USLawEssentials Law & Language: Recent Episodes
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The USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast helps you improve your English and better understand US law and American legal culture. Many of these short episodes are tied to a legal news event or case in the United States. Others include interviews with multilingual lawyers. The shows are hosted by attorneys experienced teaching US law and legal English to students and lawyers from around the world. Listening to the podcasts will improve your ability to understand and communicate in English. uslawessentials.com/law-language-podcast/ uslawessentials.com/course-list
Episode 27
The USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast continues its series of interviews with multilingual lawyers as Stephen Horowitz interviews George Alissandratos. George is fluent in Greek and English and shares with us his perspectives as a new attorney who passed the bar in the midst of a pandemic. Currently an associate at Keane & Beane, George shares fun stories about growing up in New York but also shares timely insights on the challenges and opportunities that young attorneys and law students will embrace. This is absolutely a must-listen for students feeling discouraged.
And yes, naturally there is a Dad joke and by the end of the interview you’ll be craving some Greek food, too.
You can find George’s bio on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-alissandratos/
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, please contact Daniel at daniel at uslawessentials dot com.
You can find USLawEssentials on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uslawessentials
We are on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1985330578297158
Episode 26
Uncivil Law
The USLawEssentials Law & Language podcast continues its What’s New in the Legal News Series as Stephen Horowitz and Daniel A. Edelson discuss – – and demonstrate – – lawyers behaving badly. Our episode today focuses on an article published by the American Bar Association concerning uncivil conduct by attorneys. Titled Illinois Lawyers Experienced this type of Incivility Most Often Survey Says, the article reveals the results of a survey of Illinois attorneys and their experiences with obnoxious and unethical conduct. The survey was part of a larger project identifying and addressing unethical conduct by lawyers.
Do you want to know the most common type of incivility experienced by attorneys? Do you want to know the difference between condescension and sarcasm? You’ll learn all this and more in our latest episode.
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Receive transcripts of all USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcasts for Free Please complete the form below and you will receive a link and password for transcripts of all the episodes.
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Episode 25
The USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast continues its series of interviews with multilingual lawyers. In today’s episode, Stephen Horowitz interviews Yi Song, a US attorney from China, who is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law Center where she teaches legal writing to LLM students. This is a real “doozy” of an interview – – go ahead and listen to the interview to learn more about how to use “doozy” in a sentence! Ms. Song discusses her career path from working at a NYC law firm, where she counseled clients on securities laws and immigration issues, to her current role as in-house counsel for a prominent Chinese real-estate developer.
Ms. Song shares fascinating perspectives on cross-cultural negotiations, and her experiences interacting with US attorneys and clients in China. Among other things, you’ll learn that it has not been so easy for Ms. Song to know when her clients prefer to interact with her in English or in Chinese and she also shares insightful advice for law students and new attorneys.
Ms. Song’s LinkedIn profile is here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yisonggeorgetown/
If you have any questions about legal English, or want to make a suggestion for a future episode, please contact Daniel Edelson at daniel at uslawessentials dot com.
You can join the USLawEssentials Legal English Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1985330578297158
The USLawEssentials LinkedIn Grop is here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uslawessentials
Episode 24
The USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast continues its What’s New in the Legal News Series. This week we focus on the felony murder rule and a recent article discussing the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Steven Horowitz and Daniel A. Edelson introduce the article, Ahmoud Arbery death trial: What’s the difference between malice murder and felony murder in Georgia, which explains how the felony murder rule operates in Georgia and why it applied in the killing of Mr. Arbery. Mr. Arbery, a black man, was accosted by three white men while jogging. One defendant fired the shotgun that took Mr. Arbery’s life, however, the other defendants were also guilty under the felony murder rule.
By way of background, the felony murder rule, which, to our knowledge, only exists in the United States, holds all persons involved in a violent felony guilty of murder, should any person die during the commission of a violent felony. The felony murder rule applies to everyone who committed the felony, regardless of whether a defendant personally caused the victim to die.
