Zoo, traveling all over the Midwest. During his senior year, Segal was the student producer of the television program “Our Place” on WQED-TV. During the summer of 1965, Segal attended Camp Graylag in Pittsfield, New Hampshire. The camp was owned and operated by legendary Boston Celtic and basketball Hall of Fame star Bob Cousy.Segal attended Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, from 1966 to 1970, graduating with honors in Business Administration, pre-law.  In his freshman year, Segal was a disc jockey on WTBU-AM, the university's popular radio station.  During his senior year, Segal was Concert Director, producing musical concerts on campus, including The Who, James Taylor, the Jefferson Airplane, Richie Havens, Dione Warwick, Seals & Crofts, Buddy Miles, Tim Hardin, Chamber Brothers, Tom Rush, Melanie, Chicago, and Chuck Berry.  After graduation, Segal hitch-hiked across Europe and then spent a year as a volunteer at Kibbutz Amir, in Kiryat Shimona, Israel.After taking two years off, Segal attended Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, graduating with a Juris Doctor in 1975. During his junior year at Southwestern, Segal originated the University's Speakers Program and acted as its Chairman. He brought such legal scholars to the school as former U.S. Supreme Court Judge Tom Clark, attorney Louis Nizer, Watergate attorney (and future TV star) Fred Thompson, former attorney general Ramsey Clark, author Mark Lane, Secretary of Interior Stewart Udall, Presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy, attorney F. Lee Bailey, Robert Kennedy's campaign director, Frank Mankiewicz, California Supreme Court Justice Stanley Mosk, and Congressman Paul McCloskey.  At the end of the school year, Segal was awarded a “Distinguished Service Award” by Southwestern's Student Bar Association.  In his senior year, Segal was elected President of the Student Bar Association.  During his senior year as President of the SBA, Segal also wrote a weekly column entitled “The President's Message” in the law school newspaper, “The Commentator.”  In addition, Segal wrote an opinion piece entitled “Glut of White Faces” which was published in the January 1975 edition of Juris Doctor national magazine.  By the end of his senior year, Segal was selected for the 1974-75 edition of the “Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.”  Southwestern's Student Bar Association also honored Segal with its highest award, “Certificate of Distinguished Service,” the first time a student had won the award two years in a row.  On March 9, 1975, the American Bar Association (law student division) honored Segal with an award for “In recognition of Outstanding Contribution.”  Segal also studied international law at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.[11]CareerSegal began his legal career in 1977 as an attorney at Diamond, Tilem, Colden and Emery, in Beverly Hills, California, specializing in entertainment law, with an emphasis on music performers and recording artists. In 1978, Segal transitioned to Of Counsel to the law firm so that he could open..

Tucker Merrigan is a partner at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP along with his brother, Peter M. Merrigan, and his father, Thomas T. Merrigan. He represents individual clients throughout Massachusetts and the U.S.    Merrigan's practice concentrates on cases involving personal injury, defective medical devices, dangerous drugs, wrongful death, premises liability, products liability, medical malpractice, and insurance law. In both 2015 and 2016, he was named a Top 40 Under 40 Trial Attorney by the National Trial Lawyers.    Merrigan earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Tufts University. As an undergraduate, Merrigan was captain of the Varsity Men's lacrosse team at Tufts, earning All-American and Scholar All-America honors.    He then went on to graduate with Dean's Honors from New England School of Law. As a law student, he served on the board of the Student Bar Association.    Merrigan is currently a member of the American Association for Justice, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, the Boston Bar Association, and Massachusetts Bar Association.  He serves as a Big-Brother in the Big-Brother Big-Sister foundation of Greater Boston.   On the show, Merrigan discusses the entrepreneurship required to manage a thriving law practice and positive developments he's seen in the plaintiffs' bar over the last year.    Remember to subscribe and follow us on social media. Enjoy the show.

Dr. Florencia Greer Polite is an Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology and Chief of the Division of General OBGYN at University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.  Dr. Polite is a native of Philadelphia and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU & Bellevue hospitals, where she served as the Administrative Chief Resident and received the Lyman Barton Memorial Chief Resident award.  Upon graduation, Dr. Polite joined the faculty at NYU and served as the Associate Residency Program Director for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.   In August 2010, Dr. Polite joined the LSU faculty as an attending in the Generalist Division of OBGYN, becoming Director of the Residency Program in 2012, Director of the Generalist Division in 2014, and the Director of Faculty and Resident Development in 2017.  In September of 2018, Dr. Polite returned to the University of Pennsylvania as the Chief of the Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology.  In this capacity, Dr. Polite is responsible for the largest division in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology including four clinical practice sites. Dr. Polite is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a member of the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO), and a member of the Society for Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology (SASCOG).  She serves on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Executive Board, Audit and Finance, and Budget Committees and the USMLE Test Development Committee.  Dr. Polite has been the recipient of numerous mentorship and teaching awards including the coveted CREOG National Faculty Award, the APGO Excellence in Teaching Award, and the ACOG Mentorship Award.  Dr. Polite has served as a medical expert for both plaintiffs and defense since 2011.  She has reviewed medical cases and served as an expert in both depositions and trial work.  She lives in Philadelphia with her husband (a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)  and their 2 daughters. Rafiq R. Kalam Id-Din II, Esq., a current resident of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, is Founder & Managing Partner of Ember Charter Schools for Mindful Education, Innovation and Transformation (Ember). A social entrepreneur, activist, teacher, lawyer and nonprofit leader with over 25-years experience, Rafiq grew up in severe poverty in inner city Philadelphia during the height of the crack epidemic and violence of the 1980s and early 1990s. A two-time graduate of the University of Virginia (Bachelors in English and African-American Studies, and a Master of Teaching—English Education), Rafiq received his JD from NYU School of Law as a Thurgood Marshall Scholar, becoming an Editor of the Law Review and President of the Student Bar Association. Rafiq practiced law with Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York and Hong Kong, before serving as Executive Director of the AnBryce Foundation in the Washington, DC area, a pioneering pipeline program focused on impactful education opportunities for socio-economically disadvantaged youth. In 2007 Rafiq received the prestigious Echoing Green Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurs for his innovative “Teaching Firm”, an innovative model for fully teacher-led schools managed like law firms, the first of which launched in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in 2011. A co-founder and former Executive Board member of the NYC Coalition of Community Charter Schools, founder of the #BlackLedSchoolsMatter initiative and co-founder of the New York Black-Latinx-Asian Charter Collaborative, Rafiq also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Echoing Green, The Brooklyn Crescents, and President of the NYU Law Alumni of Color Association (LACA). Rafiq was recently honored as a recipient of the Black Voices for Social Justice Fund Award from the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation. Melissa Diaz - Bronx native Melissa Diaz (New York Comedy Festival, Laugh Your Asheville Off) is a unique and rising talent in the New York City comedy scene. Her sharp and quirky wit paired with an edgy attitude takes audiences through a funhouse of fatalism and hilarity that no amount of therapy will make you forget. Melissa is featured regularly at Caroline's on Broadway, has placed in Devil Cup and Laugh Your Asheville Off competitions, appeared in the New York Comedy Festival and has been named one of NYC's comics to watch.  Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf

Anthony Collier is a 2L at the University of Texas School of Law and the G. Rollie White Public Service Scholar. He is the outgoing President of the Student Bar Association and was recently elected as the Chair of the National Black Law Student Association (NBLSA), a term which he began in April. Anthony talks to Femi and Patrick about being a student leader--at his law school and in NBLSA, the largest student-run nonprofit organization in the country--and the challenges he's faced and the accomplishments he's achieved during this difficult time for the country. The Hylights Podcast is brought to you by the Houston Young Lawyers Association! If you have any comments or questions, or if you would like to be a guest on a future episode, please email us at hylightspodcast@gmail.com. Join HYLA: https://www.hyla.org/page-18141

