I Am The Law takes a deep dive into the various practice areas and settings of law. We interview law school graduates with thought-provoking questions for an insider look into the realities of a career in law, recipes for success, and the biggest challenges lawyers face today.
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Kimberley Baker Guillemet helped form the Los Angeles Office of Reentry to ensure that when someone leaves prison, limited employment options do not lead to a cycle of crime. In this episode, she discusses her work helping the formerly incarcerated rejoin society and altering conditions that lead to initial jailings. Kimberley is a graduate of the University of Southern California Gould School of…
Chukwukpee Nzegwu is a junior associate practicing commercial litigation at a large, general practice law firm. While he didn't go to law school to do commercial lit, he's found it both exciting and challenging. He explains that his decision was influenced by the opportunity to gain trial experience and be involved in oral advocacy. Chukwukpee discusses his work as a problem solver for clients…
Amanda Arriaga is General Counsel for the Texas Ethics Commission, the state agency that oversees campaign finance, lobbying, and financial disclosure. In this episode, she explains what it means to represent an institution rather than any individual official, and how her office answers questions from the public through an informal helpline and through formal advisory opinions that people can rely…
Storm Lineberger is a fourth-year associate at global large firm Haynes Boone who practices insurance coverage litigation on the policyholder side. When an insurer denies a company's claim, he sues to recover what the policy promised. In this episode, Storm separates coverage work from insurance defense, walks through how a denied claim becomes a lawsuit, and explains why the underlying event, a…
Charles Star thought he'd become a union-side labor lawyer but like many law students, he followed the pull of Big Law instead. The prestige and paycheck were there, but the work left him unfulfilled. Charles walked away to pursue stand-up comedy, supporting himself as a hourly contract lawyer. Eventually he landed on the plaintiff side, where he works as a staff attorney on consumer class actions…
Like most prosecutors, Jennifer Long learned on the job. Now she helps train them. After starting her career in a DA's office, Jennifer moved into handling child abuse, domestic violence, and sexual assault cases. Today, she's the founder and CEO of AEquitas, a nonprofit that supports prosecutors across the country working on those same crimes. Jennifer spends her time writing grants, managing…
.Richard Hy is a lawyer who represents people harmed in large-scale incidents, from mass shootings to defective products to public health crises. In this episode, he explains the strategic differences between mass torts and class actions, and uses his work on the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting litigation to highlight how plaintiffs' lawyers think through which court, who to sue, and how to…
Jonathan Merel runs a mid-sized family law firm built around high-conflict divorce. In this episode, he talks about the kinds of cases his firm takes on, how he sets strategy across a team of lawyers, and what shifted when he moved from full-time litigator to running the business. He also reflects on the emotional weight of family law, why it draws certain practitioners and burns out others, and…
Mark Purpura thought he might head to Wall Street but found his niche in law instead. Now a Delaware-based attorney, he works on the deals that keep the financial world moving, from forming trust companies to advising on complex transactions. In this episode, Mark breaks down why Delaware has become the center of corporate law, what it’s like to work on fast-moving, high-stakes deals, and how he…
Judge Elizabeth Stong calls bankruptcy court a "second chance court," a forum where companies in financial distress and individuals buried in debt can find a path forward, even if it's rarely the one they hoped for. She serves on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York, sitting in Brooklyn. Becoming a judge was never on Judge Stong's radar — she was a happy litigation…
As an international student graduating from a U.S. law school, Jimmy Lai struggled to find employers willing to sponsor him. Rather than leave the U.S., he chose to build something from scratch. In this episode, Jimmy talks about how his visa barriers pushed him to co-found an immigration law firm. Jimmy reflects on failing the bar exam three times before passing, navigating the financial and…
