Studying Law Around the World

Claudio Klaus
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Education

A podcast with more than 70 hours of conversations with lawyers, professors, and students from over 20 countries. Each episode shows how people study law, build careers across borders, handle setbacks, and find purpose in their work. You will hear clear advice, practical tips, and global insights from different legal systems and top schools. A useful guide for anyone interested in law school experiences, law career advice, legal industry insights, and the views of legal scholars. Selected episodes accredited by the Law Society of Ontario and the Law Society of British Columbia. ISSN 2819 733X

  1. 4d ago

    The Immigrant Advantage, AI Implementation, and Billing Models with Majo Castro

    This week on the podcast, I sat down with Majo Castro. Majo is the founding attorney of Castro & Legal in Austin, Texas. After leaving Venezuela in 2015 with a law degree that she could not use in the United States, she started completely over. She took a paralegal course, worked as a bartender, eventually earned an LLM, and opened her own boutique firm specializing in cybersecurity, AI governance, and technology law. We got into how she uses artificial intelligence to compete with big law, the biggest mistakes tech founders make when rushing to market, and why she believes the billable hour is dying. What you will learn The AI edge for boutique firms. Majo uses AI to automatically generate client proposals five minutes after a consultation ends. Learn how she reclaimed 13 hours a month by automating her administrative workflows. Where AI fails in law. She shares a hilarious (and painful) story about implementing an AI phone system that aggressively argued with a potential client. Discover why high-stakes negotiations and first impressions still require a human touch. The death of the billable hour. Tech-enabled lawyers work faster. Majo explains why clinging to the billable hour actually punishes efficient lawyers, and why flat-fee structures are the only logical future for modern practice. Why this mattersA lot of lawyers treat cybersecurity and AI as IT issues. Majo proves that they are now fundamental legal competencies. If you refuse to use modern tools, you are doing a disservice to your clients by charging them more money for a slower product. Foreign-trained and junior lawyers often doubt their ability to compete in this market. Majo’s story shows that because fields like AI governance are so new, the playing field is entirely level. Three takeaways AI is your leverage, not your replacement. Use AI to draft proposals, organize research, and create marketing content, but never let it make legal judgments or handle sensitive human relationships. Stop rushing to market. Tech founders constantly launch products without protecting their IP or clarifying their data rights. As a technology lawyer, your job is to slow them down just enough to keep them out of trouble. Use your background as an asset. Whether you were a bartender, a small business owner, or an immigrant learning a new system, those experiences make you a better advisor. Your clients want a lawyer who actually understands how hard it is to build something from scratch. Guest: Majo Castro, founding attorney of Castro & Legal, specializing in cybersecurity and AI governance. Where to listen and how to support the showSearch Studying Law Around the World on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. If you found value in this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating. Selected episodes of Studying Law Around the World are eligible for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit with the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) and Continuing Legal Education (CLE/CPD) credit with the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC). For approved episodes, accreditation details, and participation information, please visit: https://studyinglawaroundtheworld.com/

  2. 6d ago

    Humanizing the Code, Building Client Trust, and Cross-Border Estates with Amanda Doucette