A link to the article is here: https://www.11alive.com/article/news/crime/ahmaud-arbery/malice-murder-felony-murder-difference-ahmaud-arbery-death-trial/85-d13db692-cff9-4b4d-be73-5eba5ae22054
You can watch a USLawEssentials video on the felony murder rule here: https://youtu.be/e1-n32XYV3k
If you have a suggestion for a topic, please contact Daniel at daniel at uslawessentials dot com.
You can find the USLawEssentials LinkedIn Group here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uslawessentials
You can join USLawEssentials on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1985330578297158
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Episode 23
The USLawEssntials Law & Language Podcast continues its series of interviews with multilingual lawyers, featuring a recently successful bar exam candidate, Chunxia “Violet” Cole. Violet shares some of her dynamic life experiences as a successful project manager from China who came to the United States, and then embarked on an exciting career change by enrolling in a US law school, earning a new degree, and becoming a New York attorney. Violet is currently an intern for the Honorable Wilma Guzman.
Violet offers insightful perspectives as a multilingual student who studied law in China and the United States and the very different approaches to learning the law. She describes how she formed a bond with fellow law students from around the world as they mastered case reading, legal writing, and the many challenges of passing the bar.
If you have questions for Violet (or us at USLawEssentials) feel free to contact her on LinkedIn or email us at daniel at uslawessentials dot com.
The reference to an exercise involving a banana peel comes from the excellent Legal Analysis: 100 Exercises for Mastery by Cassandra Hill & Katherine Vukadin.
We welcome you to join us online at Facebook and LinkedIn.
Episode 22
The USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast continues its series of interviews with multilingual lawyers! In this episode, Stephen Horowitz interviews Quentin A. Alexandre, a newly admitted New York attorney from France.
Currently a litigation associate at Kennedy’s, Quentin not only speaks French and English, but also speaks German. He shares excellent insights on learning legal English, succeeding at a US law school, and building a professional career in the United States as a multilingual lawyer. For more insights, be sure to visit his blog at https://www.theinternationallawyer.org/
You can visit Quentin’s attorney profile here: https://kennedyslaw.com/our-people/profiles/new-york/quentin-a-alexandre/
Oh… and perhaps you should grab a pastry while listening to the podcast. Quentin suggests Levain bakery or Épicerie Boulud Now we certainly do not want to cause any controversy, but if you know any Belgian attorneys who would like to counter Quentin’s suggestion that French baking might just be a bit better than Belgium’s, we will welcome counterarguments (and samples).
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Episode 21
The USLawEssentials Law & Language podcast continues its What’s New in the Legal News series with a discussion of the civil lawsuit against organizers of the violent 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In that rally, ‘white nationalists’ gathered to protest the removal of a statue and then violently attacked plaintiffs. The lawsuit alleges that the organizers and protestors conspired to commit the violence and should be held liable for the injuries they caused.
Daniel Edelson and Stephen Horowitz discuss the lawsuit – – Sines v. Kessler – – which was brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1985. 42 U.S.C. § 1985 is a statute that enables plaintiffs to sue people in federal court who conspire to violate their civil rights.
Here is a link to an article discussing the lawsuit, which illustrates the tension between broad rights guaranteeing free speech in the United States, and the need to hold defendants liable for planning and committing violent acts.
Follow this link to read a copy of the complaint filed against the organizers of the rally.
Here is a link to a USLawEssentials YouTube video introducing 42 U.S.C. 1985, and here is the text of the statute.
Join the USLawEssentials Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1985330578297158
Episode 20
The USLawEssentials Law & Language podcast celebrates its 20th episode with a fun (fund!) discussion with Jonathan Golub, partner in the Corporate Department at Wiggin & Dana, and Chair of the Fund Formation and Investment Management Practice Group.
Stephen Horowtiz talks to Jonathan about his experiences living in Japan and how Jonathan developed expertise in a fascinating, and highly sophisticated practice. Among other things, Jonathan shares frank advice about what it takes to excel as a lawyer.
Oh, and of course there is a ‘Dad’ joke!
This episode includes important legal English vocabulary so stand by for our next course.
Meanwhile, we invite you to try the Jones v. Mississippi podcast course where you can see just some of the ways that the USLawEssentials Law & Language podcast will help you develop your legal English.
