LawHub Presents I Am The Law Podcast
160 Episodes
Regulating Ethics in Politics: Advisory Opinions and Agency Operations
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 on afterward. Amanda also describes why most of her day goes to operations rather than legal research: reviewing agency contracts from initiation through management, training staff on procurement rules, and managing a team. She talks about the scrutiny that comes with spending money that belongs to the public, and why management is a skill more lawyers should build. Amanda is a graduate of the University of Texas.
This episode is hosted by Katya Valasek.
Mentioned in this episode:
Episodes
Regulating Ethics in Politics: Advisory Opinions and Agency Operations
26 minutes 53 secondsAmanda 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 on afterward. Amanda also describes why most of her day goes to operations rather than legal research: reviewing agency contracts from initiation through management, training staff on procurement rules, and managing a team. She talks about the scrutiny that comes with spending money that belongs to the public, and why management is a skill more lawyers should build. Amanda is a graduate of the University of Texas.
Fine Print, Big Money: Making Insurers Pay Up
42 minutes 49 secondsStorm 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 refinery explosion or a hurricane, matters less than the words of the contract. He details the substantive work that falls to mid-level associates on leanly staffed cases, from drafting summary judgment motions to assessing settlement risk. The conversation also covers AI in document review and what changes when a senior associate starts managing other people. Storm is a graduate of Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
One Career in Three Acts: Big Law, Contract Work, Plaintiff Firm
32 minutes 52 secondsCharles 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 and feels connected to the work. In this episode, Charles reflects on golden handcuffs, career pivots, and what it takes to find a legal path that fits. Charles is a graduate of Columbia Law School.
Sharpening the Craft of Special Victims Prosecution
33 minutes 39 secondsLike 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 projects, and developing the next generation of experts in the field, while still keeping her hands in the substantive legal work. She explains how she built her advocacy skills in court as a new prosecutor, what it takes to handle deeply sensitive cases, and why strong writing became central to her impact. Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law.
After the Headlines: Lawsuits in the Wake of Disaster
31 minutes 5 seconds.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 coordinate across dozens of law firms. Richard discusses the economics of contingency-fee practice, how AI is changing document-heavy work, and the secondary trauma that comes with intake after a mass-casualty event. He also reflects on how moving from insurance defense into plaintiff-side work early in his career shaped the way he approaches litigation today, giving him a clearer read on what the other side is likely to do. Richard is a graduate of Gonzaga School of Law.
More Than Legal Advice: Building a Firm for High-Conflict Divorce
27 minutes 40 secondsJonathan 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 how he separates emotion from legal judgment.
Building a Practice Around Delaware's Corporate Code
29 minutes 1 secondMark 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 built a practice that blends business and law. He also shares how his work goes beyond clients, with a hand in shaping state legislation and advancing LGBTQ+ rights. Mark is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law.