California MCLE Podcast

Latest Episodes:

When Religious Freedom Harms Children Oct 02, 2026

Show notes

The United States protects religious freedom in the first words of the Bill of Rights and protects children in every state's criminal code. When a parent's faith leads to refusing a blood transfusion, praying over a diabetic child instead of seeking care, or declining vaccination, the law must decide which commitment yields. Prof. Marci Hamilton, who argued City of Boerne v. Flores before the Supreme Court and is the author of God vs. the Gavel, joins TalksOnLaw to examine where the right to believe ends and the right to act on that belief begins.

Hamilton walks through religious exemptions from vaccination and medical-neglect laws, mature-minor rules that let a fourteen-year-old refuse treatment, the 2008 Texas raid on the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch, religious summer camps and conversion therapy, and how federal and state Religious Freedom Restoration Acts are raised as defenses in abuse and neglect cases. The conversation closes with the religious-exemption laws enacted after the Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision. This interview was recorded while Hamilton held the Paul R. Verkuil Chair at Cardozo; the TalksOnLaw course page includes an update on how the law has developed since.

How to Earn CLE Credit

MCLE certificates are eligible only for TalksOnLaw Premium or Podcast members. To earn credit, listen to the full program, note the verification code announced during the recording, then log in to your TalksOnLaw account to record attendance and download your certificate at www.TalksOnLaw.com/podcast.

Approved for 1 hr of participatory California MCLE credit in the General category at the time of publication. Please visit TalksOnLaw to check whether older courses remain active for MCLE reporting purposes.

Artificial Justice – Navigating an AI Evidence Crisis Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

Deepfakes, AI-generated documents, and machine-assisted analysis are arriving in courtrooms faster than the rules of evidence can adapt. Judge Paul Grimm joins TalksOnLaw to discuss how courts should authenticate and evaluate AI-generated evidence — and what judges and litigators can do now to prepare.

How to Earn CLE Credit

Approved for 1 hr of participatory California MCLE credit in the Technology category at the time of publication. Please visit TalksOnLaw to check whether older courses remain active for MCLE reporting purposes.

Trump Trials – A Survey in Legal Ethics Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

The criminal and civil cases surrounding Donald Trump have raised a remarkable range of professional responsibility questions — for prosecutors, defense counsel, and the lawyers who found themselves in the middle. Legal ethics professors Bruce Green and Rebecca Roiphe survey the ethical issues raised by the Trump trials and what they teach about the rules governing lawyers.

How to Earn CLE Credit

Approved for 1.5 hrs of participatory California MCLE credit in Legal Ethics at the time of publication. Please visit TalksOnLaw to check whether older courses remain active for MCLE reporting purposes.

A Healthier Legal Future Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

The legal profession has long been defined as a high-performance environment characterized by competition and long hours. While dedication and hard work remain hallmarks of successful lawyers, there is a growing recognition of the tension between these professional demands and attorney mental health. Dean David Jaffe, Associate Dean for Student Affairs at American University, offers a unique perspective on this challenge, having co-piloted two national surveys on law student well-being.

How to Earn CLE Credit

Approved for 1 hr of participatory California MCLE credit in the Competence (Prevention and Detection of Substance Abuse/Mental Health).

Law According to Karp Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

For more than a decade, Brad Karp has led Paul, Weiss during a period of significant growth and change, including its emergence as one of the most profitable firms in BigLaw. In this episode, Karp describes how large law firms are built, governed, and sustained over time.

Karp discusses how Paul, Weiss evolved from a litigation-heavy firm into a more diversified platform spanning private equity, public M&A, restructuring, and regulatory defense; how major client relationships influenced firm strategy; and how consensus governance and partnership norms operate as firms grow in size and complexity. The conversation also addresses senior-level recruiting, practice-group development, geographic expansion, and the challenges of making long-term investments while maintaining institutional culture.

Executive Order Insights: The podcast concludes with a candid discussion of the impact and decision make in the wake of the executive actions directed at major firms such as Paul, Weiss, and what those events revealed about risk, resilience, and structures inside large partnerships.

This episode is part of New Law Order, a TalksOnLaw limited series and standalone podcast co-hosted by Joel Cohen and John Morley, whose scholarship focuses on the structure and economics of law firms.

