The COVID pandemic precipitated a massive shift in digital infrastructure. Annelise Riles , the Executive Director of the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Studies at Northwestern University, outlines her vision for the United States' role in global engagement, the future of transnational education, and addresses the growing skepticism of the costs of removing the human element.
Nearly 35 years after Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson made sexual harassment unlawful, the EEOC reports that 85% of women have experienced sexual harassment at some point in their career. Tina Tchen, former chief of staff to Michelle Obama and president and CEO of Time’s Up Now and the Time’s Up Foundation , discusses how the law can actually impede progress in critical areas of workplace discrimination, and how businesses and government can more effectively move the needle....
The 2020 presidential election has already seen unprecedented changes to the process by which votes are cast, tallied, and reported, and, as a result, the U.S. has seen an increased amount of litigation surrounding the election. Michael Kang, the William G. and Virginia K. Karnes Research Professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, is a nationally recognized election law expert. He discusses COVID-19’s looming impact on the upcoming presidential election, the range of election-related liti...
Emily Kadens , legal historian with a particular focus on medieval and early modern history of commercial law and practice, shares her research on the origins of commercial fraud in England and dispels the myth of a golden age of commerce. Fraud is not a modern problem. In this episode of Northwestern Law’s Planet Lex, host Jim Speta is joined by Emily Kadens , Professor of Law, to discuss her new article New Light on Twyne’s Case , one of the oldest English cases still being cited by American c...
The United States has a long history of religious accommodation. But is it possible to exempt those who object to an anti-discrimination law without defeating the purpose of that law? Planet Lex host Jim Speta is joined in this episode by Andrew Koppelman , John Paul Stevens Professor of Law and author of Gay Rights Versus Religious Liberty: The Unnecessary Conflict , to discuss the intersection of religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws, the recent Supreme Court decision in Bostock v Cla...
A criminal record can be an economic life sentence for those attempting to re-enter society. The cost of one year of incarceration of a child exceeds that of a four-year university. Juvenile justice is one of many areas of the law struggling to adapt to COVID-19. In this episode of Planet Lex, host Jim Speta discusses the pandemic’s impact on incarceration with Julie L. Biehl , Clinical Professor of Law, who has served as Director of the Children and Family Justice Center since 2009. She outline...
In the midst of a global pandemic, federal and state governments are tasked with addressing a public health emergency while steadfastly protecting civil liberties. In this episode of Planet Lex , host Vice Dean Jim Speta is joined by Daniel B. Rodriguez , Harold Washington Professor and former dean of Northwestern Law, to discuss the myriad (and ever-evolving) legal issues surrounding COVID-19. Rodriguez also discusses the “pop-up” course he created in order to teach the topic in real-time, and ...
In this special live recording of Planet Lex at Northwestern’s San Francisco campus, host Jim Speta talks with Myra Pasek , general counsel at Ouster, and Pete Cline , associate director of legal at Twitter, about their experiences working in-house at start-ups and high-profile tech companies, including Tesla, Impossible Foods, Ouster, and Twitter. The guests share their unique paths from big law to Silicon Valley and offer insights on the cutting-edge legal issues and challenges that arise in t...
Incarceration is the primary form of criminal punishment in the US today, and approximately 80,000 American prisoners are in some form of solitary confinement. What exactly does this look like in our prison system, and what are the effects of solitary confinement on individuals? Does this type of treatment violate prisoners’ constitutional rights? In this edition of Planet Lex , host Jim Speta talks with David Shapiro and Daniel Greenfield, members of the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice C...
Northwestern Law’s intellectual property and patent law scholars are truly leaders in their field. In this edition of Planet Lex , host Jim Speta welcomes Laura Pedraza-Fariña and David Schwartz to discuss the study of innovation and the law in an era of rapid technological change. The guests share their individual paths to intellectual property and patent law and offer insights on how patents affect innovation. They also discuss their current research projects and outline the unique advantages ...
As Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Bluhm Legal Clinic approaches its 50th anniversary, Planet Lex host Vice Dean Jim Speta talks with Thomas Geraghty , the Clinic’s director from 1976-2017, about the clinic’s beginnings and how it evolved into what it is today. Geraghty shares how engaging students directly in the practice of law provides vital training and makes legal education more meaningful. They also discuss Geraghty’s work bringing clinical education to law schools around the world a...
If fairness doesn’t always mean treating everyone the same, then what does it really mean? In this edition of Northwestern Law’s Planet Lex , host Vice Dean Jim Speta is joined by Kimberly Yuracko , Dean and Judd and Mary Morris Leighton Professor of Law, to discuss her extensive research on gender equity. Speta and Yuracko survey current social issues and discuss how laws surrounding these matters are changing. They also examine gender equity in the legal profession, and discuss the responsibil...
When it comes to sports, the legal landscape is constantly evolving, and this episode’s guest knows that better than anyone. Jerry Reinsdorf , owner of the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago White Sox, has been a franchise owner for over 25 years and has seen his sports teams through a number of critical changes. The Northwestern Law alum joins host Jim Speta to talk about going from law student to franchise owner, the impact of the law and technology on the future of sports, cheering on Jackie Robin...
Late last year, all anyone could seem to talk about was the migrant caravan approaching the U.S./Mexico border. Yet, despite all the coverage and conversations, very few people understand the legal and social complexities facing those seeking asylum. In this episode of Planet Lex , host Jim Speta talks with Professor Uzoamaka Emeka Nzelibe about her work representing unaccompanied minors seeking asylum as well as her recent trip to the U.S./Mexico border with volunteer students and staff to prov...
How much should people care about privacy? And what’s at stake when it comes to tracking biometrics? In this episode of Planet Lex , host Jim Speta talks to Matthew Kugler about his research into consumer sentiment around biometric tracking. They discuss the landscape of privacy law and its current trends, and Professor Kugler explains the methods and findings of his recent research. They also talk about the various ways biometric information is (and can be) acquired and used, and the implicatio...
Many people complain when a jury summons arrives, but when they actually serve on a case they become quite invested in the process. But how can a group of lay people handle making such difficult and consequential decisions? In this episode of Planet Lex , host Jim Speta talks to Professor Shari Diamond about her research on jury process, including her finding that our trust in the jury system is not misplaced. Even in challenging and complex cases, juries typically work very hard to ensure a jus...
When cases like Brendan Dassey’s are examined, many see a pressing need to rethink the definition of coercion and the law of voluntariness, especially in cases involving minors. In this episode of Planet Lex , host Jim Speta talks to Northwestern Law professors, Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth attorneys, and Netflix stars Steven Drizin and Laura Nirider about false confessions and the legal proceedings covered in the second season of “Making a Murderer.” They catch us up on what has happ...
President Trump and other politicians have painted the media as the “enemy of the people” -- purveyors of fake news who use their platform as a means to defame others. But really, what are the legal requirements of the media when reporting news? In this episode of Planet Lex , host Jim Speta talks to Northwestern Law alumnae Kate Shaw and Megan Murphy about their experience as lawyers in the media. They discuss the many legal issues facing journalists and pundits, and whether more law is needed ...
As the November midterm elections loom, issues of election law continue to have a significant impact on the voting process. In this episode of Planet Lex , new host Jim Speta , Vice Dean at Northwestern Law, talks to Professor Michael Kang about everything election law, from partisan gerrymandering and the constitutional issues involved in redistricting, to the effects of voter ID laws. They discuss how the different parties have used redistricting to gain an advantage, the urban/rural divide, a...
With Brett Kavanaugh’s ongoing confirmation battle, the Supreme Court and the partisan polarization of the nomination process has been fresh in the minds of many. In this episode of Planet Lex , host Daniel B. Rodriguez talks to Tonja Jacobi and Sarah Schrup about major issues facing the Supreme Court and the implications they have on our democracy. They discuss possible reforms, like term limits and court packing, as well as topics like oral advocacy and the tendency for female justices to be i...