Welcome to another chapter in the Meet the Students Series. This time we are speaking with Deana DiBenedetto who is in her second semester of her 1L year. She is already very active on campus despite COVID-19 as she is a senator for her class with the Student Bar Association, Chair of the Philanthropy Committee, and a National Ambassador with BARBRI. More about Free Food Fridge Albany - https://freefoodfridgealbany.com/

Dr. Florencia Greer Polite is an Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology and Chief of the Division of General OBGYN at University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.  Dr. Polite is a native of Philadelphia and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU & Bellevue hospitals, where she served as the Administrative Chief Resident and received the Lyman Barton Memorial Chief Resident award.  Upon graduation, Dr. Polite joined the faculty at NYU and served as the Associate Residency Program Director for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.   In August 2010, Dr. Polite joined the LSU faculty as an attending in the Generalist Division of OBGYN, becoming Director of the Residency Program in 2012, Director of the Generalist Division in 2014, and the Director of Faculty and Resident Development in 2017.  In September of 2018, Dr. Polite returned to the University of Pennsylvania as the Chief of the Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology.  In this capacity, Dr. Polite is responsible for the largest division in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology including four clinical practice sites. Dr. Polite is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a member of the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO), and a member of the Society for Academic Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology (SASCOG).  She serves on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Executive Board, Audit and Finance, and Budget Committees and the USMLE Test Development Committee.  Dr. Polite has been the recipient of numerous mentorship and teaching awards including the coveted CREOG National Faculty Award, the APGO Excellence in Teaching Award, and the ACOG Mentorship Award.  Dr. Polite has served as a medical expert for both plaintiffs and defense since 2011.  She has reviewed medical cases and served as an expert in both depositions and trial work.  She lives in Philadelphia with her husband (a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)  and their 2 daughters. Rafiq R. Kalam Id-Din II, Esq., a current resident of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, is Founder & Managing Partner of Ember Charter Schools for Mindful Education, Innovation and Transformation (Ember). A social entrepreneur, activist, teacher, lawyer and nonprofit leader with over 25-years experience, Rafiq grew up in severe poverty in inner city Philadelphia during the height of the crack epidemic and violence of the 1980s and early 1990s. A two-time graduate of the University of Virginia (Bachelors in English and African-American Studies, and a Master of Teaching—English Education), Rafiq received his JD from NYU School of Law as a Thurgood Marshall Scholar, becoming an Editor of the Law Review and President of the Student Bar Association. Rafiq practiced law with Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York and Hong Kong, before serving as Executive Director of the AnBryce Foundation in the Washington, DC area, a pioneering pipeline program focused on impactful education opportunities for socio-economically disadvantaged youth. In 2007 Rafiq received the prestigious Echoing Green Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurs for his innovative “Teaching Firm”, an innovative model for fully teacher-led schools managed like law firms, the first of which launched in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in 2011. A co-founder and former Executive Board member of the NYC Coalition of Community Charter Schools, founder of the #BlackLedSchoolsMatter initiative and co-founder of the New York Black-Latinx-Asian Charter Collaborative, Rafiq also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Echoing Green, The Brooklyn Crescents, and President of the NYU Law Alumni of Color Association (LACA). Rafiq was recently honored as a recipient of the Black Voices for Social Justice Fund Award from the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation. Melissa Diaz - Bronx native Melissa Diaz (New York Comedy Festival, Laugh Your Asheville Off) is a unique and rising talent in the New York City comedy scene. Her sharp and quirky wit paired with an edgy attitude takes audiences through a funhouse of fatalism and hilarity that no amount of therapy will make you forget. Melissa is featured regularly at Caroline’s on Broadway, has placed in Devil Cup and Laugh Your Asheville Off competitions, appeared in the New York Comedy Festival and has been named one of NYC’s comics to watch.  Always hosted by Marina Franklin - One Hour Comedy Special: Single Black Female ( Amazon Prime, CW Network), Trainwreck, Louie Season V, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, HBO's Crashing, and The Breaks with Michelle Wolf    

Attorney Luz Tijerina-Garduño graduated law school in 2013. After passing the bar exam and being admitted into the California Bar in December of same year, Ms. Tijerina-Garduño began her practice in law.Ms. Tijerina-Garduño’s passion for law began as a child, as she saw her own family (and herself) fall through the cracks of the immigration system, having immigrated from Mexico City to the United States as a young child. She attended college and part of law school as an undocumented student until she was able to gain her residency and eventually citizenship. Ms. Tijerina-Garduño knows first hand how difficult it is to be an immigrant in this country and goes above and beyond to help others achieve their American dream.Abogada Luz attended California State University, Dominguez Hills where she earned a bachelor of arts in Psychology and Political Science. Obtaining honors in both majors. She continued her education at Whittier Law School, obtaining a merit-based scholarship.While in law school,  the attorney received various awards for obtaining the highest marks in her classes and was active in the law school community. She participated in organizations such as the Public Interest Law Foundation, the Mexican American Bar Association, and the Student Bar Association amongst others.As a law student, Ms. Tijerina-Garduño worked in various immigration law firms and volunteered for non profit organizations such as The Public Law Center, of which she is a volunteer up to this day. She also interned with the Orange County Public Defender's Office shadowing the now Honorable Judge Mary Kreber Varipapa. The attorney also served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Kimberly Menninger at the Orange County Superior Court.Ms. Tijerina-Garduño also had the opportunity to further her law studies in the prestigious Spanish universities, Universitat de Barcelona and Universidad de Cantabria.As an attorney, Ms. Tijerina-Garduño has represented hundreds of clients in the immigration and criminal courts throughout the United States. Ms. Tijerina-Garduño has acquired great expertise in the areas of immigration and criminal law which she now provides for her own clients. She is understanding, passionate, and fearless when it comes to representing her clients. Connect with Luz on Instagram @abogadaluzHer website: www.abogadaluz.com

In this "Meet the Students" episode, we are speaking with 3L Meghna Srikanth, the executive president of the Student Bar Association and the executive editor for symposium for the Albany Law Review. She has also worked closely with the moot court program here at Albany Law. More about the Student Bar Association: http://www.albanylawsba.org/Pages/home.aspx Student organizations at Albany Law School: https://www.albanylaw.edu/students/organizations Albany Law coronavirus updates: https://www.albanylaw.edu/coronavirus Reunion 2020: https://alumni.albanylaw.edu/s/977/18/interior.aspx?sid=977&gid=1&pgid=2102

#plugintodevin Show - Devin Thorpe for Congress Guest: Christopher Wharton Office Held: Salt Lake City Council Bio: T. Christopher Wharton is an attorney and senior partner from Salt Lake City, Utah who focuses on family law, criminal defense, and LGBTQ advocacy. He is licensed to practice in federal and state courts in Utah and is certified to appear before the Supreme Court of the United States. Chris graduated from Westminster College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, where he served as president of the Student Bar Association and managing editor of the Journal of Law and Family Studies. Chris also completed a semester studying jurisprudence at University of Oxford, Magdalen College, and international criminal law at The Hague, Netherlands. Chris gained valuable experience interning at the Utah State Legislature, clerking with the Utah Attorney General’s Office, and practicing as a third-year law student at the at the Salt Lake City Prosecutor’s Office, where he tried and won his first jury trial. Chris went on to work as an associate attorney for two years before opening his own practice in 2012. Chris' extensive work in the areas of family law and LGBTQ advocacy has gained local and national attention. In 2013, Chris helped lead a team of attorneys that submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court, arguing for equal treatment of LGBT families under the law. In 2015, he obtained the first same-sex common law marriage adjudication in Utah. As an active community volunteer, Chris has done pro bono work for the ACLU of Utah, Equality Utah, the Utah Pride Center, and the Rainbow Law Clinic. Chris has served as president of the Utah Young Lawyers Division, vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Utah Pride Center, and chair of the Salt Lake City Human Rights Commission. Chris also served on the board of the LGBT & Allied Bar Association of Utah and on the Utah State Bar Board of Bar Commissioners as the young lawyer representative to the American Bar Association House of Delegates. He currently represents the residents of District 3 on the Salt Lake City Council. Outside the office, Chris enjoys independent films, local politics, history, art, Netflix, and food trucks. Chris' pronouns are him/his. Twitter: @chriswhartonslc Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealchriswharton Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-wharton-b9b87026/ #plugintodevin #UtahValues #BoldSolutions #UTpol

