My latest feature examines sleazy, incompetent, and ethically-challenged lawyers in pop culture and how they are shaped by, and affect, public perception of the legal profession. This one was a lot of fun to write and report. I had a blast speaking to some of the creative minds behind Liar Liar, L.A. Law and Presumed Innocent.
Plus, we got some good timing, since the issue went to press the same month that Better Call Saul wrapped up its run on AMC. As such, it was a no-brainer to feature Saul Goodman on the cover and throughout the spread. With quotes like “If you’re committed enough, you can make any story work. I once convinced a woman I was Kevin Costner, and it worked, because I believed it!” and scenes like this one where he effortlessly explains money laundering in a way that could be used in law enforcement training videos, he really is the perfect cover-boy for a story about bad lawyers.
Unless you count this guy. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fit my favorite bad lawyer into the story (it wasn’t for lack of trying, though). Maybe next time…
Late last month, NBC announced it was reviving the original Law & Order as a prime-time series.
The news came a month after my feature examining the show’s legacy in shaping our understanding of the criminal justice system hit the stands. Surely the folks at NBC and Wolf Entertainment read it and decided they had no choice but to bring it back, right?
So, you’re welcome! Now, if I only can get NBC to bring Ed back.
I’m not going to lie. This routine helped inspire the lede for my latest feature examining the impact of Law & Order and its various spinoffs on the criminal justice system. Maybe I’ll do another focusing just on SVU and how Ice-T always needs things explained to him.
Very proud to win several Azbee Awards of Excellence from the American Society of Business Publication Editors this year. I think this might have been my biggest haul yet.
Thanks for making me look diligent, @psuba98! https://t.co/x4epLuu0GK
— Victor Li (@victorli2000) February 27, 2020
Got my obligatory photo from Phil Brown during the just-completed ABA Techshow. I was quite proud of our coverage of this year’s event. It was a lot of hard work in the midst of some big-time adversity. Thanks to my colleagues for their help!
This was a fun podcast for me. How two Texas lawyers combined their love of music and their knowledge of state law to find a unique way of marketing their practice.
My latest feature. In a lot of ways, this is the story I was born to write.
(more…)An interesting podcast from the 2018 ABA Annual Meeting consisting of legal heavyweights Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, former Virginia Solicitor General William Hurd, Wisconsin Solicitor General Misha Tseytlin and Northwestern Law School dean Dan Rodriguez. And me.
#ASBPE regional gold award winner: Civil rights lawyers from the 1960s have lessons for today’s social activists. https://t.co/LHRLCMyvQN via @victorli2000 and @ABAJournal. #azbees pic.twitter.com/yPb5XUOft6
— ABA Journal (@ABAJournal) May 12, 2018
I won a Gold and Silver award at the recent ASBPE Upper Midwest Regional AZBEES Awards. Thanks to my colleagues at ABA Journal for making me look so good!
(more…)Famed law blogger Bob Ambrogi recounts his unorthodox path towards legal journalism, as well as where he sees the legal industry heading.
I got the opportunity to host this month’s episode of “Asked and Answered.” I interviewed attorney and activist Paul Harris about his work stretching back to the 1960s. Harris, one of the radical “movement lawyers” featured in the cover story for the August issue of the ABA Journal, spoke about his work defending high-profile clients like Huey Newton, Leonard McNeil and others.
Here are the stories that came out of my live coverage of the 2017 Avvo Lawyernomics Conference (my fourth such conference – time flies!):
8th annual Lawyernomics conference will encourage attendees to bet on themselves.
Lawyers: Don’t be afraid to double down on data.
When should lawyers bet on themselves? Sometimes clients will give you the answer.
I got to speak with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle for this piece.
“How many stories about AI and law have you seen where there’s a Terminator pic in it?” Fastcase CEO Ed Walters asked during a panel discussion on robot lawyers. Uh, there may have been a few…
Anyway, I recently covered my fourth Techshow for the ABA Journal. Here are the stories that came out of it:
(more…)About Me:
- Former Lawyer.
- Current Journalist/Writer/Editor.
- Author of "Nixon in New York: How Wall Street Helped Richard Nixon Win the White House," published in 2018.
- Husband, father and dog-lover.
- Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Manchester United supporter.
- Chicago via Pittsburgh, New York City and several others.
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