Good Law | Bad Law - Aaron Freiwald

Latest Episodes:

Good Law | Bad Law - Law in the Time of COVID-19: A Conversation w/ Chancellor of the Bar Michael Snyder May 01, 2020

Show notes

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by the Honorable Michael Snyder, Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar, to discuss the current state of law in our country as we grapple with the COVID-19 crisis. How has the pandemic affected the legal community? How will the legal industry continue to operate? And, what does the future of law look like?

In today’s episode, Judge Snyder joins Aaron to offer his perspective on the issues, legal and otherwise, that the country is facing as a result of the current pandemic. Aaron and Judge Snyder are tackling some of today’s toughest questions, talking about where things stand right now as far as the legal field and what the affects have been. The mission of the Philadelphia Bar has always been to serve the profession and the public by promoting justice, professional excellence and respect for the rule of law. Throughout the conversation, Judge Snyder explains his role as the Bar’s leader and the importance of law for the functioning of our Government and Democracy, as well as the significance of a positive attitude. Aaron and Judge Snyder discuss the ethical obligations of lawyers, especially today, and the need for adaptability, cooperation, and persistence. What is already changing? What needs to change?

A graduate of Temple Law, Judge Snyder is currently a distinguished neutral mediator and arbitrator at The Dispute Resolution Institute (DRI), working to resolve conflict across many different areas of legal practice. Before joining the DRI in 2012, Judge Snyder served as a Workers’ Compensation Judge for approximately 15 years. Prior to his appointment, Judge Snyder was engaged in private practice, representing Plaintiffs, Claimants, Employers, and Defendants. He has lectured extensively for the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, among many others. Additionally, Judge Snyder is an Adjunct Professor at the Temple University Beasley School of Law, and has been named Scholar in Residence at Temple’s Fox Business School.

To learn more about Judge Snyder please visit his bio page here.

To learn more about the Philadelphia Bar please click here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guest: the Honorable Michael Snyder

Follow Good Law | Bad Law:

YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law

Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW

Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw

Website: https://www.law-podcast.com

Good Law | Bad Law - Do we have free will? Does it matter? A Conversation w/ Ken Levy Apr 24, 2020

Show notes

What is free will? How should we think about it? Is it something we have? Is it even possible?

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Ken Levy, of Louisiana State University, to discuss free will and responsibility, as well as the role of the criminal justice system.

Aaron and Ken are asking big questions about the world around us and delving deep into philosophical theories that underly our entire legal system. Most people believe that we have both responsibility and free will, that our choices, decisions and actions are self-determined. Ken breaks down why the majority of philosophers believe it is not so simple. Ken and Aaron explore the metaphysical, touching on notions of determinism, metaphysical libertarianism, compatibilism, and more. Is the world determined? Aaron and Ken address common questions about free will, discussing the concepts of God and destiny, the ideals of consequences and justice, the idea of the self, the conditions of the universe, and the laws of nature, as well as how attitudes and positions have changed over time.

What are the possibilities of free will? What are the possibilities of responsibility? And furthermore, how do you reconcile those idea with that of our criminal justice system?

Dr. Levy is a professor of law at LSU, where is specializes in criminal law, criminal theory, international criminal law, white-collar law, and tort law. A student of philosophy, Dr. Levy is a graduate of Rutgers University (Ph.D.) In his new book, Free Will, Responsibility, and Crime: An Introduction, Ken presents an informed and insightful look at the intersection among metaphysics, ethics, and criminal law. A graduate of Columbia Law School, Dr. Levy continues to work primarily in criminal theory. His interests include free will and moral responsibility, criminal responsibility, criminal psychology, the act-omissions distinction, the relation between morality and criminal law, and theories of punishment.

To learn more about Professor Levy, please visit his bio page here.

To learn more about Professor Levy’s new book, Free Will, Responsibility, and Crime: An Introduction, please click here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guest: Ken Levy

Follow Good Law | Bad Law:

YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law

Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW

Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw

Website: https://www.law-podcast.com

Good Law | Bad Law - Shakespeare in Law: A Conversation w/ Norman Bacal Apr 17, 2020

Show notes

“Where do you go once you've clawed your way from obscurity to the pinnacle of success?”

