The Pro Say Movie Club makes its maiden voyage into the world of John Grisham with a discussion of A Time To Kill, the 1996 adaptation directed by Joel Schumacher and starring just about every famous actor from the 90s. It’s the story of Mississippi litigator Jake Brigance and his defense of Carl Lee Hailey, a black man who took the lives of two white men to avenge a brutal assault on his daughter. This week’s show dives into the movie’s sprawling and somewhat chaotic structure; venue and bail f...
Sep 07, 2021•51 min
The upcoming criminal trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes figures to center around one crucial question: Was the blood testing startup’s failure a case of misguided Silicon Valley over-ambition, or was it outright fraud? Law360’s Dorothy Atkins has been covering the Theranos litigation for years, and she joins us this week to break down all you need to know ahead of next week’s long-awaited trial. Also on the show: The Supreme Court refuses to halt a Texas law prohibiting abortions aft...
Sep 03, 2021•33 min
Can you reverse-engineer an entire movie out of a lawyer joke? That’s the question we’re asking on the Pro Say Movie Club as we talk about Liar Liar, a 1997 Jim Carrey romp about a deeply dishonest attorney named Fletcher Reede who is suddenly put under a magical spell that forces him to tell the truth for 24 hours. On this week’s show, we’re talking about the legal ethics of lying; the baseball career of Jose Canseco; the struggle for work-life balance in BigLaw; the aesthetics of courthouse ba...
Aug 31, 2021•48 min
You’ve probably heard of insider trading, but what about “shadow trading”? Federal regulators are pursuing a novel civil lawsuit that claims a pharma executive broke the law by using insider information about his own company to get rich — only he did it by buying another company’s shares. Law360 securities law reporter Dean Seal joins us this week to talk about the phenomenon of shadow trading and how the regulators are trying to crack down. Also this week: Nirvana is hit with a child pornograph...
Aug 27, 2021•41 min
Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter fell in love, found out they were expecting a baby, and ran off to get married. But then they were arrested in their bedroom in the middle of the night. The crime? Back in 1958, Virginia law barred interracial marriage. Their arrest set the stage for a years-long legal fight that made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and changed the future for millions of couples. On this week’s episode of the Pro Say Movie Club we’re talking about the true story depicted...
Aug 24, 2021•59 min
Requiring COVID-19 vaccination for jury members seems like a public health no-brainer as Delta continues to spike, but it’s raising tricky questions about whether vaccine disparities along racial and political lines could skew jury pools. Joining us this week to discuss the issue is Law360 senior reporter Chris Villani, who breaks down how judges across the country are handling juror vaccination and how trial attorneys are reacting. Also this week: Law360’s annual look at how big firms are worki...
Aug 20, 2021•38 min
Driven by the delta variant, Covid-19 infections are spiking across the country, leaving courts and law firms to once again grapple with public health and safety measures. On this week’s episode, we’re breaking down the patchwork of new restrictions, from courthouse mask rules to BigLaw vaccine mandates. Also this week, a public corruption trial with such bad lawyering that the First Circuit granted a redo; and an interesting argument against the Covid-19 eviction ban centered on the almost-neve...
Aug 13, 2021•33 min
Some elite lawyers are miracle workers. Others are janitors. Michael Clayton, the eponymous main character of our Pro Say Movie Club pick this week, is the latter. Clayton, played by George Clooney, is a so-called fixer at a prestigious Manhattan law firm who is thrust into crisis after his boss and mentor has a mental breakdown while defending the producer of a deadly weed killer. As the sinister client attempts to contain the problem, Clayton is forced to confront not only an ugly conspiracy, ...
Aug 10, 2021•1 hr
Every young associate has probably had a tough boss at their firm, but what if that boss was literally Satan? Our pick for the Pro Say Movie Club this week “The Devil’s Advocate” tells the story of hot shot Florida litigator Kevin Lomax, played by Keanu Reeves, whose perfect courtroom record draws the eye of a tony New York law firm and its enigmatic top partner John Milton, played by Al Pacino. The new caseload presents Kevin with a series of escalating moral crises and rips his family apart as...
Aug 03, 2021•59 min
On this week’s episode of the Pro Say Movie Club, we comb our hair, put on our suits made out of some kind of cloth, and journey to the south with Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei in the venerable 1992 legal comedy “My Cousin Vinny.” Pesci plays Vincent Gambini, a sharp but inexperienced New York attorney who’s way out of his element defending two “yutes” accused of murdering a store clerk in a small Alabama town. With the help of girlfriend Mona Lisa Vito’s automotive prowess, and some magic grits, G...
