The Modern Law Library

Our favorite pop culture picks in 2024

It’s the time of year when The Modern Law Library likes to look back on the media that we’ve enjoyed: our annual pop culture picks episode. From presidential histories to wicked witches, listeners will find ways to occupy the holiday season.

Dec 18, 2024 10:35 AM CST

Horse-loving lawyer left the law to help run a Colorado ranch

In Running Free: An Incredible Story of Love, Survival, and How 200 Horses Trapped in a Wildfire Helped One Woman Find Her Soul lawyer Ami Cullen shares a lightly fictionalized version of the journey that she’s been on for more than a decade.

Dec 4, 2024 4:00 PM CST

What went wrong—and right—with 10 famous trials

In How Would You Decide? 10 Famous Trials That Changed History, J. Craig Williams examines cases and trials from history through the lens of a modern trial lawyer.

Nov 25, 2024 10:25 AM CST

‘Watchdogs’ author has no regrets about choosing civil service over the NBA

Glenn Fine’s career-long crusade against corruption might have its roots in his college days as a point guard for the Harvard basketball team. He played his personal best against Boston College—in a game that he later discovered had been fixed by the mob.

Nov 6, 2024 8:11 AM CST

Meet the sheriffs who believe they are ‘The Highest Law in the Land’

In The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy, lawyer and journalist Jessica Pishko takes a deep dive into the history of this position in American life and at a far-right movement hoping to co-opt it.

Oct 24, 2024 1:30 PM CDT

‘Company’ is the perfect short story collection for spooky season

Most—though not all—of the 13 short stories in Company deal with members of the Collins family. Three generations of narrators bear witness to the changing fortunes of the family, and as with any witness statement, everyone has a different perspective on what actually happened. Also, there are ghosts—and at least one witch.

Oct 9, 2024 4:00 PM CDT

The Supreme Court is a liberal body—when it comes to legal writing

Legal writing professor Jill Barton spent five years analyzing more than 10,000 pages of SCOTUS opinions to produce The Supreme Guide to Writing. Her biggest takeaway? The justices are not a conservative bunch when it comes to writing style.

Sep 25, 2024 8:48 AM CDT

Legal thriller author David Ellis’ day job? Appellate court justice

Justice David W. Ellis has served on the Illinois Appellate Court for the 1st District for nearly 10 years. But readers may know him better as author David Ellis, bestselling writer of more than a dozen legal thrillers.

Aug 29, 2024 8:41 AM CDT

‘Shaping the Bar’ author says bar exam protects legal profession, not public

Lawyer and author discusses with the ABA Journal’s Julianne Hill how the bar’s history of creating a method to test minimum competency is outdated and discriminatory.

Jul 24, 2024 8:48 AM CDT

Summer reading picks and why a YMCA-funded crusade against obscenity matters today

Do you need some distractions during vacation travel or while lying directly under your A/C unit and sweating? It’s time for The Modern Law Library’s summer recommendations episode.

Jul 10, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

‘The Lawyer Millionaire’ author shares the 7 biggest money mistakes lawyers can make

Despite a high earning potential, new lawyers usually have high debt. People who chose to get JDs instead of MBAs often find themselves operating as entrepreneurs to launch a solo practice. The author of The Lawyer Millionaire is here to help.

Jun 19, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

‘The Originalism Trap’ author wants to see originalism dead, dead, dead

Originalism is the ascendant legal theory espoused by conservative legal thinkers, including the majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices. But far from being an objective framework for constitutional interpretation, says author and attorney Madiba K. Dennie, its true purpose is to achieve conservative political aims regardless of the historical record.

Jun 5, 2024 9:04 AM CDT

How to strike up conversations that build your book of business

Networking is something that comes naturally to some people. But if the idea of talking to strangers makes you break out into a cold sweat, there's help and hope, says Deb Feder, author of the book After Hello: How to Build a Book of Business, One Conversation at a Time.

May 29, 2024 8:55 AM CDT

When states’ rights and health care access clash

From the COVID-19 response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the results of 50 states having individual approaches to public health, medical outcomes and health care access raise troubling questions. A husband-and-wife team of University of Utah professors dig into the ethics of the American health care system in States of Health: The Ethics and Consequences of Policy Variation in a Federal System.

May 15, 2024 4:40 PM CDT

‘In the Shadow of Liberty’ shines light on American immigration history

Ana Raquel Minian uses the personal experiences of four immigrants to walk readers through the history of immigrant detention in the United States in In the Shadow of Liberty: The Invisible History of Immigrant Detention in the United States.

May 1, 2024 9:00 AM CDT