On this edition of the Meet the Students series we are speaking with Alizabeth Volkman, a second-year law student and a 2L class representative in the Student Bar Association. Libby's connections to the Capital District run deep even though she is from Poughkeepsie. She is also working toward a career in criminal justice. Speak with Libby or any of our Student Ambassadors: https://www.albanylaw.edu/admissions/connect-with-admissions/student-ambassadors Albany Law Updates: https://www.albanylaw.edu/coronavirus Admissions: https://www.albanylaw.edu/admissions Virtual Visit: https://www.albanylaw.edu/admissions/connect-with-admissions/visiting-albany-law Accepted Students: https://www.albanylaw.edu/admissions/jd-admissions/accepted-students

On this special episode of the Successfully Funded Podcast, we talk with Elizabeth Erickson, Associate Attorney at Quinn IP Law. Elizabeth is an associate at Quinn IP Law where she specializes in litigation, trademarks, copyrights, brand management, and licensing agreements. She graduated from Michigan State University College of Law, Cum Laude, where she was involved in an array of organizations, such as Moot Court, Trial Team, the American Inns of Court, the Student Bar Association, the Board of Advocates, and the Intellectual property Law Society where she served as President for two years. In undergrad, she received a degree in International Relations from James Madison College at Michigan State University. James Madison College has a reputation as a nationally acclaimed international scholars program. While there, she took classes in policy analysis, rhetoric, and micro-, macro-, as well as international levels of economics courses, which further helped me establish concrete career objectives. If you are looking to obtain intellectual property rights, need help policing your intellectual property, or fighting infringement, feel free to reach out to Elizabeth or schedule an appointment to discuss your individual needs: 248.280.9300. Ext. 140.

On this special episode of the Successfully Funded Podcast, we talk with Elizabeth Erickson, Associate Attorney at Quinn IP Law. Elizabeth is an associate at Quinn IP Law where she specializes in litigation, trademarks, copyrights, brand management, and licensing agreements. She graduated from Michigan State University College of Law, Cum Laude, where she was involved in an array of organizations, such as Moot Court, Trial Team, the American Inns of Court, the Student Bar Association, the Board of Advocates, and the Intellectual property Law Society where she served as President for two years. In undergrad, she received a degree in International Relations from James Madison College at Michigan State University. James Madison College has a reputation as a nationally acclaimed international scholars program. While there, she took classes in policy analysis, rhetoric, and micro-, macro-, as well as international levels of economics courses, which further helped me establish concrete career objectives. If you are looking to obtain intellectual property rights, need help policing your intellectual property, or fighting infringement, feel free to reach out to Elizabeth or schedule an appointment to discuss your individual needs: 248.280.9300. Ext. 140.

William & Mary Law School is back in session and that means Office Hours is back on the airwaves! This week Davis sits down with Kelsie Sicinski, Chair of the Law School’s Honor Council, and Rebecca Jaegar, President of the Student Bar Association. Tune in to hear the ins-and-outs of these two organizations and whether Jed Wyatt from The Bachelorette would have violated William & Mary’s Honor Code.

Listen to how Ariana Taylor, J. D. went from dropping out of a masters program to graduating #5 from her law school class.   Ariana Taylor is a 2015 graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in communication, with a minor in African American History and a pre-law concentration. Ariana graduated from Howard University School of Law where she pursued her Juris Doctorate.   Ariana was a member of the Howard Human & Civil Rights Law Review and Chief of Staff for the Student Bar Association. Ariana also volunteers for several community organizations that focus on improving educational, economic and health resources for children in low-income neighborhoods. Her research involves a legal analysis of North Carolina's house bill 467 and addresses the issue of people living near pig farms where feces are traveling in via air to the nearby homes.   Connect with her: Instagram: @arimilan LinkedIn: Ariana Taylor   Connect with me: Website: TheResearchHer.com Instagram: @TheResearchHer Twitter: @TheResearchHer - Facebook: @TheResearchHer   Ways to subscribe to The Research Her podcast Google Apple Stitcher Spotify RSS feed   Have feedback? Download the FREE "The Research Her" APP on iOS and Android (to directly send feedback) Email HitUsUp@TheResearchHer.com

On Wednesday, April 10, CU's Board of Regents announced Mark R. Kennedy as the sole presidential finalist. Dana Steiner and Matt Vondrasek, members of the CU Law School's Student Bar Association, spoke with News Director Lucy Haggard about the student group's concerns with both Kennedy's history and with the presidential search process as a whole. News Underground is following this conflict and will be adding updates both live on-air and in episodes published here. We are working with CU Independent to increase the coverage. Their initial write-up: https://cuindependent.com/2019/04/10/cu-presidential-finalist-mark-kennedy/

Toccara Nelson ’19, the former secretary of the Student Bar Association, talks with Admissions chief Cordel Faulk ’01 about her experience applying to law school as a first-generation college student from Detroit. She discusses her work with UVA President Jim Ryan’s Community Working Group and gives prospective students some tips about when is the best time to bring up Janet Jackson in an interview.