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by attorney and author Norman Bacal to discuss the legal thriller, and Norman’s most recent novel, Odell’s Fall, as well as Norman’s personal journey and how the law has inspired his writing.

Throughout today’s episode, Norman shares his background and how his career has allowed him to transition into being a published writer. A retired attorney, Norman has 30 years of experience in the law. He explains how he built a law firm that specialized in entertainment – TV and movies, and how this work led him to collaborate with some of Hollywood’s biggest studios. Aaron and Norman contemplate the writing process, success in the legal profession, the relationship between the legal field and creativity, problem solving, editing and more.

A modern murder mystery inspired by on one of literature’s greatest stories, Odell’s Fall, is a story of love, jealousy, and deceit. Othello re-imagined in modern Manhattan, the story follows a young, up-and-coming associate in one of New York’s most prestigious law firms. Odell Moore has finally found the woman of his dreams, but will things end better for Odell and his young wife than they did for Othello and Desdemona? Norman explains to Aaron how he found inspiration in Shakespeare’s classic works, as well as his drive for writing and the moments he lives for as an author.

In addition to Odell’s Fall, Norman is also the author of the Globe and Mail bestseller, Breakdown. A nonfiction book, Breakdown explores the meteoric rise and devastating fall of the distinguished Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie, once home to Canada’s top lawyers. One of Canada’s leading tax attorneys in the entertainment business, Norman actually founded the Toronto office of Heenan Blaikie in 1989. In 1997, Mr. Bacal became the national co-managing partner, expanding the firm’s operations and brand internationally. For ten years, Norman served on the board of directors for Lionsgate Entertainment and has helped finance countless Canadian films and television programs, as well as a number of Hollywood studio pictures, having had a role in projects like The Hunger Games and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

To learn more about Norman Bacal, please visit his website here.

To check our Mr. Bacal’s novel, Odell’s Fall, please click here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guest: Norman Bacal

Follow Good Law | Bad Law:

YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law

Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW

Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw

Website: https://www.law-podcast.com

Good Law | Bad Law - Criminalizing Sex: A Conversation w/ Stuart Green Apr 10, 2020

Show notes

Sex as a crime? Oh yes, in many different ways. Perhaps, the criminal law goes too far? Not far enough?

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Stuart Green, of Rutgers Law, to discuss how the criminal law deals with sex in so many different ways, from the notion of consent, rape law, sexual harassment, and more. Professor Green’s new book on this topic, Criminalizing Sex: A Unified Liberal Theory, comes out today and explores how a liberal system of criminal law should adequately protect individuals in their right not to be subjected to sexual contact against their will, while also safeguarding their right to engage in private, consensual sexual conduct.

In today’s episode, Aaron and Stuart question the role of law, specifically in terms of consent, autonomy, and morality. What should we criminalize? Are we guilty of over criminalizing? Stuart and Aaron are talking about some of the most contentious legal, moral, and social issues of today – touching on feminist theory and the #MeToo movement, Brock Turner and Bill Cosby, the right to privacy, sexual assault, sexual harassment, voyeurism, coercive relationships, indecent exposure, among others. Stuart’s new book explores the moral and legal puzzles that arise out of real-world cases of alleged sexual misconduct, and examines theories of sexual offense in the current cultural context.

How does the law address these issues? And moreover, how doesn’t it?

Professor Green received a B.A. in philosophy from Tufts University and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was a notes editor of the Yale Law Journal. After law school, Stuart clerked for Judge Pamela Ann Rymer of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Los Angeles and then served as an associated with the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C. Professor Green is a founding co-editor of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice books, a former consultant to the Law Commission for England and Wales, and is a frequent media commentator on issues in criminal law and ethics.

Professor Green’s work seeks to explore the underlying moral content of the criminal law. He is especially concerned with the question of criminalization – what kinds of behavior are justifiably punished, and why. His books and articles have focused in particular on the moral limits of theft, white collar crime, and a wide range of sexual offenses.

To learn more about Professor Green, please visit his bio page here.