Episode 19
The USLawEssentials Law & Language podcast presents Part II of a conversation between Stephen Horowitz and Daniel Edelson concerning preparation for an Introduction to US Law course for LLM students. Daniel taught this class for several years and now it’s Stephen’s turn. He will be teaching an intensive week of classes to international students beginning their legal education in the United States.
Stephen and Daniel discuss the Supremacy Clause, federalism, and preemption. In addition, they talk about ways to introduce students not just to the fundamentals of US law but also to how law students study law in the United States.
Plus Stephen and Daniel try to come up with cool nicknames for themselves and don’t do so well.
If you’ve ever wanted to hear some of the ways instructors get ready to teach US law and legal English you’ll enjoy this episode.
Below is the excerpt from the Supreme Court case, Arizona v. United States, that Stephen and Daniel discuss during this episode. Federalism, central to the constitutional design, adopts the principle that both the National and State Governments have elements of sovereignty the other is bound to respect. See Gregory v. Ashcroft, 501 U.S. 452,457, 111 S.Ct. 2395, 115 L.Ed.2d 410 (1991); U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779, 838, 115 S.Ct. 1842, 131 L.Ed.2d 881 (1995) (KENNEDY, J., concurring). From the existence of two sovereigns follows 399 the possibility that laws can be in conflict or at cross-purposes. The Supremacy Clause provides a clear rule that federal law “shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any state to the Contrary notwithstanding.” Art. VI, cl. 2. Under this principle, Congress has the power to preempt state law. See Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council, 530 U.S. 363, 372, 120 S.Ct. 2288, 147 L.Ed.2d 352 (2000); Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 1, 210–211, 6 L.Ed. 23 (1824). There is no doubt that Congress may withdraw specified powers from the States by enacting a statute *2501 containing an express preemption provision. See, e.g., Chamber of Commerce of United States of America v. Whiting, 563 U.S. 582, 592, 131 S.Ct. 1968, 1974–1975, 179 L.Ed.2d 1031 (2011).
State law must also give way to federal law in at least two other circumstances. First, the States are precluded from regulating conduct in a field that Congress, acting within its proper authority, has determined must be regulated by its exclusive governance. See Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Assn., 505 U.S. 88, 115, 112 S.Ct. 2374, 120 L.Ed.2d 73 (1992) (Souter, J., dissenting). The intent to displace state law altogether can be inferred from a framework of regulation “so pervasive … that Congress left no room for the States to supplement it” or where there is a “federal interest … so dominant that the federal system will be assumed to preclude enforcement of state laws on the same subject.” Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U.S. 218, 230, 67 S.Ct. 1146, 91 L.Ed. 1447 (1947); see English v. General Elec. Co., 496 U.S. 72, 79,
Episode 18
The USLawEssentials Law and Language podcast continues its series of interviews with multilingual lawyers as Stepehn Horowitz speaks with Kazuto Yamamoto, a partner in the Daiichi LPC law firm in Japan who also Chairs the International Committee of the Osaka Bar Association.
Yamamoto-sensei discusses his career path (and travel paths) which have taken him around the world. He shares invaluable advice based on his work as an attorney in Japan, the United States, and China. In addition, Yamamoto-sensei, who earned an advanced degree in the United States, reflects on legal education and improving one’s legal English.
This is a great opportunity to learn from an incredibly accomplished, yet modest, international attorney.
We also learn that Yamamoto-sensei is an avid American football fan!
Here are a few football terms that we hear in this episode and their use in business English
Quarterback (taking the lead on a project)
Huddle up (meet and discuss a situation)
Third and Long (A situation where there is a large challenge and not much time to solve it)
A Hail Mary (A somewhat desperate effort to resolve a problem)
Enjoy the episode and please join the USLawEssentials Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1985330578297158
Episode 17
In this episode, Stephen Horowitz and Daniel Edelson discuss a one-week intensive class that Stephen will be teaching to LLM students at St. John’s University School of Law. The LLM students are beginning their study of US law and the course helps students better understand the US legal system and government. As Daniel had been teaching the course for a few years, Stephen talks to Daniel about his strategies for teaching the class.
This episode introduces students to some of the “behind the scenes” preparation and planning that Stephen and Daniel undertake before teaching US law and legal English. Coming soon, we discuss in detail some of the class lessons and activities.