In this episode, I am excited to have spoken to Nicole Sandoz, Lauren Dubin, and Michael Goldman: 3 amazing lawyers from Georgetown Law School. Lauren Dubin is Director of Public Sector Careers in the Office of Public Interest and Community Service and an administrator and facilitator for the Lawyers in Balance: Mindfulness for Law Students Program.  Lauren graduated from the University of MD with an M.A. in Counseling, Higher Education and Career Development. She is dedicated to bringing the lessons of mindfulness to the Law Center community through ongoing meditation opportunities, continuing education and enhanced awareness of contemplative practice in professional development. Nicole Sandoz is the Director of Student Life and Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Liaison (SARVL) at Georgetown Law.  She is also a facilitator in the Lawyers in Balance: Mindfulness for Law Students Program.  Nicole is a graduate of Amherst College and Cornell Law. After law school, Nicole practiced for five years as a labor and employment attorney in Los Angeles in top-tier law firms.  While in private practice, Nicole discovered meditation and yoga, and they have since become a regular part of her everyday practice.  Michael Goldman, a Georgetown University Law Center graduate and a lawyer in a previous career, has been the Jewish Chaplain for the Law and Medical Centers since August 2002. He has been a student of Judaism for most his adult life and has taught numerous courses on Judaica, including courses at Georgetown. Prior to his involvement in LIB, Michael facilitated groups at the Georgetown Medical Center in their mind-body seminar. Based on that experience, Michael worked with administrators at the Georgetown Law to adapt the mind-body course for law students. In this regard, Michael has studied the works of Jon Kabat Zinn and Thich Nhat Hanh, among others, on the subject of mindfulness. He attended and presented at the June 2013 Workshop on Mindfulness in Legal Education at Berkeley Law.   Topics Covered What led each of them down the path of mindfulness as lawyers, the inception of the program from Michael's background at the Medical School, and how the course is structured. The students feedback to the program and the benefits that they receive; from stress and anxiety reduction to skills that help them ultimately become better lawyers, like attentive and active listening and better focus in their courses. How this grass-roots program became all it's own over the years and how they train their facilitators. They also speak on tips for big law firms on implementing programs similar to theirs. The other applications of meditation and mindfulness at the law center and how the students founded The Contemplative Law Society to expand their reach to the community at large. You can learn more about them and their awesome work at: Lawyers in Balance   Questions? Comments? Email Jeena! hello@jeenacho.com. You can also connect with Jeena on Twitter: @Jeena_Cho For more information, visit: jeenacho.com Order The Anxious Lawyer book — Available in hardcover, Kindle and Audible Find Your Ease: Retreat for Lawyers I'm creating a retreat that will provide a perfect gift of relaxation and rejuvenation with an intimate group of lawyers. Interested? Please complete this form: https://jeena3.typeform.com/to/VXfIXq MINDFUL PAUSE: Bite-Sized Practices for Cultivating More Joy and Focus 5-week program. Spend just 6 minutes every day to practice mindfulness and meditation. Decrease stress/anxiety, increase focus and concentration. Interested? Please complete this form: https://jeena3.typeform.com/to/gLlo7b Sponsor: Spotlight Branding provides internet marketing services exclusively for solo & small law firms. Unlike most internet marketing firms, they do NOT focus on SEO. Instead, they specialize in branding their clients as trusted, credible experts, increasing referrals, and ultimately driving growth. For our listeners, Spotlight Branding is offering a complimentary website review. Go to: SpotlightBranding.com/trl Transcript Intro: [00:00:02] Today's show is sponsored by Spotlight Branding. Spotlight Branding works exclusively with solo and small law firms to brand them as trusted, credible experts and help them stand out in a crowded market place. Their services include web design, social media, video marketing and more. Michael Goldman: [00:00:25] I think there are so many times where you're engaged in an issue, you join the issue, you're wrestling over the issue. And it can go sideways, as you indicated, but the ability to step back a little bit and say, wait a second, what if I concede this? Intro: [00:00:44] Welcome to The Resilient Lawyer podcast. In this podcast, we have meaningful, in-depth conversations with lawyers, entrepreneurs and change agents. We offer tools and strategies for creating a more joyful and satisfying life. And now your host, Jeena Cho. Jeena Cho: [00:01:10] Hello my friends. Thanks for being here with me today. In this episode, I am so delighted to have three amazing people from Georgetown Law School. I have Nicole Sandoz, Director of Student Life and Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Liaison. I have Lauren Dubin, Director of Public Sector Careers in the Office of Public Interest and Community Service. And finally, Michael Goldman, Chaplain of Georgetown Law and Medical School. All three of them are part of the Lawyers and Balance: Mindfulness Meditation Program at the law school. I'm really excited to see that law schools are actually making student well-being part of their priority. Jeena Cho: [00:01:51] Before we get into the interview, if you haven't heard the last episode, please go back and check it out. I shared a six minute guided meditation practice to help you let go of stress and anxiety. It's also very apt because we'll be talking about mindfulness and meditation in this episode. So often I hear lawyers complain that they know they should meditate, but they don't have the time. And so I created a program Mindful Pause, which is designed to help you incorporate mindfulness and meditation into your very busy schedule in six minutes or less. So if you're interested in learning more, please head on over to jeenacho.com to learn more. [00:02:30] And with that, here's Nicole, Lauren and Michael. Thanks to all three of you for being here with me today. Nicole Sandoz: [00:02:37] Thank you. We're excited. Jeena Cho: [00:02:41] So starting with Lauren, maybe we can just have you do a short 30 second introduction to who you are and what you do at the law school. Lauren Dubin: [00:02:49] Yeah sure, so I am part of an office that we affectionately call The Office of Public Interest and Community Service. It's a freestanding center that provides support to students at the Law Center that are interested in pursuing public service careers. And we run educational programs, provide advising, all sorts of different supportive initiatives, as well as run job fairs and just offer students opportunities to join the public sector. Jeena Cho: [00:03:20] Wonderful. How about you, Michael? Michael Goldman: [00:03:23] I am a graduate of Georgetown Law School and had a career practicing law. I mainly worked in employment law with particular emphasis in equal employment opportunity. After that, I came back to Georgetown Law as the Chaplain here. And we have a large, pretty significant campus ministry office here, as well as on the main campus. What we do is we counsel students in a whole variety of ways. Jeena Cho: [00:03:56] But I have to know more about this, how did you end up going from practicing law to becoming a chaplain? Michael Goldman: [00:04:03] My short answer is, they taught me to be an advocate at Georgetown Law and I talked my way into the job. Actually, I became very interested in my Judaism shortly after I graduated from Georgetown Law and am somewhat self-taught. And I've studied in many groups and I've taught in many contexts as well. So based on those credentials and experience, I was able to talk my way into the job. Jeena Cho: [00:04:35] I love hearing transition stories, and I feel like life is just a series of different transitions. I love that story. Nicole, last but not least. Nicole Sandoz: [00:04:46] Yeah, so I am also a former attorney. I practiced in Los Angeles for five years in two large law firms. I left to go be the Director of Career Services at Cornell for three years, and now I'm the Director of Student Life at Georgetown. I've been here for a couple years. In my job, I am responsible for co-curricular experience at Georgetown, including student orgs, the Student Bar Association, as well as any other thing that students do outside the classroom. Jeena Cho: [00:05:17] Wonderful. Before we get into the mindfulness program at the law school, I'm kind of curious to just hear from each of you what led you on this path to mindfulness and meditation. Because I often find that people end up practicing mindfulness and meditation (and it was certainly true for me) because there is some personal reason behind it. So I'm curious if you'd be willing to share and maybe Michael, we can start with you? Michael Goldman: [00:05:45] I'm happy to do that. As I said, I practiced law for many years. I was exposed to mindfulness at the medical school. Shortly after I arrived as the chaplain, and essentially I wanted to hit my head against the wall and say, oh if I only knew then. [00:06:06] Because you know, law was a steady diet of stress and conflict and challenge. And I thought wow; this would have been something that would have given me a strategy, maybe even an antidote for what I had experienced. So I felt it really had to come to the law students. Jeena Cho: [00:06:27] Yeah, it's so true. There is so many parts of practicing mindfulness and meditation where I go, yeah this would've been really helpful in law school. So I'm so glad that you guys are teaching it to the students. Nicole, how about you? Nicole Sandoz: [00:06:41] Yeah, so when I was practicing I found myself in the exact same position of a lot of stress, not being very happy in the job that I was in. And so I took a three month leave of absence. And during that three months of absence, my therapist introduced me to mindfulness and meditation as a way to deal with my anxiety and stress and some of the medication that I had started to be on, and she thought that this would be a good alternative, and it worked. And so I started doing it. I like to say that I practice once a week, I try really hard to do that. But this program at Georgetown has really re-inspired me about mindfulness and meditation and making it part of your daily life. Jeena Cho: [00:07:23] Yeah, how about you Lauren? Lauren Dubin: [00:07:23] So mine is a bit less self-initiated. Truthfully, Michael tapped me on the shoulder one day out in our atrium and said, "We're about to start a mindfulness program at the Law Center, would you be interested in participating?" And I had great respect for Michael and I was flattered and I thought, well I'm not sure what that is but yeah, I'm in. I've always been a seeker, so I did know what it was but I just didn't have the labels or the language at the time. And then immersed myself in this work and this philosophy in the subsequent eight years, now I can say that I'm still seeking. But I have you know, much more of our practice than I did eight years ago. Jeena Cho: [00:08:07] That's wonderful. So Michael, please tell me about the history of the program. Michael Goldman: [00:08:12] Well I gave you a little bit of the personal history. As I indicated, I am the Chaplain at the medical school, so I learned about things going on there and I was introduced to their Mind Body course there. And even before this started, I said to the woman who ran it, "We have to bring this to the law school. You have to let me take this to the law school." Anyhow, we went through it. It was kind of modeled on MBSR, a mindfulness-based stress reduction course, and I was even more convinced. I brought it here and it was not an easy sell, I have to tell you. It took about a year from people, "You want to do what?" But any event, the Dean of the law school finally came around and said you know what, that sounds like a good idea. And we have been putting on a few sessions, seminars every semester ever since. This was I think, 10 years ago Lauren was telling me. Interestingly, of course it's for the students, but also the staff was very interested in this as well. As a matter of fact, we had several faculty who participated as well. As you would guess, the students loved it. I mean we have the feedback sheets and they're really terrific. I've hesitated to quote them to professors because we do get very good reviews. [00:09:50] And I should also say that out of this, some very close groups were formed. Those people who took the mindfulness or Lawyers and Balance course together became friends, stayed friends through law school, and are still friends. Five, seven, eight years later they're close friends. So that's one of the nice bi-products of this, is that we create little communities as well as teaching mindfulness techniques. Jeena Cho: [00:10:18] I'm curious, what were some of the objections when you first tried to bring mindfulness into the law school? Michael Goldman: [00:10:25] I would say to sum it up, it's touchy-feely, and I remember from my days practicing law that was pretty much the ultimate stigma. And I never was particularly persuaded by that. I think another objection is, how is this academically rigorous, how do we document what you're doing? Do you have a syllabus, do you have a full curriculum? [00:10:54] And you know we didn't we didn't fit in to that mold, that is usually considered for law school. So I think that was definitely part of it. You know, let me rewind why it happened because I think your point is interesting. The then Dean had a daughter who was at the medical school and she took the Mind-Body course there. And then I got a wonderful advocate. Jeena Cho: [00:11:31] I love that, yeah I mean teaching mindfulness or learning about mindfulness is certainly very different from the Socratic method. As I understand it, law schools are kind of starting to shift away from it, I don't know if that's actually true but at least that's what I heard. Lauren Dubin: [00:11:45] Eight years ago was a very different era here, nine years ago actually. Now we have more of a wellness community or a wellness movement on campus, the students don't obtain credit for this though, we really haven't reached that level. But the university absolutely embraces this now, with there is much more support and it's on the admissions page. Students will articulate to us that one of the reasons they came to Georgetown is because we have this work, this program, so it's definitely a different era. Jeena Cho: [00:12:19] Well that's interesting, that it's a retention or attraction in a sense. I think some law firms are starting to offer some sort of wellness or well-being kind of committees or whatever to kind of try to attract talent. So yeah. Well I guess speaking of not knowing what the curriculum is and having people be like, this is really touchy-feely, I'm curious to learn what you guys actually teach? How is the course structured, how long is it, how many students enroll? Lauren Dubin: [00:12:52] So as Michael said, we inherited a curriculum, the program from the Mind-Body course over at the med school. And for the first couple of years, we pretty much followed it, with a little less of the science because our students weren't necessarily as interested in the science. But for the most part, what we inherited was a program that offers two hour sessions, one per week for eight weeks. Each session has two facilitators, trained facilitators, and typically has around 8 to 12 students per group. We invite one L's, LL's, LLL's, and LLM's to participate. And the