Law Practice Today

The Law Practice Division
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This podcast is brought to you by the Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association. 

  1. 4 hr ago

    Empower Your Legal Mind: Traits and Tactics for Lawyers

    On the Law Practice Today podcast, host Terrell sits down with psychologists Larry and D'Arcy, authors of Thin Skinned, to discuss research on how lawyers differ from the general public and how those differences affect both practice and personal life. Larry describes decades of data collection—first via a nationwide Myers-Briggs study of 3,000+ lawyers and later through 30 years using the Caliper Profile, now totaling nearly 10,000 lawyer assessments—showing seven atypical trait outliers, including high skepticism and notably low resilience and empathy. They explain that some traits are present before law school, while skepticism, resilience, and empathy are largely learned and can shift with time in law-office environments. The episode highlights practical, research-backed ways to build resilience, including reducing cognitive distortions, increasing positive emotions, and strengthening relationships, plus leadership strategies for creating resilience-friendly firm cultures. 00:00 Lawyers Get Thin Skinned 00:20 Podcast Intro Disclaimer 00:58 Meet the Authors 01:44 Larry's Path to Psychology 02:28 D'Arcy Joins the Project 04:15 30 Years of Lawyer Data 06:36 Seven Traits That Stand Out 09:29 Why Lawyers Differ 10:30 Skepticism Lowers Resilience 18:19 Nature, Nurture, and Selection 19:56 Four Buckets of Solutions 20:47 Bucket One Fix Negative Thinking 24:38 Bucket Two Build Positive Emotions 30:01 Bucket Three Relationships Matter 34:17 Where to Learn More 35:05 Final Thanks and Wrap Up

    Empower Your Legal Mind: Traits and Tactics for Lawyers

  2. 8 Sept

    AI Tools for Smarter Law Firms

    In this Law Practice Today podcast episode, Greg Siskind discusses an ABA book he co-wrote with Jason Susser and Josh Waddell, focused on practical ways lawyers can adopt generative AI in their firms, including how to prioritize projects, find “low-hanging fruit,” decide what to DIY versus hire out, and avoid ethical or operational trouble. Siskind draws parallels to the early days of law firm websites, recounting building one of the first lawyer websites in 1994 and the skepticism and compliance questions that followed. He describes his firm’s earlier AI work starting in 2015 with no-code expert systems and a later pivot in 2022 after an early look at OpenAI through Casetext’s CoCounsel, leading to an immigration-focused generative AI research prototype. The conversation highlights strong use cases like summarization, translation, inbox workflows, marketing tasks, and prompt “recipes,” emphasizing prompts as effective delegation. 00:00 Why Invest in AI 00:31 Podcast Intro and Disclaimer 01:09 Meet Greg Siskind 01:52 Writing a Practical AI Book 03:44 Lessons From 1994 Websites 07:06 Early Web Marketing Advantage 08:50 Law Firm AI Experiments 2015 11:11 First Look at Generative AI 13:55 Practical Use Cases and Prompts 16:09 Prompting Is Delegation 17:16 Where to Find Greg 17:48 Final Thanks and Outro

    AI Tools for Smarter Law Firms

  3. 24 Aug

    First Half of 2026 Highlights: Law Firm Strategy and Operations

    This special roundup episode of the Law Practice Today podcast brings together three conversations from the first half of 2026 focused on helping law firms build stronger, more resilient, and better-run practices. First, Stephanie Everett joins Terrell A. Turner in "Building a Healthy and Profitable Law Firm.” She explains why law firm leaders need to understand their numbers, create systems that allow the business to operate without depending on the owner at every moment, and revisit strategy regularly through quarterly planning, annual reviews, and longer-term vision setting. Next, Shawn Holahan discusses "Disaster Planning for Law Firms.” She emphasizes that professional and ethical responsibilities do not stop during an emergency. From natural disasters and cyber incidents to technology failures and employee disruptions, firms need a clear plan for maintaining operations and communicating with clients when something goes wrong. Finally, Alexander Paykin joins Terrell for "Picking the Right Legal Tech Tools.” He encourages law firms to look beyond polished demos and technology hype by evaluating tools against their actual workflows, practice-specific needs, security requirements, and expected return on investment. The goal is not simply to adopt more technology, but to choose tools that genuinely save time, improve operations, and support the firm. Together, these conversations highlight three important parts of running a stronger law firm: building a sustainable business, preparing for disruption, and making smarter operational and technology decisions. Listen to the Full Conversations: Building a Healthy and Profitable Law Firm — Stephanie EverettDisaster Planning for Law Firms — Shawn HolahanPicking the Right Legal Tech Tools — Alexander PaykinEpisode Chapters 00:00 Special Episode Preview 00:46 Podcast Intro & Disclaimer 01:22 Building a More Resilient Law Firm 02:20 Stephanie Everett: Building a Healthy and Profitable Practice 03:24 Numbers, Systems & Strategy 05:53 Shawn Holahan: Why Disaster Planning Matters 07:07 Ethics and Professional Responsibilities During Disasters 09:07 Building a Reliable Client Communication Plan 10:23 Alexander Paykin: Cutting Through Legal Tech Hype 11:54 How to Stress-Test AI & Technology Tools 13:27 Evaluating the Real ROI of Automation 14:19 Wrap-Up & Full Episode Links