As you listen to the episode, consider how you would answer the following questions in English:
What is federalism?
What is separation of powers?
What are checks and balances?
What is the Supremacy Clause?
What is the Bill of Rights?
Episode 16
The USLawEssentials What’s New in the Legal News podcast series continues with slightly less new news – – as Stephen Horowritz introduces to Daniel Edelson a story regarding Kanye West tweeting his music contract. Stephen and Daniel discuss contract drafting and what US attorneys mean by “plain English”. We also discuss why learning plain English is different from learning legal English. In addition, Stephen and Daniel talk about a podcast series we like, Contract Teardown – – where experts share insights on contracts, including Kanye’s contract.
You can find the article Stephen introduces here: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/kanye-west-tweets-pages-universal-173350381.html
Contract Teardown is on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contract-teardown-show/id1552795073
We also refer to editing software, BriefCatch, which you can find here: https://briefcatch.com/
Episode 15
Welcome to another episode of the USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast as we continue our series of interviews with multilingual attorneys and other professionals related to the legal field. In this episode, Stephen Horowitz interviews Clara Solomon. Clara is the Director of Counseling & Career Development at the renowned New York University School of Law.
Clara shares her experiences living abroad – – including her experience studying abroad in Japan when she was just 15 years old – – and how this led to her current position counseling attorneys as they embark on new careers after law school. Clara’s international experiences enable her to provide a unique and sensitive perspective on the challenges for international students interested in legal work in the United States.
Study Legal English Based the USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast!
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Episode 14
In this latest episode of the USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast, Daniel Edelson interviews multilingual lawyer, Yunjeong Hwang (lawyerhwang.com)
Ms. Hwang is a South Korean attorney who specializes in representing expatriates living in South Korea and people overseas with legal issues related to South Korea. She advocates on behalf of her clients in a wide range of matters, including family law, commercial litigation, cases arising under tort law, and employment disputes.
Ms. Hwang explains how she protects her clients’ rights while remaining sensitive to their language barriers. We learn how a lawyer is very often more than just a person with knowledge of the law, but someone who counsels a client in extraordinarily challenging circumstances. In addition to sharing examples of her recent cases, Ms. Hwang discusses how she helps international clients navigate the South Korean legal system.
Ms. Hwang’s website is here: lawyerhwang.com
Want to Learn More? You can learn a lot more legal English with a podcast course based on one of our most popular podcast episodes! Click below to learn more or click here.
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Episode 13
The USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast continues its What’s New in the Legal News series with a case about …. tuna! Or allegedly missing tuna. Daniel Edelson introduces a recent news story about plaintiffs who sued a restaurant franchise for mislabeling its tuna sandwich. And Stephen Horowitz tells us about his favorite hoagie restaurant.
If you’re hungry for legal English, or just hungry to know more about hoagies, subs, class action lawsuits, and detecting tuna DNA, you’ll enjoy this episode.
Here is a link to the article: https://www.businessinsider.com/subway-tuna-lawsuit-mystery-nyt-fish-2021-6
And here is a link to the Complaint: https://www.truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Dhanowa-v-Subway-complaint.pdf
Hungry for More? You can learn a lot more legal English with a podcast course based on one of our most popular podcast episodes! Click below to learn more or click here.
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Episode 12
USLawEssentials Law & Language podcast continues its series of interviews with multilingual lawyers. In this episode, Stephen Horowitz interviews Joshua Alter. Joshua discusses his specialized courses for international students enrolling in LLM programs in the United States and also provides invaluable suggestions on how international students can improve their chances of success in US law schools. This is a “must-hear” episode for students and attorneys from countries other than the United States interested in selecting a US legal program that meets their educational and professional goals.
You can find Joshua Alter on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuamatthewalter/
and check out his blog: https://beyondnonjd.wordpress.com/
Here are links to another podcast and book referred to in the podcast: SupChina Sinica Podcast: Chinese college students in the U.S., with Yingyi Ma – June 3, 2021
Book: Ambitious & Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education by Yingyi Ma (Columbia University Press, 2020)
Helpful Vocabulary Here are some terms used in the podcast which might be new to you:
IRAC analysis – Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion; A structure or formula commonly used when writing law school essays.