Jul 27, 2021•53 min
Earlier this year, New York joined the growing list of states to legalize recreational marijuana. But the Empire State’s law goes a step further by automatically expunging hundreds of thousands of cannabis-related criminal convictions, offering a clean slate to those hampered by aggressive enforcement in the past. Law360 reporter Marco Poggio joins the show this week to break down the impact of this provision, the challenges that lie ahead, and the likelihood of other states following New York’s...
Jul 23, 2021•31 min
In the Pro Say Movie Club it is our code built on honor and respect for the chain of command to carefully break down outrageous courtroom showdowns in legal cinema. That’s why this week we’re talking about "A Few Good Men," the gripping 1992 drama featuring Tom Cruise as a cocky young Navy lawyer who prides himself on never seeing the inside of a courtroom, until he finds purpose in defending two marines accused of murder. Cruise faces off with Jack Nicholson in one of the most iconic trial conf...
Jul 20, 2021•1 hr 4 min
Britney Spears’ battle against a guardianship that she says is unwarranted and abusive is a high-profile case, but it is far from the only one questioning the legal mechanism that can strip people of their rights to basic self-determination. On this week’s episode we talk with Law360 features reporter Cara Bayles about just what’s going on with the guardianship system. Also this week: Joe Exotic, the eccentric Oklahoma zookeeper at the center of Netflix’s hit documentary ‘Tiger King,’ wins an ap...
Jul 16, 2021•40 min
For the first episode of our new summer movie series, we’re watching the iconic 2001 law school comedy “Legally Blonde,” in which sorority queen Elle Woods conquers Harvard Law. What, like it’s hard? What begins as a scheme to win back her boyfriend turns into a journey of self-realization for Elle, who teaches us along the way that lawyers come in all forms, and that staying true to yourself is the key to unlocking your full potential. Or, put another way: You can wear pink and still be a succe...
Jul 13, 2021•52 min
This week we’re discussing the legal dimensions of the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium complex in Surfside, Florida. We unpack the litigation that has followed the disaster, the lawyers working the case pro bono, and the lessons to be learned that could help prevent future tragedies. Also this week, a wrap-up of the latest Supreme Court term with Law360 reporter Jimmy Hoover, and a Fifth Circuit ruling with big consequences for mandatory bar fees. Finally, stay tuned next wee...
Jul 09, 2021•39 min
The hosts of the Pro Say podcast love talking about two things: the law and the movies. So we're going to spend our summer bringing them together for the Pro Say Movie Club, a new limited-run podcast series about the greatest films in legal cinema history — from “My Cousin Vinny” to “A Few Good Men” and everything in between. Episodes will drop every Tuesday starting on July 13, when we journey to Harvard Law School with Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde.”
Jul 07, 2021•2 min
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction this week, ruling that the disgraced comedian was improperly prosecuted after being promised immunity. On this week’s show, the hosts break down the court’s decision and its implication for the post-#MeToo legal landscape. Also on the show, on the final day of the Supreme Court term, the justices uphold controversial voting restrictions in Arizona; and RobinHood is hit with a record regulatory fine for lax oversight ...
Jul 02, 2021•37 min
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that the NCAA violated federal antitrust laws by barring student athletes from receiving compensation. The decision wasn’t a sweeping overhaul for players, but it could open the door to new, broader challenges at a time when college sports are already changing. We’re joined this week by Law360 senior sports law reporter Zach Zagger to break down the ruling and what it might mean going forward. Also this week: Harvard University wins a lawsuit seeking tuitio...
Jun 25, 2021•37 min
Elite law firms across the country are racing to heap higher salaries and big new bonuses onto associates — a surprising development at the tail end of a global pandemic where economic belt-tightening was a common theme. We’re joined this week by Law360 legal industry editor Natalie Rodriguez to explain the so-called ‘salary wars’ in BigLaw, including what firms are bumping pay, why they’re doing it, and what might be next. Also this week: The U.S. Supreme Court issues big rulings on Obamacare a...
Jun 18, 2021•35 min
Toyota is under federal investigation for allegedly bribing Supreme Court judges in Thailand in an effort to overturn a $350 million tax judgment. Law360's Frank Runyeon joins the show this week to explain what we know so far about the unfolding scandal. Also this week, we discuss an insurance suit that weighs whether the coronavirus or government orders were to blame for losses to a strip club; the DOJ recovering millions in ransom paid to hackers who halted operations of Colonial Pipeline; and...