    ISSN 2819-733X There is a persistent myth in law school that you must be a math genius to practice tax law. It keeps a lot of great advocates away from a field that desperately needs them. Legal careers are shaped less by credentials and more by communication, and almost no one teaches that early enough. I try to make that invisible part of the profession visible. This week on the podcast, I sat down with Amanda Doucette. Amanda is a Canadian tax, trust, and estate lawyer and the host of The Tax Chick podcast. She started her career in civil litigation and family law, completely convinced she was terrible at math. When a senior partner pulled her onto a tax litigation file, she discovered that tax practice is not about crunching numbers on a spreadsheet. It is fundamentally about advocacy, education, and human relationships. We talked about how she eventually transitioned into cross-border estate planning and why making the law accessible is the best business development strategy you can have. What you will learn Humanizing the tax code. Clients do not want to hear you recite subsections of the Income Tax Act. Learn how to use visual aids, analogies, and plain language to turn reactive, panicked clients into proactive business partners. The cross-border trap. A Canadian Power of Attorney is effectively useless for a snowbird dealing with a medical emergency in Arizona. Discover why you have to treat every country, and sometimes every state or province, as a completely separate legal reality when planning an estate. The accidental audience. Amanda started her podcast during the 2020 lockdowns to help confused business owners. Learn how she inadvertently built a massive audience of non-tax professional advisors who now use her show to spot problems for their own clients. Why this mattersJunior lawyers often box themselves in based on what they think they are bad at. Amanda's story proves that practice areas are rarely what they seem from the outside. As artificial intelligence continues to automate baseline legal work, clients are actively searching for advisors they actually like and trust. You do not differentiate yourself just by knowing the rules. You stand out by translating those rules into plain English so your clients can sleep at night. Three takeaways Say yes to the scary assignments. Amanda only discovered her passion for tax because she did not turn down an intimidating trial file. The biggest leap in your career might come from a practice area you actively avoided in law school. Assume your documents do not travel. Never assume a domestic legal document works across a border. From mismatched tax treaties to completely different legal definitions of the word "spouse," international planning requires highly localized advice. Be a translator, not a dictionary. Stop trying to prove how smart you are by using dense legal jargon. Your actual job is to digest complex financial and legal risks into three clear options so your client can make an informed decision. Guest: Amanda Doucette, tax, trust, and estate lawyer, and host of The Tax Chick podcast. Where to listen and how to support the showSearch Studying Law Around the World on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. If you found value in this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating. Selected episodes of Studying Law Around the World are eligible for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit with the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) and Continuing Legal Education (CLE/CPD) credit with the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC). For approved episodes, accreditation details, and participation information, please visit: https://studyinglawaroundtheworld.com/

  3. Sep 4

    The Global Classroom, Comparative Equality, and Leaving Your Jurisdiction with David Oppenheimer, Panos Kapotas, and Laura Carlson

    Legal careers are shaped less by credentials and more by communication, and no one teaches that early enough. I make that invisible part of the profession visible. What mistake do junior lawyers make because no one explained this? They assume the law looks exactly the same everywhere. When you only study your local legal system, you start to believe your jurisdiction's way of solving a problem is the only way. This week on Studying Law Around the World, I sat down with three law professors from three different countries. David B. Oppenheimer from Berkeley Law, Panos Kapotas from the University of Portsmouth, and Laura Carlson from Stockholm University. During the pandemic, they teamed up to build a global course in comparative equality law. It brings students and professors from six continents into a single virtual classroom. They generously shared what happens when you completely remove geographic borders from legal education. What you will learn The culture shock of comparative law. Laura explains how Swedish civil law students are trained to prioritize legal certainty. They were completely shocked by the raw passion North and South American students brought to arguments about justice and fairness. The danger of local assumptions. David highlights how a concept like abortion is framed as an issue of privacy in the US, but as a matter of bodily autonomy and equality in other legal systems. You cannot fully grasp an issue until you see how other cultures frame it. The baseline of equality. Panos shares a grounding moment from the course when a student from South America pointed out that in their village, the primary equality issue is simply getting access to clean water. It is a stark reminder of how privilege shapes our legal priorities. Why this mattersIt is incredibly easy to get trapped in the specific rules and procedures of your home jurisdiction. This conversation proves that the best way to become a sharper, more creative lawyer is to expose yourself to different ways of thinking. When you understand how other systems tackle the exact same human problems, you build a massive intellectual advantage in how you approach your own practice. Three takeaways Leave your jurisdiction. Whether you do a full LLM or just a short exchange term, you need to study law outside your home country. It fundamentally changes how you view the profession. Look for non hierarchical spaces. The best professional networks do not care about your seniority. Find communities that treat you as an equal simply because you share the same intellectual curiosity. Leverage local associations. You do not have to move across the world to build a global network. Join the international subcommittees of your local bar associations to start connecting with practitioners in other countries today. Guests: David B. Oppenheimer (Berkeley Law), Panos Kapotas (University of Portsmouth), and Laura Carlson (Stockholm University). Where to listen and how to support the showSearch Studying Law Around the World on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. If you found value in this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating. Selected episodes of Studying Law Around the World are eligible for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit with the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) and Continuing Legal Education (CLE/CPD) credit with the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC).For approved episodes, accreditation details, and participation information, please visit: https://studyinglawaroundtheworld.com/

  4. Sep 1

    Shippable Futures, Escaping Microsoft Word, and Prototyping Your Career with Baru Obračajová