To learn more about Professor Green’s new book, Criminalizing Sex: A Unified Liberal Theory, please click here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guest: Stuart Green

Follow Good Law | Bad Law:

YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law

Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW

Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw

Website: https://www.law-podcast.com

Good Law | Bad Law - Please, Sir, may I have some more? A Conversation on food security w/ Laurie Ristino Apr 03, 2020

Show notes

How do we think about agriculture in America? How should we think about it? And, how is food security affecting us in today’s COVID-19 crisis?

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Laurie Ristino, a food security expert with Johns Hopkins University, to discuss food security, the idea of rural resilience, today’s “food movement,” impacts of the Farm Bill and more.

What is food security? And, what is the urgency today? Laurie explains that food security is the idea that all people, at all times, should have access to physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs. Laurie and Aaron connect these ideas to today’s current pandemic. Will we have enough food? How are rising unemployment rates going to impact our country’s ability to provide access to quality foods? Aaron and Laurie tackle these questions, touching on the pressing notion of food being a question of wealth and thus the implications of America’s wealth gap on health and accessibility.

Today’s episode focuses on answering some of the biggest questions surrounding food security, as well as conversely, food insecurity. How do we produce our food? Where does our food come from? How do we use our resources? Laurie and Aaron talk about sustainable versus ‘industrial’ agriculture, the relationship between climate change and food production, the intersection between environmental law and agriculture, as well as how today’s movements and decisions will translate into more governance and policy.

Laurie is a policy and law expert on food security, the farm bill, climate change, ecosystem services, and land conservation. Her work is concerned with reforming existing law and policy and developing new policy and civil society innovations to address climate change, social injustice, and to improve environmental and economic sustainability. Laurie has published articles, Op-Eds, and blogs proposing reforms to address soil, water, and air quality degradation, among other topics and is the co-author and editor of a comprehensive book on conservation easements, titled A Changing Landscape: The Conservation Reader.

Laurie practiced law for twenty years, serving as a senior counsel at the USDA where she advised on an array of natural resource and environmental matters. Currently, Professor Ristino advises leading NGOs and foundations on environmental policy and strategy matters through her consulting firm, Strategies for a Sustainable Future.

To learn more about Professor Ristino, please visit her bio page at Johns Hopkins here.

To learn more about Professor Ristino’s firm, Strategies for a Sustainable Future, and to access other resources on this topic, please click here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guests: Laurie Ristino

Follow Good Law | Bad Law:

YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law

Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW

Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw

Website: https://www.law-podcast.com

Good Law | Bad Law - Becoming Black: A Conversation w/ Ariela Gross Mar 27, 2020

Show notes

How do we think about race? How do we think about the history of racism in the law?

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Ariela Gross, of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, to discuss the notion of race, racism, and the laws of freedom. Ariela is the co-author of a new book that explores today’s topic; Becoming Free, Becoming Black: Race, Freedom, and Law in Cuba, Virginia, and Louisiana, tells the story of enslaved and free people of color who used the law to claim freedom and citizenship for themselves and their loved ones.

Looking closely at three slave societies – Cuba, Virginia, and Louisiana – Ariela and her co-author, Alejandro de la Fuente, demonstrate that the law of freedom, not slavery, established the meaning of blackness in law. In today’s conversation, Aaron and Ariela discuss how the laws of freedom were used to determine if it was possible to move from slave status to freedom, and whether or not claims to citizenship would be tied to racial identity. Ariela and Aaron map the history of law and cover a wide array of topics, including: 1690 Havana, white supremacy, claims of identity, Spanish legal practices, the origins of law, “free soil” arguments, and more.

What can this history teach us? And, how does it compare to today?

The John B. and Alice R. Sharp Professor of Law and History at USC, Dr. Gross received both her JD and PhD in History from Stanford. Ariela teaches Contracts, History of American Law, and Race and Gender in the law. Her research and writing focus on race and slavery in the United States. In 2017-18, Ariela was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and an American Council of Learned Societies Collaborative Research Fellow. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Frederick J. Burkhardt Fellowship of the American Council of Learned Societies, and an NEH Huntington Library Long-Term Fellowship to support her research for her 2008 book, What Blood Won’t Tell: A History of Race on Trial in America. In 2010, Ariela was appointed a Distinguished Lecturer by the Organization of American Historians and has been part of the USC Gould faculty since 1996.