curriculum, basically the sort of structure or outline of it is that each session begins with an opening meditation, just sort of calm yourself and leave the stressors of the classroom at the door. And then do what we call a "check in," a technique which is really a reflection technique, just to give students an opportunity to sort of begin to inculcate the notion of mindfulness as a, what am I feeling right now? What is it literally in this moment that is coming up for me? That might be animated through that opening meditation, it might be animated just by the question or the prompt. So students go around and share that with one another. [00:14:15] We then dive into that week's technique, and the techniques span eating meditation, guided imagery, journaling, stress re-frames, body scan, gratitude, all sorts of different things over the course of the eight weeks. So one of the facilitators will lead the students and the other facilitator in that meditation technique, which is a little bit longer. And then we typically will go around and have another reflection opportunity. And at that point, students are given the opportunity to just talk about how that meditation did or didn't work for them. And anything else that comes up. So we will often include a prompt that will say, how is it that you will carry this out into your week? Or tell us about a particularly mindful moment that you might have had this week. We try to build that as the semester goes on, because the concept of mindfulness, the concept of non-judgment is not something that you get right away. You have to begin to sort of taste it, touch it, and then eventually it starts to really click. [00:15:25] And one of the things that we hope to accomplish through this curriculum is that students also become much more mindful listeners. It's not just their own mindfulness, their own self-awareness, but it's something that they'll carry out into practice, something that they'll carry out into my life. So one of our ground rules is that when someone else is reflecting, all eyes on that person. You are focused and really present with that person. No cross-talk, hopefully no need to jump in and you know evaluate or to critique. But to really give that student the opportunity to express themselves. And then next person has their opportunity. But we frequently reinforce this notion that you're listening to that person and you're with that person. So it builds community, friendships, strong ties. Not to mention, they take it out with them. We give homework each week and we say, eat a meal mindfully, take a mindful walk without the phone, without the iPod. And then they come back and will share with us how that felt during the week. Jeena Cho: [00:16:38] Oh I love that. Yeah and it's so true, like you can learn something. I had this experience recently where I was like super angry about something, and I can just see that I'm just having a reaction and I was really angry. But I still couldn't sort of shake myself from feeling that anger. And it's so frustrating because it's like, I recognize why I'm feeling angry and I just feel like I should be able to get over it. [00:17:01] But I was still having that reaction so I just had to be like, well alright I'm just going to hold this moment kindly. But yeah, it's really kind of that re-learning the tool sort of over and over and over again. So yeah, I love that you guys give them homework. It really sounds basically like the MBSR course, which is a wonderful, wonderful program. Lauren Dubin: [00:17:23] There's also great power in the sharing, because as we go around the room everyone is nodding. So whatever trigger or stressor or source of anger or frustration that anyone is feeling, everyone else is feeling their version of it. So one of my favorite parts of this work is the sort of teaching and learning that comes out of it. So it's not just, I have to go back and re-frame my reaction to the anger. But I listen to the way Michael re-framed his, and maybe I can take some of that on too. So there is real power in that sharing and we love that part of this program. We've also tweaked it over the years to make it more of our own. We now also offer a one hour version, not just a two hour version, with the thought that more students might feel that they can fit one hour into their schedule. So there's not as much reflection, but we're getting great numbers. In fact, we usually have five to seven sessions per semester. So the math, that's around 60 to 80 students that take part in Lawyers and Balance every semester. Jeena Cho: [00:18:30] Yeah I remember in law school feeling completely isolated and alone because I just felt like you know, all this stuff that I was going through, just feeling like I didn't have a place in law school and just feeling completely overwhelmed all the time. And I love that you guys are creating this space where you know, like you can actually say that and have everyone in the room nod their head. And it really breaks that sense of isolation. There is something about learning that you're not alone in your experience that really is comforting. Nicole Sandoz: [00:19:01] I just had a session two days ago with my group, and it was our last session so we sort of went around and talked about why this was beneficial or if it was beneficial. And she said that this was the place that she felt the safest, that she could talk about the things she was going through, that she had made some friends. And that coming from an international background, and coming here and being so scared, but that she found community here. And it was like music to my ears because that is exactly the space that we want to provide for them, especially in law school when it can be so stressful and so insane. Jeena Cho: [00:19:39] Yeah. Nicole, can you talk a little bit more about some of the other benefits that the students experience? Nicole Sandoz: [00:19:46] Yeah, so we hear about all the normal benefits, right? The reduction of stress, decreased anxiety, the enhancing of the self-awareness. But for law students in particular, we just find it's been such a rich environment for them to grow some of the skills that they need to be lawyers. Like Lauren mentioned, the active listening, we hear all the time that they're more present with their clients in clinic or even just in conversations with their classmates, that they have better focus in class. We all know that there is you know, solitaire being played in class or Facebook or whatever, but some of our students report that they come back and they are actually focused in class because they're using some of the techniques that they had learned in Lawyers and Balance. [00:20:28] The building community for us here at Georgetown is huge. We're such a large school, with 600 entering first-year students, that it can sometimes just feel totally overwhelming. And so we build these small groups of students who know each other, who have had this experience together. And it's one of the ways that we make such a large law school feel small. They make friends, like Michael mentioned, and they just gain a little bit of perspective about this law school experience. I had another student of mine talk about how she's been so absorbed in law school that she didn't realize that her roommate was really suffering. And it was really when she took a step back and really looked at her roommate and listened to some of the words that were coming out of her roommates mouth, that she was like, oh my gosh she's really suffering. I need to get out of this law school experience and focus on my friend. So it's just these kind of things that we hear over and over again, in fact Lauren got a really great email that she wants to share pieces of from one of our former students about the benefits. Jeena Cho: [00:21:29] Yeah, yeah. And I think that's really one of the greatest teaching that comes out of mindfulness and meditation, is just that empathy and having compassion toward someone that's suffering. And sometimes it can be like, well we're lawyers, like we shouldn't have that. But I mean, that's the core of what we do. Like we are in the suffering business. Like clients never come to us with happy news. [00:21:53] I always thought that it was always really weird that we're in this environment where people are constantly coming to us with the most heartbreaking news, but yet we don't actually have any tools for how to deal and process all the suffering of our clients. I do consumer bankruptcy, no one ever comes to see me with happy news, I hear heart-breaking stories. And I just didn't have any tools and what ended up happening was that I went through burnout. I remember thinking, I'm such a failure as a lawyer because I went through burnout, not recognizing that I just needed some additional tools. So again, I'm just so grateful to you guys for doing this. [00:22:32] So yeah Lauren, I'd love to hear some of what the student wrote in the email. Lauren Dubin: [00:22:36] I'm not going to read the whole thing obviously, but her words are just really powerful and I cherish this. So this was about three years after she graduated and took LIB. And she wrote to myself and my co-facilitator: [00:22:51] "I just want to say thank you again for a great LIB experience. Thanks to you both, I continue to meditate at least once a week, often more. It's a great stress reliever. But more than anything, the seminar made me gain a much more balanced perspective on the big and little things in my life. And the seminar has without a doubt made me a better lawyer. I'm able to examine arguments and take criticism much more easily, without getting my emotions unnecessarily involved, or taking what I perceive as my lack of perfection personally. It sounds small, but it makes a huge difference in my work and my day-to-day life. Your seminar also made me realize that mindfulness and perspective are so crucial to the things that make us succeed in life. Those qualities I think are a prerequisite to character traits like determination, self-motivation, empathy, and self-control, that are keys to being a good student, lawyer, and life partner. As my husband and I think about having kids, those are definitely the types of values we want to instill in them. I wish, along with math and reading, I had taken mindfulness when I was growing up." Jeena Cho: [00:24:06] Beautiful, yeah I got slightly teary-eyed hearing, just beautiful. [00:24:14] Getting a new website design can be a huge pain. But what if I told you that building a new website for your law firm didn't have to suck? My friends at Spotlight Branding pride themselves on their responsiveness, on great communication and on delivering results for their clients. And Spotlight Branding doesn't lock their clients into long-term contracts. In fact, they offer a no risk, money-back guarantee on their work, so that you can have total peace of mind while you work with them. Spotlight Branding will help you stand out from the competition, drive more referrals, and ultimately achieve the growth you're looking for. Their team is currently offering a special, complementary website review for our listeners. Visit spotlightbranding.com/trl to learn more. Jeena Cho: [00:25:09] So Lauren I'm curious, can you tell me about how the facilitators are trained? Lauren Dubin: [00:25:15] Yeah, sure. So as I had said earlier, we've sort of evolved and made the program more of our own over the years. But in the early years, Michael would tap people on the shoulder and say, "Hey, do you want to be part of this thing?" So there was sort of a core group of five of us, and we went with the med school training and we joined in. And they had over 100 facilitators over there, because their program had been running for years. And we joined up and had a pretty extraordinary three day experience, this initial group of five. So every year we would send two or three more people (we had the budget for that) to the Mind-Body training. And basically the training entails going through an entire eight-week session, having the experience over the course of three days. So that you are a student, you are actually experiencing it. So it's not really the sort of training where you then are leading meditations or are writing scripts or finding scripts or administering that program at all. It's 100% go away to a beautiful retreat center and have the experience of the check in, the reflection, you know experiencing the scripts and the techniques. So for several years that's what we did. And you know, it was working, but at a certain point we kept fantasizing that we would like to have our own training. That it would just be members of the Law Center staff and community, and that we would build bonds amongst ourselves. And these are the people that were going to go on and lead the program here. [00:26:48] It's all volunteer, it's out of you know, the goodness of our hearts, it's something we believe in. But none of us are paid for this, this is in addition to our day job. So we just thought, there are other reasons for us to have our own training. So we modified that, and we've been doing it now for two summers. And each summer we were able to have around 10 additional Law Center staff members participate, and we just tweaked it. But it's the same thing; we come in. we get to know one another. we do a lot of team building. We make sure that we go somewhere beautiful and quiet and lots of nature. And we have eating meditation and walking meditation and journaling and imagery, we do all of that, all those techniques. [00:27:32] What we're trying to do now is give people the opportunity to practice also, while they're there. Because we come home, everybody's really high and invested, and you come home; to life and the laundry. And then all of a sudden it's late August or early September and suddenly we say okay go, lead a group. We try to make sure that a new facilitator is paired with a more senior facilitator so that you're not on your own the first time. We created a binder with new scripts and new process prompts and other readings and things that facilitators can use for their students. We send the team emails, sample emails and sample follow-up emails. What we try to do is after each session, is have a follow-up email to send to students with practice tips for the week. [00:28:24] Not everyone does that consistently, but we have all sorts of different things that any one group can do. There is no one way, one group will be doing walking one week and somebody else will be doing journaling. There isn't this, you have to do it in a particular sequence. So during the training, something I should have said is we select people very carefully. We select people that we think are empaths and either have a practice or absolutely someone that students will feel very comfortable with. They establish trust and rapport quickly. So we're pretty careful in choosing people that will be very engaged in this, but that students will respond well to. [00:29:05] And there will be ongoing training throughout the year, we try and meet twice a month for about an hour just to share ideas. How is your group going, try out a script with one another. Do a meditation together and a reflection, just to continue modeling it. So where everybody is busy and everybody has a lot of email and meetings to attend, but we try to just keep moving it along and always building it and thinking creatively. Jeena Cho: [00:29:35] I love hearing that sort of history of how the program came about, and just how you guys have really grown this practice from volunteers, I think it's really remarkable. [00:29:50] Nicole I know you used to be in big law, and I know one of the things that hot topics right now is how to make the workplace more humane or more friendly. And it seems like especially big laws are kind of waking up to the fact that, oh the well-being of our attorneys actually matter. I'm curious you know, since you've