The violence that grips the streets of Chicago has been the subject of news outlets and even the President’s tweets, but what is actually being done to address the issue? In this episode of Planet Lex , host Daniel B. Rodriguez talks to Alexa Van Brunt, an attorney on the MacArthur Justice Center, about police brutality and bias in Chicago and the draft consent decree to reform the Chicago Police Department. They discuss the Justice Department’s report on police misconduct during the Obama Admin...
Gun violence in neighborhoods on Chicago’s south and west sides is a decades-long problem experiencing recently renewed media attention. In this episode of Planet Lex , host Daniel B. Rodriguez talks to Zach Fardon, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, about the complexity of the problem, the root causes, and what can be done to address it. Their discussion touches on the distrust of law enforcement, the struggling public school system, and the role of federal law enforc...
The legal ecosystem is undergoing a massive transformation around the world, prompting some legal professionals to wonder if the industry is in a crisis. Others, though, argue that the legal community can start to fix problems within the industry by first recognizing them. As a prelude to Beyond Our Borders, a two-day summit on global legal innovation, host Daniel Rodriguez talks to Mark Cohen , the CEO of LegalMosaic, and Eva Bruch , Founder of AlterWork, about what’s broken within the legal in...
Does the access to justice problem need a design solution? At Stanford’s Legal Design Lab, Margaret Hagan and her colleagues use human-centered design and technology to create innovative solutions for legal services. In this episode of Planet Lex , host Daniel Rodriguez talks to Margaret about the use of design thinking to help close the access to justice gap. Together they discuss what design thinking’s methodology is and its application in legal structures, the importance of centering technolo...
What started out as a viral moment has grown into a movement that has resulted in both praise and controversy. But what are the legal considerations of the #MeToo movement? In this episode of Planet Lex , host Daniel Rodriguez talks to Laura Beth Nielsen and Deb Tuerkheimer about how the #MeToo movement differs from similar assault accusations in the past, the role President Trump may have played in the movement’s growth, and the impact the movement has had on public discussion surrounding sexua...
Committees have been formed, seminars have been taught, and conferences have been hosted — all in an effort to convince lawyers that new technology will save them time and money. Sometimes the message sticks; sometimes attorneys run in the opposite direction. But is it lawyers themselves or the industry's rules and culture that hinder innovation in legal tech? In this episode of Planet Lex , host Daniel Rodriguez talks to Bill Henderson about innovation in the legal industry, including the cultu...
Whether it’s Milo Yiannopoulos being unable to speak at Berkeley or James Damore being fired for his Google memo, freedom of speech has repeatedly emerged as a topic of controversy, especially in terms of hate speech. In this episode of Planet Lex , host Daniel Rodriguez talks to Marty Redish, a freedom of expression professor, about how the law defines free speech and the right of various institutions, like businesses and universities, to regulate speech. They also discuss what is and isn’t pro...
The Trump administration is constantly in the news but what's going on behind the scenes? In this episode of Planet Lex , host Daniel Rodriguez talks to former White House Counsel Neil Eggleston and former FCC Chairman Newt Minow about their experiences working for past presidents and their concerns about the Trump administration. They discuss the way we elect our presidents, the failings of the media, and whether or not the government is currently experiencing a moment of constitutional crisis....
Bestselling author and lawyer Scott Turow has written 13 books, including the law school must-read One L, and Presumed Innocent, the novel credited with creating the legal fiction genre. In this episode of Planet Lex , host Daniel Rodriguez talks to Scott about legal fiction, his career as a writer and lawyer, and the nature of legal education. They also touch on Scott’s work to reform capital punishment and the legal complexities of being an author in the age of technology. Scott Turow is the a...
Stoner jokes aside, cannabis is a truly budding industry. In this episode of Planet Lex , Daniel Rodriguez talks to Charlie Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs, and Dina Rollman, Chief Counsel at Green Thumb Industries, about the complexities of the marijuana industry, including how Illinois has set a precedent for regulatory programs, the banking challenges facing cultivators, and the battle for more research within the United States. They also discuss the role of lawyers within the cannabis business,...