LLM – Masters in Laws (Legum Magister in Latin)
JD – Juris Doctor – a first degree in law from a 3-year law school in the U.S.
LSAT – Law School Admission Test – Law schools traditionally have required all law school applicants to take this test, and the score is an important factor in law school decisions whether to accept or reject an applicant.
2L – second-year law student
1L – first-year law student
externing – When a law student has an unpaid law-related job while in law school as part of a law school program that helps the law student get work experience and also results in credits towards the student’s degree.
SDNY – Southern District of New York; The federal district court in Manhattan, which is a very high-status place to work. The SDNY is one of the four federal district courts in the state of New York.
OCI – on-campus interviews; Most law schools have an OCI process in the fall where they invite law firms and other employers to come to the law school’s campus and interview law students for jobs.
Vault Law 100 – Vault is a publication that, among other things, ranks the top 100 law firms by reputation.
write-on competition – At the end of the first year of law school, most 1Ls enter a writing competition to try and earn a place on one of the law school’s law journals. Being on the staff of a law journal is considered a very positive thing to have on one’s resume.
outlining – During the semester, law students create an outline for most of the courses they take. The outline is an organized summary of what they learn in a course. It is not required, but it is considered the best way to study, learn, and prepare for the final exams.
briefing – To “brief a case” means to write a structured summary of each case or court opinion a student reads to prepare for class. Briefing cases is generally not required by professors, but it’s considered a fundamental skill to build and an important part of studying and learning in law school culture.
cold-call – When the professor picks one student at random and asks them all about a case they were assigned to read for class. Fear of being cold-called in class is one of the primary motivations for students to be prepared for every class throughout the semester.
Learn Legal English with the USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast
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Episode 11 A new episode in the USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast series on What’s New in the Legal News? This episode explores a defendant accused of “corporate hijacking” as part of a securities fraud scheme. Daniel Edelson and Stephen Horowitz discuss the story of a defendant who allegedly misrepresented himself as a corporate officer of defunct companies and proceeded to ‘pump and dump’ company stock at an artificially inflated price.
You can see the article we discuss in this episode (and its very long headline!) here.
You can see the civil action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission here.
The criminal complaint against the defendant is here
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Learn to Read and Understand a US Supreme Court Case The USLawEssentials Law & Language Series presents Jones v. Mississippi Part I! A self-paced learning module that will help you develop your legal English skills naturally with reading, listening, and vocabulary-building exercises.
Episode 10
This episode of the USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast continues our series of interviews with multilingual lawyers — but this time with multilingual paralegal Rebecca Chen. Stephen Horowitz is our interviewer and he talks to Rebecca about the important roles paralegals play in law firms. Rebecca offers a great inside perspective on her work with a prominent immigration law firm and how a team of legal professionals helps diverse clients from around the world achieve their immigration goals.
And you probably have goals, too – -such as learning legal English!
Below is a video introducing a recent USLawEssentials course in which you will learn to read a US Supreme Court case and important legal English vocabulary.
Episode 9
What happens when a judge misbehaves in court?
In this latest episode in the US Law & Language podcast, Stephen introduces a story from the American Bar Association Journal: Judge gets 6-month suspension, partly for misusing her contempt power
The judge who apparently abused her power in court finds herself being judged. Find out what happens as you improve your legal English vocabulary and listening skills.
Learn More Legal English with USLawEssentials Try the most recent USLawEssentials legal English course. Learn to better read and understand legal English without any boring lectures!
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Episode 8
The multilingual lawyer series continues! Today Stephen interviews Scott Alprin of Alprin Law PLLC. Scott is an intellectual property attorney who speaks Japanese and works with many international clients. He discusses his remarkable career path and shares insights on law and practicing as an IP attorney.
Episode 7
In this latest episode of the USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast we continue our What’s New in Legal News series. Today Daniel introduces an article: Manhattan DA brought Trump Organization controller to testify before special grand jury: Sources
We talk about the differences between grand juries and regular juries and some of the important vocabulary words in the article.
Here is a short video on grand juries: