Inter Alia

Helping people feel safe is a primary goal of lawyer Chase Strangio

Chase Strangio, co-director of the LGBTQ & HIV Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, stresses the importance of remaining hopeful, even if the legal landscape for transgender rights seems bleaker right now than it has in years past. “I’m very committed to moving us out of a space of chaos, catastrophe and fear, and moving us to a place of possibility and grounded connection,” says Strangio.

Apr 1, 2025 1:30 AM CDT

Calming down situations in a respectful way is a useful skill for lawyers, former DOJ counsel says

While working at the U.S. Justice Department, lawyer Katharine Manning helped victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida and the investment fraud case involving Bernie Madoff. Now a consultant, she advises entities on creating compassionate work environments where employees and clients feel comfortable sharing difficult experiences.

Apr 1, 2025 1:20 AM CDT

Sound Decisions: Meet the retired bankruptcy judge who rules Seattle’s ambient electronic music scene

When federal bankruptcy judge Marc Barreca retired in 2024, he ended both his legal career and his double life. For years, Barreca had been dividing his time, spending weekdays presiding over a courtroom and evenings and weekends in his studio, composing and recording ambient electronic music.

Apr 1, 2025 1:10 AM CDT

Which fictional lawyers get the most Google traffic?

When the reckless, self-assured Harvey Specter struts into an office on Suits, are you riveted to the television screen? Do you do a Google search of him to learn more about his character? If the answer is yes, then you are in good company.

Feb 1, 2025 1:25 AM CST

El Chapo’s attorney also sings for her clients

Mariel Colón Miró exists in two seemingly separate worlds. Some days you will find the 32-year-old working as a criminal defense attorney out of her New York City office. But her love of music has equaled her passion for justice.

Feb 1, 2025 1:20 AM CST

This lawyer-turned-wrangler helped save 200 horses from a wildfire

In 2012, Ami Cullen left her job as a litigation associate with a Washington, D.C.-area law firm to become a horse wrangler on a Colorado dude ranch. Trading her heels for cowboy boots was easy. But adapting her East Coast hunter-jumper equestrian experience to working on a ranch way out West was pure culture shock.

Feb 1, 2025 1:15 AM CST

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