    First Half of 2026 Highlights: Law Firm Strategy and Operations

  4. 17 Aug

    First Half of 2026 Highlights: Marketing & Business Development

    This special roundup episode of the Law Practice Today podcast revisits three conversations from the first half of 2026 focused on helping lawyers strengthen their visibility, relationships, and professional brand. First, Jason Hennessey joins Terrell A. Turner for “Mastering Law Firm SEO in the Era of AI,” exploring how AI-driven search is reshaping SEO for law firms, why traditional authority signals still matter, and how brand reputation and sentiment are becoming increasingly important as search behavior evolves. Next, Deb Feder shares a practical approach to business development in “Rethinking Business Development: Small Actions, Stronger Relationships.” She explains how lawyers can make networking and relationship-building more manageable by dedicating just a few minutes each day to simple actions, thoughtful follow-up, and staying consistently connected with the people in their network. Finally, Marianne Talbot brings a different perspective to professional branding in “Embracing the Punk Rock Principle in Law.” Her approach encourages lawyers to embrace authenticity, experiment with small acts that challenge the expected professional mold, and let go of some of the pressure to appear perfect—creating more room for individuality, energy, and enjoyment in their careers. Listen to the full conversations: Mastering Law Firm SEO in the Era of AI — Jason HennesseyRethinking Business Development: Small Actions, Stronger Relationships — Deb FederEmbracing the Punk Rock Principle in Law — Marianne Talbot Episode Chapters 00:00 Special Roundup Preview 01:07 Podcast Intro & Disclaimer 01:43 Jason Hennessey: How AI Is Changing Search and SEO 02:32 Authority Signals, Links & Brand Sentiment 04:47 Quick SEO Strategies for Law Firms 05:26 Deb Feder: The Five-Minute Business Development Habit 07:52 Simple Daily Networking Actions 09:08 Marianne Talbot: The Punk Rock Branding Mindset 11:07 Letting Go of Perfection to Stand Out 12:42 How Small Acts of Rebellion Build Energy 13:52 Wrap-Up & Full Episode Links

    First Half of 2026 Highlights: Marketing & Business Development

  5. 10 Aug

    How to Write and Publish a Book with the ABA (and Why It Matters)

    This episode of the Law Practice Today podcast features Terrell A. Turner, CPA's interview with Carol Greenwald, chair of the Law Practice Division Publication Board, about what it really takes to write and publish a book with the ABA. Greenwald shares her background transitioning from academia to law firm consulting focused on communication, and explains that lawyers are trained in law but not always in clear communication with clients and teams. She discusses why people write books (reputation and expertise), how the division selects topics across business, finance, management, marketing, and technology, and why “evergreen” subjects differ from fast-changing topics like AI. Greenwald outlines appropriate and inappropriate uses of AI in writing, the challenges of completing a nonfiction book on deadline, and how to pitch a book idea to the Pub Board via a questionnaire process. 00:00 Writing Sounds Like You 00:34 Podcast Intro Disclaimer 01:13 Why Write With ABA 01:53 Carol Greenwald Background 04:27 Lawyer Communication Gaps 06:06 How People Remember 07:51 Why Books Build Credibility 09:06 Evergreen Versus AI Topics 09:30 Choosing ABA Book Topics 11:51 Clients Getting Tougher 14:04 AI And Copyright Limits 14:34 Using AI The Right Way 17:29 What Makes Books Valuable 20:30 Writing For Different Learners 22:11 Guiding Readers With Breadcrumbs 23:37 Publishing Goals And Deadlines 25:23 Finishing A Book Is Hard 28:32 How To Pitch The Pub Board 29:31 Wrap Up And Thanks