Jun 11, 2021•34 min
The NFL has agreed to end the use of a controversial race-based method of evaluating brain damage claims as part of its billion-dollar concussion settlement, months after a federal judge said she was “concerned” by the practice. On this week’s show, we’re breaking down the controversy, the NFL’s new move and what it means going forward. Plus, a Supreme Court ruling on a federal hacking law that critics warned could criminalize normal internet users; and more blowback from the bench for law firm ...
Jun 04, 2021•28 min
Amazon was hit with an antitrust lawsuit from Washington DC’s attorney general this week, accusing the tech giant of crushing competition and driving up prices. On this week’s show, Alex and Bill break down the new lawsuit and how it compares to recent similar cases against Google and Facebook. Also this week: A prominent plaintiffs firm is scolded for “fraud” and booted from a securities class action related to the FIFA bribery scandal, and a Trump-era ambassador sues over a verbal promise from...
May 28, 2021•27 min
An elected North Carolina district attorney was recently forced out of office via an obscure state law. Some say this was an instance of the law holding a DA accountable for ethical breaches, but others fear the state law could be used to punish DAs for unpopular decisions. On this week’s episode of Pro Say we welcome Law360 ethics expert Andrew Strickler to unpack this unusual ouster. Also this week: The Supreme Court takes up a bombshell abortion rights case with the potential to undo Roe v. W...
May 21, 2021•40 min
Just a week into her tenure as a high-ranking SEC official, former BigLaw partner Alex Oh abruptly resigned in April — with little indication as to why. Now, the former Paul Weiss attorney has been sanctioned over a tense deposition in a human rights case against Exxon. On this week’s episode, Law360 senior securities reporter Deal Seal joins the show to unpack this messy situation. Also this week: A Texas bankruptcy judge dismisses the NRA’s bankruptcy case on account of bad faith; New Jersey s...
May 14, 2021•39 min
Covid-19 vaccines have hit the market, but there remains a huge discrepancy in access to the life-saving treatments between rich and poor countries. This week, the Biden administration endorsed a suspension of global intellectual property rules that advocates say will help worldwide vaccine distribution, teeing up a closely watched clash with the pharmaceutical industry. Law360’s Ryan Davis joins the show this week to break down this high-stakes collision of trade law, IP rights and public healt...
May 07, 2021•38 min
After years of denying responsibility for the opioid crisis, major drugmakers are trying out a bolder defense in a trial that just kicked off in California: downplaying the severity of the crisis itself. This week, we’re breaking down the big trial and this new strategy, plus: Accusations that Bayer is running a “pay-to-appeal scheme” to help beat cancer litigation about Roundup weedkiller; A crash of a self-driving Tesla highlights legal uncertainty over who should be held liable for automated ...
Apr 30, 2021•37 min
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty Tuesday for the murder of George Floyd, following a weeks-long trial that captured the world’s attention. Law360’s senior trials reporter Cara Bayles was there every step of the way, and she joins us this week to break it all down — the big takeaways, the key moments, and what the verdict might mean for future police brutality cases. Also this week: A messy story about a BigLaw attorney in hot water over lies to a federal judge; a ...
Apr 23, 2021•48 min
A landmark union push at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama ended in defeat Friday as workers decisively opted against organizing. While the outcome is a setback for organized labor, it may not be the end of the story. This week, we’re joined by Law360’s Braden Campbell to discuss the closely watched vote and the union’s looming effort to challenge the results. Also this week, a parent charged in the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal sues Netflix over his depiction in a documentary about the ...
Apr 16, 2021•48 min
For more than a decade, Google and Oracle have been duking it out over the extent to which individual companies can control an important building-block component of computer software code -- with Google potentially on the hook for billions of dollars in damages and the future of the technology industry seemingly at stake. On Monday, we finally got an answer from the Supreme Court, which avoided a critical copyright question but found that Google had made fair-use out of Oracle’s software code. O...
Apr 09, 2021•40 min
The fierce debate over the NCAA’s restrictions on paying college athletes reached the Supreme Court this week, with justices from across the ideological spectrum openly criticizing the current structure of college sports. On this week’s Pro Say, we break down the case and the tough questions lobbed by the justices. Also this week, the high court relaxes rules aimed at limiting media consolidation and a New York attorney’s refusal to wear a mask results in his case getting tossed. Finally, the ga...
Apr 02, 2021•36 min
