Public Interest Episodes

For the first time on Personal Jurisdiction, we are excited to speak to a state Supreme Court law clerk! In this episode, Jacob Abudaram shares his unique experience clerking for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawai'i, including how the history of the state impacts judicial decision making and why policy and advocacy work is part of his role. We also chat with Jacob about his desire to pursue a career in public interest and how his personal and educational background led him to seek out a Skadden Fellowship at the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) Disability Rights Program, where he will focus on the intersection of climate change and disability rights and justice for the 2024-2026 term. Not to be missed: Jacob shares the secret to making delicious hummus and why he started a hummus business in law school!

On Episode of 55 of Personal Jurisdiction we chat with Megan Richardson and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller of The Exoneration Project, a non-profit based in Chicago, Illinois, which provides free legal services to fight for the wrongfully convicted and free the innocent. Although Megan and Lauren both currently work at the same organization, they took very different paths to get there--Megan started in big law and Lauren started as a public defender. They also both have awesome teaching experience, so their advice for law students and young lawyers is particularly helpful. Tune in to hear about these topics and more!

What do laughing, clapping, and squeaking chairs have in common? Our first LAW SCHOOL LIVE episode! On November 2, we recorded our first live episode of Personal Jurisdiction at the University of New Mexico School of Law in Albuquerque. Our guests, Sovereign Hager of the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, Leon Howard of the ACLU of New Mexico, and Riley Masse of New Mexico Legal Aid joined us live to discuss (1) how they started their legal careers; (2) what they do in their current roles, including the how their organizations use tools such as direct services, impact litigation, legislation, and media to effectuate social change; and (3) what advice they have for law students getting ready to start their legal careers. If you missed us in person in ABQ, that's okay! We're so excited to bring you this conversation from our first Law School Live.

On episode 51 of Personal Jurisdiction, we chat with Maria Griego, Director of the New Mexico Center on Law & Poverty’s Economic Equity Team. Maria shares how owning a furniture store led her to law school, how a clinic case in law school inspired her to begin her career in family law, why she decided to switch from direct services to a more impact litigation and legislative-focused practice, what tools she uses to combat a sometimes emotionally taxing legal practices, and so much more!

On Episode 47 of Personal Jurisdiction, we chat with Karla Johnson, Senior Staff Attorney with the Kinship Caregiver Law Project at the New York City-based civil legal services organization, Mobilization for Justice (MFJ). Karla shares the wide variety of experiences she had in law school that helped her find her current practice, how her Master of Public Health helps inform her work, the benefits of having a broad legal practice that touches on both litigation and legislative advocacy, why it's important to cultivate cultural competency when serving clients, ways she engages in self-care when her legal practice gets tough, why being true to yourself is key to finding work you're passionate about, and so much much!

On Episode 44 of Personal Jurisdiction, we chat with Rachel Easter, Senior Counsel and Director of Federal Abortion Policy Initiatives at the National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C. Rachel shares insights about the reproductive rights movement and how her work has changed since the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey and held that the United State Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. She also provides insight into per passion for this work and a well as strategies for how she maintains a healthy relationship with the work during difficult times. This topic could not be more timely and we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we do!

In this episode of Personal Jurisdiction, we chat with Mark Feldman, Senior Litigation Attorney at the National Immigrant Justice Center, in Washington, D.C. Mark shares how his federal clerkships, Equal Justice Initiative fellowship, and time at the Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition all helped him develop different skills that have been invaluable in his current role at NIJC. He also highlights what kept him in law school after wondering during 1L if law was the right path for him, and why it's important to never sell yourself short!

In this episode of Personal Jurisdiction, we chat with Wookie Kim, Legal Director at ACLU of Hawaii, about what it means to be an active law student, how he benefitted from his time as a litigation associate at a large law firm, finding your "WHY," and the life-threatening experience that changed his career trajectory and drove his move to beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii.

Join us for the last episode of Season 2 as we chat with Ally Coll, President and Co-Founder of The Purple Campaign. Ally shares how she became interested in politics and saw the power of grassroots organizing before law school (hint: Ally worked for Obama before he was President Obama), why she chose not to write on to law review or apply to clerkships during law school (hint: upon graduation she went to work for Hillary Clinton's legal team), why she chose to share her #MeToo story in the Washington Post, and how this ultimately led her to found the Purple Campaign, a non-profit organization whose mission is to address workplace harassment. Ally also discusses her recent testimony on Capitol Hill in support of the Judiciary Accountability Act, which would apply certain civil rights and employee protection laws to judicial branch employees. Although this concludes Season 2, we're not going far. Stay tuned for our mental health awareness collaboration, which will be released as a ser…

Lindsay Dubin developed the courage early on to push back against other people's expectations. Join us for Episode 21 and hear from Lindsay about her experience as an environmental law litigator, what made her say "No Thanks" to OCI, and her essential tips for students interested in public interest careers. We also talk about some fascinating environmental protection cases, including the story behind a current case involving horseshoe crabs (and their blue blood!) and red knots (a type of bird). Don't miss our conversation with Lindsay Dubin!

In Episode 14, we welcome Todd Belcore to Personal Jurisdiction. Todd is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Social Change, a national nonprofit organization committed to liberation and amplifying community voices through storytelling, organizing, and direct action. We talk to Todd about how and why he started Social Change, his views on abolition and liberation work, how the nonprofit responds to community needs in real time, and his team's work in policy advocacy, direct services, storytelling, and so much more. Enjoy!

Leslie Kuhn-Thayer developed her leadership skills, team-focused mindset, and discipline during her career as a Division I college athlete and coach. Now, she is Pro Bono Counsel at Sidley Austin in Chicago, IL where she coordinates Sidley's constitutional rights and civil liberties practice, which focuses on prisoners' rights litigation. Leslie had a number of amazing stops along the way, including as an associate in Sidley's litigation practice group, and as a judicial law clerk (twice!). Don't miss our conversation with Leslie Kuhn-Thayer.

Alissa Lietzow is the Executive Director of Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services in South Carolina. Charleston Pro Bono provides civil legal assistance for low-income Charleston County residents at no cost to the client. In this insightful episode, Alissa shares why she decided to go to the local law school in Charleston, the importance of networking and connections, how becoming a mother gave her new insight into what success means, and what legal services work means to her and her community. She also talks coping strategies for when the work gets tough, including creating a "you've got this folder." Tune in to learn more!

My Khanh Ngo is a Staff Attorney at the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project (IRP) in San Francisco, California. In this excellent episode, My Khanh shares how a variety of experiences before and during law school shaped her current legal career, what she does on the day-to-day at IRP, her views on direct services vs. impact litigation work, and so much more. Don't miss her insights and advice for law students and new lawyers too!