[ Mara Masters, 1L at Emory Law ]
We are into the third week of the semester at my law school and I have to be honest: I am already a little burned out on reading and class lectures. So what does one do when they would like to continue increasing their legal knowledge but is running low on energy? Podcasts, of course. Here are a few of my favorite legal podcasts, sorted by average running time just in case you only have a fifteen-minute class break to catch up on your listening.
1. Bloomberg Law
Average Run Time: 12 minutes
Bloomberg Law is a pretty typical news-style podcast. It’s perfect if you want a short but thorough summation and analysis of current legal happenings. It’s not so good if you don’t want your news to sound like news.
Recommended Episodes: Justices Struggle with International Child Custody and Carlos Ghosn Puts Japan’s Legal System on Trial
2. Law to fact
Average Run Time: 25 minutes
Started in 2017 by law professor Leslie Garfield Tenzer as a supplement for her students, this podcast has everything from res ipsa loquitor to getting the right law school accommodations. Professor Garfield Tenzer manages to pack a ton of information into short 25ish minute blurbs, but be warned that if you care about production value, this podcast might drive you crazy.
Recommended Episodes: Rule Against Perpetuities and Thinking about Punishment and the Criminal Law
3. ABA Journal: Modern Law Library
Average Run Time: 30 minutes
I love this podcast. My fondness for it may be a result of my prior career in a university library system or because the hosts discuss relevant new (and sometimes old) books and talk to incredible and brilliant authors. Regardless of the reason though, I have learned more from this podcast than I probably did in all of high school combined.
Recommended Episodes: How to Become a Federal Criminal and Networking for Introverts
4. ABA Journal: Legal Rebels
Average Run Time: 30 minutes
Legal Rebels hosts a variety of thinkers and experts who specialize in law and technology and are working to innovate the legal profession. I enjoy listening to this podcast, but I am also a little bit of a technophobe, so sometimes I have to take a break from listening and pretend like I don’t know that people are working on AI that can draft contracts from scratch.
Recommended Episodes: Reinventing the Staid Field of Legal Academic Writing and Young Lawyers Can be Technophobes Too
5. Above the Law Thinking Like a Lawyer:
Average Run Time: 30 minutes
Above the Law is probably the most cynical podcast on this list, but it is cynical in a way that is refreshing and filled with profanities. The hosts Elie Mystal and Joe Patrice are the perfect combination of sweet and salty as they discuss current events and legal happenings and have conversations with legal experts and authors.
Recommended Episodes: The Roberts Court is Here and The Many, Many Obstacles to Biglaw Diversity
6. Law School Toolbox
Average Run Time: 35 minutes
Law School Toolbox is hosted by Lee Burgess and Alison Monahan, both of whom are attorneys. Side note, Alison Monahan also started The Girl’s Guide to Law School, which is also a fantastic resource. Most episodes are conversations about the day to day experience of law school, with occasional “Listen and Learn” episodes sprinkled in.
Recommended Episodes: More on Accommodations in Law School (w/ Elizabeth Knox) and Navigating Networking Events as a Law Student
7. ABA Law Student Podcast
Average Run Time: 20-45 minutes
The ABA has several great podcasts, but this one is unique because it is hosted by law students! It covers topics ranging from what the ABA Law Student Division Council is working on to the O.J. Simpson trial.
Recommended Episodes: What Can you Do with Your Law Degree? and Space Law: The Next Frontier for Lawyers
8. Lawyerist
Average Run time: 40 minutes
Lawyerist is a weekly podcast where the hosts, Sam Glover and Aaron Street, chat with lawyers and legal experts. This podcast is a great resource if you don’t know yet what kind of law you would like to practice or if you are hoping to practice in a small firm.
Recommended Episodes: JDs and ADHD, with Marshall Lichty and Training the Lawyers of the Future at Emory Law, with Nicole Morris
9. Oyez
Average Run Time: 1 hour
Oyez is probably one of my favorite things to listen to when I can’t sleep – Supreme Court oral arguments. I have been listening to this (on 1.5 speed) in preparation for our legal writing oral arguments this semester.
10. Opening Arguments
Average Running Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Opening Arguments – hosted by a legal expert and comic – is the perfect combination of legal analysis and jokes. Even though the episodes are a bit longer and I often have to listen to them in two or three sittings, I always learn a lot and almost always chuckle a little bit.
Recommended Episodes: Pennhurst and the Voter Purge in Georgia and Who is Jonathan Turley, Anyway?
What law and other podcasts are you listening to? Find me on Twitter and Instagram at @the1lLife and let me know!