Inter Alia

Class-action lawyer went from being 50 Cent’s roadie to taking on TikTok

Kelvin Goode always hoped he’d end up advocating for the kind of people he grew up with in New York City. Now, as CEO of Arizona-based ClaimsHero, he says he’s doing just that. It’s a quest—and a career—that Goode never could have imagined when, as a troubled teen, he left home to work for a hometown hero: rap legend Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.

Dec 1, 2024 1:30 AM CST

To win our case, organization and delegation were key

In our experience, we see lawyers who keep the entire case to themselves in the mistaken belief that they can navigate issues, and they may get in over their heads. It’s critical to make sure to have the right lawyer for the job. Falcon Healthcare Inc. v. Interim Healthcare Inc. presented complex franchise, health care and business dissolution issues. We had litigators on the trial team for each of these areas, and it made all the difference.

Dec 1, 2024 1:20 AM CST

Immigration judge says balance and gumption propelled her career

A good temperament is the cornerstone of a judge’s success, and Mimi Tsankov, an immigration judge, says she’s been working on that for some time.

Dec 1, 2024 1:10 AM CST

Opioid litigation was grueling, but a chance to make change

The opioid epidemic is a tragedy of immense proportions that touches almost every individual in the United States. There is no “winning” this lawsuit in the usual sense. But we did forge a path to legal accountability and the payment of billions of dollars dedicated to the abatement of the epidemic and stronger safeguards regarding opioids.

Oct 1, 2024 1:50 AM CDT

Corporate lawyer leaves BigLaw to grow diaper vending machine business

Diaper duty is a task that favors the prepared, especially when out in public. But there can be no diaper change without a clean, correctly sized diaper. And that was precisely what Erin England, a Dallas corporate finance lawyer, was missing back in 2016 when she faced her infant daughter’s “code brown” in a restaurant bathroom.

Oct 1, 2024 1:40 AM CDT

Lucy Lang, NY inspector general, has always wanted rules evenly applied

New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang thinks her decision to pursue a legal career has something to do with being interested in rules and how they were applied. “As the bossy older sister, I had this desire for an even application of the rules among all the kids,” says Lang.

Oct 1, 2024 1:30 AM CDT

Lawyer with muscular dystrophy shoots for the stars

Megan Parker was born with Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy. She has a limited range of motion and uses a motorized wheelchair for mobility. She also has a tracheostomy tube in her neck and breathes through a ventilator. Despite these challenges, Parker persevered through college and law school, graduating with both a JD and an LLM.

Aug 1, 2024 1:30 AM CDT

How Sweet It Is: Lawyer builds a business around her award-winning chocolate

In a criminal trial, there’s always the possibility of a sweet deal. And some of the sweetest have come from the Milwaukee County Courthouse, thanks to lawyer Syovata Edari and her delicious chocolate truffles. Edari is the owner of CocoVaa Chocolatier, and in January, she was named a James Beard Awards semifinalist.

Aug 1, 2024 1:20 AM CDT

Book shares a female associate’s experiences with harassment in BigLaw 30 years later

In Look What You Made Me Do: Confronting Heartbreak & Harassment in Big Law, lawyer-turned-author Erin Gordon recounts her alienation as a young associate in the early 1990s—almost 25 years before the #MeToo movement.

Aug 1, 2024 1:10 AM CDT

Federal Aviation Administration’s chief counsel has fought challenges with resolve

Marc Nichols describes his career and life’s trajectory not as a straight line leading him to the FAA but more of a wandering path in which he has fought against difficult circumstances and seized opportunities. The key, Nichols says, is to stay determined and embrace change. “Change can sometimes be your friend. It’s about mental attitude and perseverance.”

Jun 1, 2024 1:40 AM CDT

Law prof’s textbook stresses AI ethics

“All legal writing classes are a situation where students may be tempted to use these tools without really understanding them. It would be very easy for students to make the wrong decisions in terms of exercising judgment,” says April Dawson, author of Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity.

Jun 1, 2024 1:30 AM CDT

10 Questions: Entertainment lawyer and documentarian knows where the good bars are

As Sheppard Mullin’s LA-based head of global media, Robert Darwell makes deals for companies like Disney, Amazon MGM Studios, Nickelodeon and Meta, and he’s helped make hundreds of movies possible, including Brokeback Mountain and Selma. But it’s not just Darwell’s law practice that earns him attention—he’s also recognized for his work as a documentary filmmaker.

Jun 1, 2024 1:20 AM CDT

More lawyers—and clients—want to learn about sustainable development practices

As many industries develop sustainable development practices, lawyers can play a role too. In a book released by ABA Publishing, Sustainability Essentials: A Leadership Guide for Lawyers, John Dernbach, with co-authors Irma Russell and Matthew Bogoshian, provide digestible how-to tips for proactively infusing a sustainable development framework into legal work.

Apr 1, 2024 1:20 AM CDT

This Los Angeles lawyer found her calling as a death doula

Everyone is going to die, it’s just a matter of where, when and how. For those who happen to know the specifics of their situation, Alua Arthur, a former legal aid lawyer, can help. Arthur is a certified death doula, which means she provides emotional and organizational support for people who are nearing death, allowing them to embrace the end in a way that honors their wishes, customs and beliefs.

Apr 1, 2024 1:10 AM CDT

A love for canines influenced this lawyer’s work to outlaw greyhound racing

People often ask me how I came to become a lawyer for greyhounds. In fact, the dogs led me to law school.

Apr 1, 2024 1:00 AM CDT