Legal Current
Legal Current is a podcast from Thomson Reuters, Legal, that features information and commentary on the business and practice of law.

The class-action lawsuit including former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon against the NCAA begins in District Court in Los Angeles next week.  In addition, the NCAA is appealing a recent regional NLRB ruling that Northwestern University football players have the right to unionize.

Marta Fernandez of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell has dealt with NLRB issues and discusses what likely lies ahead for the NCAA in its fight over the status of student-athletes.

 

 

Direct download: NCAA_NLRB__Student-Athletes.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:41pm EDT

  • Legal news: It’s the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling to end segregation in public schools and we talked with Professor Ronna Schneider on the legal, cultural and historical importance of the decision.
Direct download: May_2014_Legal_Current_podcast.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:56pm EDT

Do so-called “Millennials” have different career expectations? Do law firms have to make adjustments in how they manage today’s associates?  Or do the associates need to adjust their expectations?  

Patricia Trendacosta - managing shareholder at Frandzel Robins Bloom & Csato discusses her experience in managing today’s crop of associates to find what’s best for the attorneys and ultimately, the firm. 

Direct download: Managing_the_Generation_Gap.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:17pm EDT

Black's Law Dictionary 10th Edition

For more than a century, Black’s Law Dictionary has been the gold standard for the language of law. Today, Thomson Reuters released the enhanced 10th Edition.

Edited by Bryan A. Garner, the world’s leading legal lexicographer, the 10th Edition is the most authoritative, comprehensive law dictionary ever published. It contains more than 50,000 terms, including 7,500 new ones. In addition, there are more than 16,000 new definitions and expanded bibliographic coverage, with more than twice as many sources quoted and cited than in the 9th Edition. The earliest usage dates in English-language contexts for nearly all terms are also included; Black’s is the only legal dictionary with this feature.

Its namesake comes from its founder Henry Campbell Black who published the first edition in 1891. Today, it is the reference of choice for legal briefs and court opinions as well as being cited as a secondary legal authority in U.S. Supreme Court cases. Check out a timeline here of all previous editions of Black’s Law Dictionary by date.

Professor Garner took some time to answer a few questions about the significance of the 10th Edition in a special Legal Current podcast, which can be heard by clicking here.

 

Direct download: Blacks_Law_Dictionary_10th_edition_-_Bryan_Garner.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:35pm EDT

In this month’s Legal Current podcast, we cover:
•Legal news: Was Jewish Center shooting a hate crime? •Legal trends & insights: The controversy over the National Security Agency’s surveillance program •News from Thomson Reuters: Peer Monitor releases Mid-Size Law Firm Report •On the legal blogs: Male strippers caused emotional distress to nursing home resident If you have a suggestion for a future interview or episode theme, leave a comment on this blog post or send an email to contact@legalcurrent.com. You can also follow us on Twitter at @legalcurrent.
Direct download: April_2014_Legal_Current_podcast.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:42am EDT

LegalCurrent March 2014 podcast

SCOTUS takes up ACA contraception mandate in the Hobby Lobby case, a very costly Facebook post, Thomson Reuters launches Solutions -- practice-specific suites of solutions, and assault with a "beary" deadly weapon.

Direct download: LegalCurrent_March_2014_podcast.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:12pm EDT

Most law firm websites are indeed designed to fail. That’s a bold statement, and the theme of a new white paper from FindLaw.  

The white paper discusses how many law firms’ websites may be generating less business impact than they could. Why? Because they don’t focus enough on conversion – the process of getting visitors to contact the firm.

Successful Web conversion starts with understanding the psychology of the legal consumer. This new FindLaw white paper takes an in-depth look logic, emotion and today’s legal consumer. 

Direct download: Why_Most_Law_Firm_Websites_are_Designed_to_Fail.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:54pm EDT

The maker of 5 Hour Energy is under investigation by attorneys general in Oregon and other states because of reports of consumer health problems.  But the real battle may be over the popular energy shots’ proprietary formula, which the company refusing to turn over to investigators.

Eric Hagen with McDermott Will & Emery discusses the inherent conflict that often exist between discovery requests and trade secrets. 

Direct download: IP_AGs__5_Hour_Energy.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:31pm EDT

Transactional law often involves pulling together information from a wide variety of sources, including the SEC and public and private deal data.  A new resource, Business Law Center on WestlawNext, provides access from one easy-to-use source to several key information sources, including up-to-date SEC and global filings and disclosures, EDGAR precedent agreements, Thomson Reuters proprietary deal abstracts covering public and private M&A, corporate finance and capital markets transactions, as well as SEC administrative material and the most comprehensive collection of SEC staff comment letters in the industry. 

Marc Butler discusses how Business Law Center on WestlawNext can help transactional attorneys 

Direct download: Business_Law_Center_on_WestlawNext.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:40am EDT

In the February 2014 edition of the Legal Current podcast, we cover:

  • Legal news: Is Facebook a marriage killer?
  • Legal trends & insights: Judge Thomas Jacobs on the nature of cyberbullying and what parents can do to protect their kids. 
  • News from Thomson Reuters: Jason Thomas keynote at LegalTech New York last month and the Digital Economy Task Force report coming soon.
  • On the legal blogs: Judge bans man from the internet after creepy Craigslist prank.

You can listen to the episode now by clicking the play button on the built-in player below. We’re also on iTunes – just enter “Legal Current” in the search box.

If you have a suggestion for a future interview or episode theme, leave a comment on this blog post or send an email to contact@legalcurrent.com. You can also follow us on Twitter at @legalcurrent.

Direct download: LegalCurrent_Podcast_-_February_2014.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:59pm EDT