    How to Write and Publish a Book with the ABA (and Why It Matters)

  6. 3 Aug

    Mastering AI-Driven SEO for Law Firms

    On the Law Practice Today podcast, Terrell A. Turner, CPA speaks with David Arato, owner of Lexicon Legal Content, about law firm marketing and SEO as AI overviews and AI platforms reshape how clients find lawyers. Arato explains that while AI is a major shift, many fundamentals still apply: clean sites, valuable content, and omnichannel presence, with today’s emphasis on frequent, fresh, conversational content, technical elements like schema markup, and building authority through libraries of content, backlinks, and third-party mentions (including sources like Reddit). He notes that AI overviews now trigger for many legal searches, devaluing traditional #1 organic rankings and making AI citations critical for traffic and leads. He also defines common acronyms (SEO, AIO, GEO, AEO) and argues “zero-effort” AI content has “zero value,” warning of amplified misinformation and compliance risks. 00:00 AI Content Ranking Reality 00:20 Podcast Welcome Disclaimer 00:59 Meet David Arato 02:00 From Law School to SEO 04:05 Is AI a Seismic Shift 06:38 Winning AI Overviews 10:27 SEO Timelines and PR Signals 13:44 New SEO Acronyms Explained 15:19 Zero Effort Content Trap 19:55 Misinformation and Compliance Risks 20:37 Where to Find David 21:06 Final Wrap Up

    Mastering AI-Driven SEO for Law Firms

  7. 27 Jul

    Legal Dimensions of the Gaming Industry

    In this episode of the Law Practice Today podcast features Chrissie Scelsi discussing how law applies to video games. Scelsi shares her background as an in-house attorney, co-editor and contributor to ABA publications on game development and intellectual property, former U.S. general counsel at Wargaming (World of Tanks), and her work at Universal Orlando on licensing and adapting The Last of Us into a Halloween Horror Nights haunted house. The conversation highlights the wide range of legal issues in gaming beyond IP—international operations, HR and office matters, esports contracts and rulebooks, data privacy, banking and anti-money laundering concerns, marketing and trend-based advertising, and uncertainty over laws aimed at online child safety and social media features. They also discuss ESRB ratings’ impact on content and advertising, right of publicity, and college football/NIL developments, and advice for young lawyers on networking and writing to break into the field. 00:00 ESRB And Ratings 00:22 Podcast Intro And Disclaimer 01:01 Meet Chrissie Scelsi 01:40 Her Path Into Game Law 02:53 Universal And Horror Nights 04:12 Beyond IP Global And Ops 07:00 Marketing Trends And Risk 08:20 New Regulations And Uncertainty 09:11 Live Service Bills And Layoffs 11:23 Breaking In Networking Writing 15:30 Esports And Litigation War Stories 17:44 Concerts In Games And Content Choices 21:06 Right Of Publicity And NIL 22:39 Books Resources And Wrap Up 23:52 Closing Credits

    Legal Dimensions of the Gaming Industry

  8. 6 Jul

    In-House Counseling: The New Law Firm Resource

    In this episode of the Law Practice Today podcast, Terrell A. Turner, CPA, discusses mental health and self-care in law firms with Adriana Buckingham, Esq, MSW, a Philadelphia-area attorney turned counselor who founded AB In-House Counseling. Buckingham explains how her experience as a litigator led her to seek support tailored to attorneys, prompting her to earn a social work degree while practicing law and then create counseling and coaching services for legal professionals through their employers. The conversation focuses on supporting associates and staff as a firm’s key resource, noting that healthier employees can improve productivity, retention, and client service. They discuss common challenges like time management, delegation, and saying yes to everything, and how reframing can help. Buckingham emphasizes strict confidentiality: firms pay for her time, not session substance. 00:00 Associates Matter Most 00:25 Podcast Intro Disclaimer 01:04 Mental Health Focus 01:54 Meet Adriana Buckingham 02:35 From Lawyer to Counselor 04:17 Balancing School and Practice 05:48 Which Career Feels Rewarding 08:01 Why Firms Should Support Staff 11:01 Common Associate Struggles 13:34 Coaching Not Crisis 15:57 How In-House Counseling Works 17:43 Contact and Closing

    In-House Counseling: The New Law Firm Resource
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About

This podcast is brought to you by the Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association. 

Information

  • Creator
    The Law Practice Division
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    87
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Law Practice Today
  • Show Website
    Law Practice Today

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