worked in big law, what sort of tips would you offer to a law firm that's considering implementing a program like the one that you guys have at the law school? Nicole Sandoz: [00:30:21] Yeah, I mean I think that this would be an amazing program to implement at a law firm. Especially the one hour sessions are sort of the perfect package deal, in terms of getting some of that check-in, but not..You know, I think that part of the problem with law firms is that like Michael said, nobody wants things that are too touchy-feely. Or that that there is a risk of diving deep into these emotions and then having some sort of backlash while you're working or with someone you're working with. So the one hour sessions do take back that a little bit, and focus a little bit more on the techniques. And sharing those techniques and making sure that people have tools to use while they're practicing. [00:31:03] I have been working with a friend of mine who is still in big law, and sort of ad hoc showing him some of these techniques that he can use. And he's actually really appreciated it, he started journaling, just journaling every evening. And I'm hoping that it's helping him reduce some of his stress that he was finding as he's heading towards the partnership track, and the more stress that that brings. I shared a few techniques with him, and it was the one that stuck. And that's sort of the thing that we tell our students, is try as many times as you can and then find the one or two that you can take with you. Not every technique is going to feel right, so you've got to find the one that fits for you. And then just keep using it and keep practicing it, and using it to help reduce your stress. [00:31:45] So it's been really successful I think, for my friend. And so I think a law firm could do this really easily and give their lawyers some techniques to use, but maybe without as much of the check-in, so that you don't have people who fear that it's going to have some sort of backlash in the workplace. Jeena Cho: [00:32:02] Yeah it's always a little tricky to try to implement something like this, especially in a law firm environment. Michael, did you have something that you wanted to add? [00:32:11] I've spoken to some big law lawyers or groups or whatever. And one thing I've found that is effective, and I've done this with our legal experts as well at the law school, is simply when you're in a tight situation, you're not sure how to handle it. Stop, take a couple breaths, pay attention to your breaths. Just do that instant meditation and then come back to it. And to a person they say, "Oh." They see a different option, a different approach where that is not the end of the world. So I think even that quick cure as it were, or pill if you want to call it, self-meditation does work. And if it's something that they can use, try it out. And say, "Hmmm, I think I'll do that again." And that's how you get your foot in the door as well. Jeena Cho: [00:33:13] Yeah. It's so interesting, because you hear that saying like, oh you know just take a deep breath, count to ten before you say something when you're angry. But it actually works. I found really surprising when I first started practicing mindfulness that I can be in a hearing, and just by actually really paying attention to what the judge or the opposing counsel was saying without letting my mind kind of do it what it naturally does (which is to prepare my response) but really just a listen. And then once the person is finished speaking just take a breath, kind-of collect my thoughts and then respond. I was actually able to slow down the pace of how things were moving in the courtroom. And I just found that to be so fascinating, that I'm not this helpless person standing in the courtroom and on the whim of what the judge or the opposing counsel was doing; that I actually do have some more autonomy than I initially thought. And I found that to be incredibly helpful. Michael Goldman: [00:34:10] You know many athletes do that same thing, and you used the word "slow down." I think you slow down what's going on. And most athletes will say, when things seem to slow down they can do so much better. The key is that you slow yourself down. Jeena Cho: [00:34:27] Right, exactly. And even just something really simple like just feeling the sensation of my feet as I'm standing at the podium, or just feeling my hands resting on the podium. Just something you can touch and feel and focus on, that just for a moment gets you out of that anxiety mode. Where it's like, oh my gosh what is he going to ask me next? And the question after that, and you kind of go into that spiral of thinking. [00:34:57] And of course, when things go sideways it never goes wrong in the exact same way that you had anticipated. I had a very similar story from one of the attorneys that took one of my courses. And she said, "You know I realized when I was with my kids I was never fully present to them, because I was always thinking about work or on my phone." And then of course the reverse was also true, like she would be at the office and thinking about her kids and being like, did I remember to put that book in her backpack? And she said, "I really learned just when I'm with my kid, to fully just be with her. And when I'm at work, just to be at work." And it sounds so simple, but to practice it almost requires a constant re-commitment and effort to bring yourself back to that moment, over and over and over again. It's not like you can just do it first thing in the morning and then forget about it. It's that constant reminder. [00:35:51] So what are some of the other applications of meditation and mindfulness at the law center? Nicole Sandoz: [00:35:57] Yeah, so we realized sort of as we went along that Lawyers In Balance is amazing, but we have 600 students to try to reach. And we have a limited number of facilitators, so we can really only have 78 sessions maybe, per semester. So we're just not going to hit everyone. And so we've been brainstorming and using some of these techniques to spread the message across to different students and other people at the law center. About six years ago we had a group of students who were in Lawyers in Balance who wanted to sort of keep some of the meditation going. And so they founded a new student group called The Contemplative Law Society, and they are charged with bringing some of the mindfulness and meditation techniques through the student group experience. And so that has been a nice way for the community at large, and for students to take some ownership over the teaching of some of this. [00:37:05] We also have implemented it in orientations, so we have a wellness focus as part of our orientation. And we did two meditation sessions per day, every day of orientation. And it was open for any student who wanted to come and learn a little bit more about Lawyers in Balance, but also to just take part in a meditation; to just really set the tone right at the beginning of orientation, that this is important to us and that it's something that makes Georgetown special. And we're so glad you're here, and to just give them a taste of what that would be like. [00:37:37] And we also have started a Staff in Balance program, so we realized that these great techniques can also be helping our staff and faculty. And so we have a wonderful woman in our community named Mitos, who really takes that on as a labor of love and does Staff in Balance every semester. She has a group of 12 to 15 staff members who take part and learn some of the same techniques that students are using as well. [00:38:04] Lauren and I just did a Saturday session. So we have an evening student section at Georgetown, and it's really hard to get facilitators to teach in the evenings. But also in addition to that, they class in the evening. So the timing never really works out. And so what we decided to do was to do a half-day meditation retreat on a Saturday and really advertise it to our evening students and their significant others. And we had staff and evening students and day students and just a bunch of people here on a Saturday, learning some techniques and getting some mindfulness and meditation; it was a couple Saturdays ago. And then Michael teaches in the externship course. Michael Goldman: [00:38:44] Yeah, in the past I had the opportunity to teach a couple sessions in the externship training. And I taught mindfulness, and it's in that context where I taught them and showed them how to use the breathing approach to dealing with difficult issues. In fact, even in class we would talk about difficult issues they dealt with in their externship, often with a boss who is not communicating very well. And so they would actually go through it and take a couple breaths and say, okay, so what do you think about it now? And then they thought of new ways to deal with it. And we actually had a sheet where they would actually describe what was going on, how they took the meditation, and what it looked like afterwards. And it was quite effective. [00:39:35] Actually, I got some of the ideas for that from Scott Rogers, who I assume and I take it you know. So this was something that we implemented. Jeena Cho: [00:39:45] Yeah I think it's really great that you guys are bringing mindfulness into all these different areas of the law school. Michael Goldman: [00:39:52] There is a deep-sea mindful lawyers group, they actually were involved in that half-day retreat here at the law school. The good news is now they use Georgetown Law for their monthly training or monthly retreat sessions. And so we are really aligned with them now, in fact the President of that is an alum of Georgetown Law. So we're able to combine forces. Jeena Cho: [00:40:21] Well I want to thank all three of you for joining me today, it has just been so delightful. And I love hearing about mindfulness spreading in law schools. And it's been really fun to hear about the evolution of the program. And to kind of wrap things up. Michael I'm curious, the name of this podcast is called The Resilient Lawyer. What does it mean to be I mean resilient lawyer to you? Michael Goldman: [00:40:48] To me, what I think mindfulness provides, and I'm changing the message slightly, is the ability as one of us to step back. I think there's so many times where you're engaged in an issue, you join the issue, you're wrestling over the issue. And it can go sideways, as you indicated. But the ability to step back a little bit and say, wait a second. What if I concede this? It's not going to hurt us at all, as a matter of fact it might help us. The ability to get that perspective almost instantaneously, I think is not only a great tool as a lawyer, it does give you resilience. Because it makes you realize you're not stuck in a corner, you're never stuck in a corner. You never are in an impossible situation. [00:41:42] You can see the bigger picture, and I think that's essential to resilience. That you realize you don't have to have burnout. Because you can listen with empathy to the other side. You can see their perspective, if you see their perspective you might well find a solution, a mutually beneficial solution. Same thing with a client, of course clients come in and ask for "X." And if you're able to recognize, they're not interested in "X", beating that other person out isn't going to do anybody any good. What is underneath that? I know that's interest. But I think mindfulness, resiliency allows you to see the bigger picture. And I think as a lawyer that's what we're supposed to do. Jeena Cho: [00:42:35] Yeah, I think that possibility of a different solution that you don't currently know. It's a wonderful, wonderful gift from mindfulness. Nicole, how about you? Nicole Sandoz: [00:42:47] Yeah, so this is actually a question I think about a lot. Our Dean of Students, one of his passions is creating resilient law students, and therefore creating resilient lawyers. And we think about it a lot in different ways, but a couple of the ways we think about it is taking that ticker tape that's in your head, that can be negative but positive, but just sort of that those thoughts that are running through. And stopping those thoughts and re-framing them, if needed particularly the negative thoughts, and creating a different frame for them. And using that frame to move forward when you need to. [00:43:21] It's also the time when people face a lot of different challenges and it's being able to breathe, like Michael said, take a breath, rethink this, and attack it in a different way and learn from it. I think our law students in particular struggle a lot with, you know they were all top of their undergrad class, and they get to law school and there's a lot of challenges here. It's a new way of thinking and learning, and we work really hard to try to get them to understand that this is going to be a challenge, but that part of resilience is learning from that challenge. And it's your mindset, it's not seeing this as a failure, but instead seeing this as a learning opportunity to grow. And I think mindfulness plays a huge part in that, of just taking a breath, re-framing and moving forward. Jeena Cho: [00:44:11] Lauren? Lauren Dubin: [00:44:13] I would add one additional dimension, and that is accessing compassion. This work allows lawyers, who generally feel there's really no room for softness, for vulnerability, for letting opposing counsel see you as weak then. That's crazy, we're all vulnerable and fragile and doing the best we can. So I think self and other compassion, when you can really access that and own it and hold it, just allows everyone to be more flexible, to be kinder. We're all doing a job for a purpose, and it might be opposing purpose, but we have one life, and kindness and compassion are just so vital. [00:45:12] So Michael used the term touchy-feely several times, and to me a resilient lawyer is one that embraces touchy-feely and squishy. I love the layering into our work and this message of adding compassion into this profession. I work with students as a counselor, so I have a lot of one-on-one, intimate conversations with students all day long. And so many of them express this stress over not being able to be authentic and sincere and real. And the essay they wrote for admission to law school is so different than reality or the practice. So compassion allows you to recognize that, but have compassion for it. And then hopefully, eventually be more integrated, which I think is a result. Jeena Cho: [00:46:10] Yeah. And I hope that those students can retain some of that and bring it out into the workforce. I think that our profession is just severely suffering from lack of humanity. I think about touchy-feely as just being a core of what it means to be human, to actually have emotions and feelings. It's so crazy to me to think that lawyers are supposed to be devoid of feelings and emotions, because that's the thing that drives our clients and drives us. So yeah, I think we need to make more room for all the touchy-feely. Not to say that we have to react to every single touchy-feely thing, but to just hold it kindly. Lauren Dubin: [00:46:54] So loaded, why does it have to be such a loaded term? Jeena Cho: [00:46:54] Well I want to thank all three of you for being here with me today. I'm so grateful to all of you, for all the work that you're doing. Lauren Dubin: [00:47:09] Thank you. Lauren Dubin: [00:47:10] Thanks for giving us the opportunity. Closing: [00:47:20] Thanks for joining us on The Resilient Lawyer podcast. If you enjoy the show, please tell a friend. It's really the best way to grow the show. To leave us a review on iTunes, search for The Resilient Lawyer and give us your honest feedback. It goes a long way to help with our visibility when you do that, so we really appreciate it. As always, we'd love to hear from you. E-mail us at smile@theanxiouslawyer.com. Thanks and look forward to seeing you next week.

