A second child during China’s one-child policy becomes an immigration lawyer in the US

“I came into this world as the second child of my family during the stringent era of China’s one-child policy. To avoid governmental persecution, we took refuge in a secluded rural area where my mother was forced to give birth at home without any medical attention. As I grew older, my inquisitive nature drove me to question why my sister and I lived apart, and why I seemed to be the cause of additional paperwork at school.”

Dec 1, 2023 1:30 AM CST

As CEO of an air carrier, this lawyer steers the company and flies the planes

Dec 1, 2023 1:20 AM CST

Needless complexity in the courts and 50 ways to reduce it

Just before stepping down, Thomas G. Moukawsher, 61, published The Common Flaw: Needless Complexity in the Courts and 50 Ways to Reduce It. He left behind a playbook for others to tackle his stuff to fix. Moukawsher admits his guide “gets pretty far down in the weeds.”

Dec 1, 2023 1:10 AM CST

Florida lawyer creates the role models he didn’t have through a children’s book

“It’s been my goal to try to change the imagery of what attorneys look like to kids,” says Okoye Morgan Jr., founder and general counsel of The Black Law Company in Tampa, Florida.

Oct 1, 2023 2:40 AM CDT

Former NSA and CIA general counsel has made it her mission to strengthen national security through civic education

Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker has spent decades dealing with national security. Today, Parker’s focus isn’t spies, surveillance or foreign governments. It’s education—specifically, inadequate civic education from elementary school to graduate school. When Americans don’t understand the foundations of their democracy, they are susceptible to misinformation and manipulation, she says. In her view, civic education is a national security imperative.

Oct 1, 2023 2:30 AM CDT

New book explores how qualified immunity protects police in brutality and wrongful death cases

High-profile cases like the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police have led to further growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, calls for defunding the police, police reform and greater police accountability. In her new book, Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable, Joanna Schwartz, a professor at the UCLA School of Law and an expert in qualified immunity, tells the stories of people who have been wrongly harmed or killed by police.

Oct 1, 2023 2:20 AM CDT

First Black federal judges carved a civil rights path

In “The Jackie Robinsons of the Federal Judiciary,” published in the University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class, Judge Willie J. Epps Jr. recounts the strengths, struggles and legacies of these nine historic trailblazers. “They did not let barriers stop them from becoming federal judges when segregated schools, employers, restaurants, hotels, public bathrooms, water fountains and swimming pools prevailed,” says Epps, a magistrate judge in the Western District of Missouri.

Aug 1, 2023 1:50 AM CDT

Septuagenarian lawyer can beat both his clients’ criminal charges and a drum set

There are generally two reasons why people go to see Dan Monnat: They’re facing criminal charges or they enjoy live music. Monnat, co-founder and president of Monnat & Spurrier Chartered, a five-lawyer firm in Wichita, Kansas, is both an accomplished criminal defense lawyer and a musician who sings and plays drums for an R&B group called The House Band. Across his 47-year career, Monnat has achieved courtroom victories in cases ranging from murder to money laundering. But initially, he was a musician.

Aug 1, 2023 1:40 AM CDT

How collegiality can influence judicial decisions

When dissenting from an ideological foe, judges from federal courts of appeal use an estimated 8.3 fewer negative emotional words if the author of the majority opinion works in the same building. Apparently, it can be uncomfortable riding on an elevator with someone whose opinion you have called “plainly wrong.”

Aug 1, 2023 1:30 AM CDT

From Undocumented to Attorney at Law: A journey of hope and resilience

There was room for only two of us on our tiny raft, yet three of my siblings and I managed to cling onto its surface as my father waded through the Rio Grande, pulling the raft behind him. In front of us was the promised land: America. It promised an education and a better life.

Jun 1, 2023 1:30 AM CDT

Despite epic success and a legendary reputation, this BigLaw founder isn’t resting on his laurels

If John B. Quinn wasn’t a real person, Hollywood might have invented him. Quinn has been called a legal titan, and his firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, has been labeled one of the most feared litigation firms in the world.

Jun 1, 2023 1:20 AM CDT

New book details Justice Antonin Scalia’s early life

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in office in 2016, remains a revered figure among conservatives for his pugnaciousness, quick wit and his commitment to deciding cases based on “textualist” readings of statutes and an “originalist” interpretation of the Constitution. But Scalia’s combativeness also was polarizing.

Jun 1, 2023 1:10 AM CDT

How a yearslong toxic tort case ended in record $363M verdict

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But what if the two points span over 30 years? How do you manage to build that straight line? Through focus and restraint. And that is exactly how we exposed three decades of misdeeds and obtained a $363 million verdict.

Apr 1, 2023 2:10 AM CDT

California lawyer blazes a new career path as a firefighter and EMT

Aha moments are often likened to lightning strikes. But California family lawyer Nicole “Nico” Smith’s life-changing decision to become a professional firefighter followed an actual lightning strike.

Apr 1, 2023 2:00 AM CDT

How I made a career in mass torts

The law appealed to me for many reasons, the primary one being that one person, regardless of socioeconomic status, can take action and stand against a company or governmental actor that had wronged them and realize some modicum of justice—unlike many other legal systems found around the world.

Apr 1, 2023 1:50 AM CDT