Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer

Clarence Thomas received over $5 million in gifts, Ketanji Brown Jackson got Beyonce tickets, a summer associate took a horse and carriage to work, Columbia Law Review faced controversy over website shutdown

The Trump conviction excuse tour is not going well for his attorneys.-----Donald Trump is now a convicted felon and everyone wants to know why his attorneys phoned in the defense. They... don't have good answers. At all. Continuing the Trump beat, Judge Aileen Cannon continued to display a delicate mix of cynical obstinance and outright incompetence, slow-playing a motion to keep Trump from publicly lying about the FBI and then asking for briefing on how the Supreme Court's CFPB case impacts the prosecution -- which it only could have if the Supreme Court came out the other way. And students no longer care about the USNWR rankings... but maybe there's a better measure of prestige.

From Sam Alito's flag controversies to Biglaw partners crossing the $20 million compensation barrier, the podcast covers a range of intriguing topics. They also discuss the most avoidable cheating scandal at a law school and the dynamics of the legal industry's shift towards high-value partner compensation.

Supreme Court Justice Alito's flag mishap sparks controversy as he blames his wife. The podcast also discusses ethical issues in the legal system, California bar exam financial struggles, and Elon Musk's legal troubles. The episode covers conflicts of interest, lawyer-client dynamics, and potential changes to the bar exam process.

Trump's attorneys seems as asleep at the switch as their client.-----Having called Stormy Daniels a liar repeatedly in its opening, the Trump defense team was then shocked and appalled that the prosecution elicited testimony to rehabilitate her credibility. The hits didn't stop there as they attempted to get out of the mess they'd landed in by sex shaming someone whose sexuality is their whole business. Trump lawyers do a lot better when the judge is running their defense. Meanwhile, an organization moved to preemptively pare down Trump's SCOTUS shortlist to the least qualified, worst behaved candidates and its been a very Ponzi-rific week for one Biglaw firm.

Donald Trump, Drake, And James Ho... punchlines write themselves.-----Donald Trump's trial shenanigans continue. Is he going to violate the gag order again? It seems inevitable but... our prediction might shock you! But even if his unfiltered "Truthing" is behind him, there are so many other ways to show contempt of court. And a busy week in Morningside Heights as Columbia Law School students ask school to cancel exams in light of campus unrest, or at a minimum convert its optional pass/fail model to mandatory pass/fail to avoid placing a stigma on worried students. Then conservative judges announced a boycott of Columbia until their demands for "viewpoint diversity" are met. Also, small talk becomes big diss track talk as we devote a whole segment to Drake and Kendrick going to war and the legal implications.

Topics include the unpleasant courtroom where Trump is on trial, racists targeting Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and a judge's lesson on hot mics. Also, discussions on rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, challenges of new parenthood, and disparities in treatment of former presidents in legal proceedings.

Let's see if it pays off as well as a billionaire covering up an affair.-----Donald Trump's hush money trial kicks off after a week of Trump alienating everyone involved in the process by refusing to respect basic decorum and attempting to skirt the gag order by arguing that RTs aren't endorsements. The Am Law 100 is also out and we talk through some of the key takeaways and Judge Ho tried to defend his take on forum shopping and it's... not good.

We continue breaking down the U.S. News & World Report law school rankings and the chaos that its new methodology introduced. And we know exactly who to blame for breaking these rankings. Elon Musk recently went in for a deposition defended by Quinn Emanuel's Alex Spiro and earned a motion for sanctions. And a Berkeley Law protest goes viral, but all the "free speech" talk misses the mark.

US News rankings for law schools continue to be peculiar as schools withdraw data. Duke tied with Harvard, NYU drops in ranking. Biglaw firm promotes healthy sleep despite causing lack of sleep in associates. Trump's bond in NY civil fraud case under scrutiny.