For more information on Professor Gross, please visit her bio page here.

To check out Professor Gross’ new co-authored book, Becoming Free, Becoming Black: Race, Freedom, and Law in Cuba, Virginia, and Louisiana, please click here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guests: Ariela Gross

Follow Good Law | Bad Law:

YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law

Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW

Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw

Website: https://www.law-podcast.com

Good Law | Bad Law - Electronic Health Records, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly: A Conversation w/ Sharona Hoffman Mar 20, 2020

Show notes

Do electronic medical records actually help improve medical care? Is it possible they hinder it?

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Sharona Hoffman, of the School of Law at Case Western Reserve University, to discuss the role of electronic medical record systems, often shortened to EMR or EHR (electronic health record), and how they really affect the medical care we receive.

Sharona’s book, Electronic Health Records and Medical Big Data: Law and Policy, provides an in-depth understanding of EMR systems, how big data is handled in the medical industry, and the regulations surrounding our personal information. In today’s conversation, Aaron and Sharona are delving into all of the ups and downs of electronic medical records, discussing data security and patient privacy, the power of computerization, Medicare spending and the notion of upcoding, the law’s response to these systems, and more. What should patients be aware of? Are we being overcharged? What are the difficulties in digitizing records? And moreover, why aren’t we hearing more about it?

A graduate of Harvard Law, Professor Hoffman is the Edgar A. Hahn Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University, as well as a Professor of Bioethics and a Co-Director of the Law School’s Law-Medicine center. She teaches Health Law courses, Employment Discrimination, and Civil Procedure. Sharona was voted First Year Teacher of the Year in 2011 and 2012. She also served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and won the 2014 Distinguished Teacher Award.

Before she was an academic, Professor Hoffman was a Senior Trial Attorney at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Houston, a litigation associate at O’Melveny & Myers in L.A., and a judicial clerk for U.S. District Judge Douglas W. Hillman in the Western District of Michigan. An established author, Sharona has published over sixty articles and book chapters on health law and civil rights issues. She has developed particular expertise and a national reputation in the area of health information technology, with her work appearing in the Georgetown Law Journal, William & Mary Law Review, the Boston College Law Review, and many others.

For more information on Professor Hoffman, please visit her bio page here.

To check out Prof. Hoffman’s book, Electronic Health Records and Medical Big Data: Law and Policy, please click here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guests: Sharona Hoffman

Follow Good Law | Bad Law:

YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law

Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW

Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw

Website: https://www.law-podcast.com

Good Law | Bad Law - Consumers, Fight Back! A Conversation w/ Teel Lidow Mar 13, 2020

Show notes

What happens when companies don’t keep their promises to consumers?

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Teel Lidow, a Harvard Law graduate and the CEO of FairShake, to discuss consumer rights and the many ways in which big companies can take advantage of customers.

After he was made to endure an unscheduled 72-hour delay while traveling, Teel had an idea. Because he had gone to law school, Teel knew better than to sign the airline’s proposed non-disclosure agreement after his ordeal but he noticed that most passengers hadn’t made the same choice – he began to ask himself just how often, and in what ways, larger corporations take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. Teel started FairShake to help level the playing field. In this episode, Aaron and Teel discuss Teel’s experiences, what it is he’s found and how he’s standing up for the everyday person, as well as the notions of mandatory arbitration, consumer contracts, contract disputes, and more.

How do you know when you have a valid customer complaint? What are your options? And does everyone really have access to the law? Listen in to find out more.

For more information on Teel and FairShake please visit the website here.

(Please note that we are not affiliated with FairShake in any way.)

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guests: Teel Lidow

Follow Good Law | Bad Law:

YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law

Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW

Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw

Website: https://www.law-podcast.com

Good Law | Bad Law - Charles Manson and Parole: A Conversation w/ Hadar Aviram Mar 06, 2020

Show notes

What do the grizzly Manson murders tell us today about long-term prison sentences? How do we regard people who commit violent crimes?