How to Earn CLE Credit

Approved for 1.0 hour of General California MCLE credit.

Bending the Knee Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

For more than two centuries, the American legal system has operated on a core assumption: lawyers are not punished for the conduct or politics of their clients. In this episode of New Law Order, Jeffrey Toobin examines what happens when that premise is tested by executive power. The interview is co-hosted by Joel Cohen, founder of TalksOnLaw, and John Morley, a Yale Law School professor whose scholarship focuses on the structure and economics of law firms. Together, they explore how executive actions directed at major firms—absent allegations of illegality—operate less as regulation and more as deterrence, why some firms chose litigation while others accommodated, and what these choices reveal about institutional risk, professional independence, and the resilience of the adversarial system under political pressure.

How to Earn CLE Credit

Approved for 1.25 hours of General California MCLE credit.

The AI Threat to Privacy Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

Artificial intelligence is transforming how data is collected, shared, and analyzed—often in ways that outpace existing privacy law. In this insightful conversation, George Washington Law Professor Daniel Solove, one of the nation’s leading experts on privacy, examines how AI exposes the limits of the American right to privacy. From the third-party doctrine to landmark cases such as Carpenter v. United States, Solove explains how government reliance on privately gathered data allows surveillance to expand without constitutional scrutiny. He argues that our privacy framework—built for a world of discrete searches—cannot withstand the continuous, AI-driven flow of personal information that now defines modern life.

How to Earn CLE Credit

Approved for 1.0 hours of General California MCLE credit.

Defending Words Aug 07, 2025

Show notes

Free speech has long been a constitutional cornerstone in the United States—but in recent years, calls for censorship have surged. Whether in response to hate speech, misinformation, or online harm, efforts to restrict expression are on the rise. In this provocative conversation, former ACLU president and NYU Law Professor Nadine Strossen mounts a powerful defense of the First Amendment. Drawing from her latest book, War on Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech—And Why They Fail, Strossen explores the legal doctrines that protect speech, explains why censorship often backfires, and warns of the dangers in allowing government or platforms to decide which ideas are acceptable. A must-listen for anyone concerned about the future of civil liberties.

How to Earn CLE Credit

Approved for 1.5 hours of General California MCLE credit.

Trump Orders: Law Firms on the Line May 28, 2025

Show notes

When a string of 2025 executive orders barred select law firms from federal buildings, revoked security clearances, and threatened to cancel their clients’ government contracts, Big Law took notice. Yale Law professor John Morley—author of Why Law Firms Collapse—joins Talks On Law host Joel Cohen to explain:

how the orders leverage client pressure to destabilize even thriving partnerships;
the “bank-run” dynamic of partner exits and collapsing profits-per-partner;
bankruptcy claw-back rules and unfinished-business liability that haunt partners who stay;
ethics constraints under Model Rules 5.4 and 5.6 that limit outside capital, speed lawyer mobility, and allow for this unique risk;
why transactional giants settled while litigation shops fought—and the reputational trade-offs for both.

How to Earn CLE Credit

Approved for 1.25 hours of Legal Ethics California MCLE credit.

Scroll Control – Regulating Social Media for Kids May 07, 2025

Show notes

Growing evidence links heavy social‑media use to rising anxiety, bullying, and sextortion among kids, and state lawmakers are racing to respond. In this interview, Harvard Law School’s Leah Plunkett—reporter for the Uniform Law Commission’s child‑influencer act—and University of Virginia family‑law scholar Naomi Cahn examine how new statutes seek to verify age, require parental consent, and redesign feeds to curb addictive features.

Plunkett and Cahn compare Florida’s and Utah’s sweeping under‑14 account bans with New York’s pending “SAFE for Kids Act,” explore design mandates such as late‑night notification curfews, and explain why long‑standing COPPA rules leave teens largely unprotected. They unpack First Amendment and privacy challenges already moving through the courts, highlight emerging “digital Coogan” laws that safeguard child‑creator earnings, and note international moves—from Australia’s proposed under‑16 ban to the U.K.’s Age‑Appropriate Design Code.

How to Earn CLE Credit

Approved for 1.5 hours of General California MCLE credit.

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