Mitch McConnell has served as U.S. Senate majority leader since 2015. He is only the second Kentuckian to serve as majority leader in the Senate; the first, Alben Barkley, led the Democrats from 1937 to 1947. McConnell has been called “the most conservative leader of either party in the history of the Senate.” He has also earned a reputation as a “master tactician” for permanently locking in critical tax relief for working families and small businesses, and putting in place the most significant spending reduction legislation in a generation. In 2015, TIME Magazine named him one of its 100 Most Influential People in the World. Since Republicans took charge of the Senate in 2015, McConnell has worked to restore the legislative process by empowering committees and individual senators. As a result, the Senate has attained a number of significant legislative accomplishments under his leadership: from replacing No Child Left Behind with the most significant K-12 education reforms in years to passing a major overhaul of America’s outdated energy policies to taking action on America’s growing opioid and heroin epidemic. (For more on the Republican Senate’s accomplishments click HERE.) McConnell previously served as the Republican Leader in the 110th through 113th Congresses, a position he was unanimously elected to by his colleagues every two years since 2006. He also served in leadership as the majority whip during the 108th and 109th Congresses and as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 1998 and 2000 election cycles. TIME Magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World McConnell is Kentucky’s longest-serving senator. First elected to the Senate in 1984, he made history that year as the only Republican challenger in the country to defeat a Democrat incumbent and as the first Republican to win a statewide Kentucky race in nearly two decades. McConnell was elected to a record sixth term in 2014 with broad support from across the commonwealth, winning 110 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. He has long been the Senate’s leading voice for increased freedom and reconciliation in Burma, and in protecting Americans’ First Amendment rights to free speech here at home. McConnell currently serves as a senior member of the Appropriations, Agriculture and Rules Committees. Before his election to the U.S. Senate, McConnell served as county judge-executive of Kentucky’s Jefferson County, as deputy assistant attorney general to President Gerald Ford, as chief legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Marlow Cook, and as an intern on Capitol Hill to Senator John Sherman Cooper. McConnell was born in Sheffield, Alabama, in 1942 and moved to Louisville, Kentucky with his family at the age of 13. He graduated with honors from the University of Louisville. He is also a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he was elected president of the Student Bar Association. He is the proud father of three daughters. McConnell is married to the Honorable Elaine L. Chao, who served for eight years as President George W. Bush’s secretary of labor. Secretary Chao is a former president of the United Way of America and director of the Peace Corps.

Michael Scurato (@michaelscurato) joined the National Hispanic Media Coalition's (NHMC) Washington, DC policy team in September 2010 when he was hired as a Law Fellow after being accepted into Georgetown Law's Post-JD Public Service Fellowship Program. While in law school, he represented the public interest in media and telecommunications law issues at the Institute for Public Representation (IPR), one of Georgetown's renowned legal clinics, first as a summer research assistant and later as a student in the clinical program. At IPR, he represented clients on issues such as diversifying media ownership, privacy, and protecting children from harmful ads on TV and online. He also served as a delegate in Georgetown Law's Student Bar Association. Michael's previous experience includes internships at the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia and with New Jersey State Assemblywoman (now State Senator) Linda Greenstein. He earned his JD from Georgetown University Law Center and his BA in Political Science from New York University. He is currently admitted to practice law in  New York and the District of Columbia. In this episode, we discussed: The key barrier to broadband adoption  How to ensure everyone can afford broadband in the U.S. The status of net neutrality in the courts. Resources National Hispanic Media Coaltion New America Foundation: The Cost of Connectivity 2014 FCC: Lifeline Program for Low Income Consumers

James E. Simmons is an associate in the Tallahassee office of Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A., where he practices in the areas of insurance defense, medical malpractice, and nursing home defense litigation. Previously, Mr. Simmons was an assistant general counsel with the Department of Financial Services in Tallahassee, Florida, where he handled insurance related matters, including prosecuting cases regarding licensing, unauthorized public adjusting, and unfair business practices. Mr. Simmons received his Juris Doctor from Florida A&M University College of Law in 2010 and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2006. During law school, he served as editor of the FAMU Law Review. He was also the President of the Student Bar Association, active in the law school community, and active in the greater Orlando community in various service projects. Additionally, he was also a certified legal intern with the Office of the State Attorney, Ninth Circuit in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Simmons is licensed to practice law in Florida and is a member of The Florida Bar. He is also admitted in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

James E. Simmons is an associate in the Tallahassee office of Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A., where he practices in the areas of insurance defense, medical malpractice, and nursing home defense litigation. Previously, Mr. Simmons was an assistant general counsel with the Department of Financial Services in Tallahassee, Florida, where he handled insurance related matters, including prosecuting cases regarding licensing, unauthorized public adjusting, and unfair business practices. Mr. Simmons received his Juris Doctor from Florida A&M University College of Law in 2010 and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2006. During law school, he served as editor of the FAMU Law Review. He was also the President of the Student Bar Association, active in the law school community, and active in the greater Orlando community in various service projects. Additionally, he was also a certified legal intern with the Office of the State Attorney, Ninth Circuit in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Simmons is licensed to practice law in Florida and is a member of The Florida Bar. He is also admitted in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Edmund Perea, J.D. student and president of the UNM School of Law Student Bar Association, discusses his background in law enforcement and the law school experience in an interview with Public Relations Specialist Benson Hendrix.