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Hadar Aviram, of the University of California Hastings College of Law, to discuss punishment and parole, as well as Hadar’s new book on the subject, Yesterday’s Monsters: The Manson Family Cases and the Illusion of Parole.

In today’s episode, Aaron and Hadar talk about the criminal system, the notion of parole, social science, empathy, public opinion on punishment and more. Using the Manson Family murders to illustrate these ideas, Hadar and Aaron consider the flaws of our system, the origins of parole and whether or not violent offenders are redeemable. Hadar’s new book offers a perspective on extreme punishment, examining the infamous murders committed by Charles Manson and his “family” of followers. Through 50 years of parole transcripts, Hadar argues that these high-profile cases helped institutionalize severe criminal penalties and transformed our understanding of parole in general.

Who decides if these criminal offenders are worthy of a second chance? And, how?

Professor Aviram specializes in criminal justice, civil rights, law and politics, and social movements. Her research employs socio-legal perspectives and methodologies. Hadar publishes, teaches, and speaks on domestic violence, behavioral perspectives on prosecutorial and defense behavior, unconventional family units, animal rights, elder abuse, public trust in the police, correctional policy and budgeting, violence reduction, theoretical trends in crime and punishment, and the history of female crime and punishment. One of the leading voices nationwide against mass incarceration, Professor Aviram is a frequent media commentator on politics, immigration, criminal justice policy, civil rights, and the Trump Administration. Her blog, California Correctional Crisis, covers criminal justice policy in California.

For more information on Professor Aviram, please visit her bio page here.

For more information on Professor Aviram’s latest book, Yesterday’s Monsters: The Manson Family Cases and the Illusion of Parole, please click here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guests: Hadar Aviram

Follow Good Law | Bad Law:

YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law

Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW

Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw

Website: https://www.law-podcast.com

Good Law | Bad Law - Are we right about sex offenders? A Conversation w/ Eric Janus and Ira Ellman Feb 28, 2020

Show notes

This one is controversial, I know…

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Eric Janus, of the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, as well as, Ira Ellman, of the University of California, Berkeley, to discuss the controversial topic of sex offender registries and how our criminal justice system handles perpetrators of sexual violence.

In today’s episode, Aaron, Ira, and Eric, discuss the rights of sex offenders, the way in which our courts treat these cases, and why it is important to re-consider how we think about punishment for sex crimes. Both professors and scholars in this area, Eric and Ira explain their work in the field and why it is they believe things need to change. Ira, Eric, and Aaron talk about today’s social science surrounding sex offender punishment, delving into ideas on prevention, rates of recidivism, banishment laws, and more. What are the rights of sex offenders? What should they be? And, is our system working?

A graduate of Harvard Law, Professor Janus’ scholarly focus has been on constitutional and public policy considerations in the development of regulatory approaches to sexual violence prevention. Eric’s book, Failure to Protect: America’s Sexual Predator Laws and the Rise of the Preventive State, was published by Cornell University Press and explores how “preventative laws” are in reality counterproductive. His latest book, Sexual Predators: Society, Risk and the Law, examines the Sexually Violent Predator laws of each state and considers their constitutionality, as well as aspects of their operations. In 2017, Professor Janus established the Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center at Mitchell Hamline. He serves as the center’s director in its efforts to provide support for impact litigation and policy-reform work designed to produce constitutional, effective, humane and empirically sound sex offense policies.

Professor Ellman is a Distinguished Professor of Law and an Affiliate Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University. Ira has spent the largest part of his career studying family law. A faculty member of A.S.U since 1978, Ira is also an Affiliate Faculty Member of the Center for Child and Youth Policy at Berkeley and a Distinguished Affiliated Scholar at Berkley’s Center for The Study of Law and Society. His current research is focused on the legal policy applied to sex offenders, especially those convicted of possession of erotic images of minors.

For more information on Professor Eric Janus, please visit his bio page here.

For more information on Professor Ira Ellman, please visit his bio page here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guests: Eric Janus and Ira Ellman

Follow Good Law | Bad Law:

YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law

Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW

Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw

Website: https://www.law-podcast.com