    This week on the podcast, I sat down with Baru Obračajová. She is a Czech lawyer, legal designer, and the mind behind "Attorney at Code." After years of handling cross-border M&A and ESG transactions, she realized the traditional, hyper-specialized legal path was not for her. She took a free Harvard coding class online, and it completely changed how she viewed the practice of law. Today, she teaches a "Modern Lawyers" course at Charles University and helps organizations rethink how legal services are actually delivered. We got into why the legal industry's obsession with Microsoft Word is limiting our imagination, and why lawyers need to start treating their work as an end-to-end product rather than a series of disconnected emails. What you will learn Legal product management. It is time to stop viewing legal work as just replying to an email with a Word document attached. Discover how to design an end-to-end client experience, from onboarding and pricing all the way to final delivery. Escaping the Microsoft Word trap. Word is the lowest common denominator in law. Baru challenges us to explore ideas outside of this standard environment. When you stop designing every legal process around a single document editor, you open up massive opportunities for actual innovation. Shippable futures vs. R&D. Most law firm innovation is vendor-driven and plays it safe with commercially viable "shippable futures." Learn why exploring speculative, outlandish ideas is essential if you want to understand where the industry is actually heading. Why this mattersYoung lawyers constantly message me worried about getting stuck in a single, narrow practice area forever. Baru's journey proves you do not have to be a hyper-specialized technician to be successful. By layering different skills—like project management, design, and coding—you can build a highly customized, generalist career that actually fits your interests. You have the agency to shape the future of the profession rather than just sitting around waiting to see if artificial intelligence will replace your job. Three takeaways Prototype your career. Do not make massive, high-stakes career pivots overnight. If you are interested in legal design, start by redesigning a single, simple document. Test the waters with low-risk experiments before completely changing your path. Become a self-started learner. You no longer need formal permission or another expensive degree to learn a new skill. Find free resources online, build your own reading lists, and pursue the subjects that genuinely intrigue you, even if they fall outside traditional legal boundaries. Embrace multidisciplinary work. Being a lawyer is just one layer. When you add other disciplines like design or coding, you gain the ability to automate repetitive tasks, communicate complex ideas more effectively, and build completely new systems. Guest: Baru Obračajová, Czech lawyer, legal and futures designer, educator, and founder of Attorney at Code. Where to listen and how to support the showSearch Studying Law Around the World on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. If you found value in this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating. Selected episodes of Studying Law Around the World are eligible for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit with the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) and Continuing Legal Education (CLE/CPD) credit with the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC). For approved episodes, accreditation details, and participation information, please visit: https://studyinglawaroundtheworld.com/

  5. Aug 28

    Sponsorship, Critical Thinking, and Building Your Own Platform with Aneka Jiwaji

    This week on Studying Law Around the World, I sat down with Aneka Jiwaji. She is a commercial and securities litigator who has been in practice for a decade. After navigating insurance defense, an international firm, and the BC Securities Commission, she recently co-founded JI Law, an all-women boutique firm. We talked about why she decided to start her own practice. It wasn't about lifestyle or working fewer hours. She just wanted to build a place where women could do high-level commercial litigation without dealing with the yelling and inflated egos that the legal industry has somehow normalized. She wanted a space where they could simply focus on doing excellent work. What you will learn Sponsorship beats mentorship. Young lawyers don't just need advice over coffee. They need a sponsor who sees their potential, mentions their name in closed rooms, and gives them substantive pieces of a file to handle. The true barrister approach. Aneka didn't lock herself into a single micro-niche early on. By taking on insurance, regulatory, and defamation work, she built a broad foundation that allows her to look at a client's business problems from multiple angles. The hidden cost of AI. JI Law uses plenty of technology, but Aneka warns against using AI to replace junior associates. If you outsource early legal work to software, young lawyers never learn critical thinking. Why this mattersIt is easy to feel stuck if you are in a frustrating work environment. Aneka's story is a reminder that you don't have to fix the firm you are in. You can focus on doing good work, building your reputation—what she calls your character—and making genuine connections outside of your immediate office. If you do that consistently, you eventually build enough credibility to leave and create the exact practice you want. Three takeaways Stop treating networking like a transaction. Build real relationships without worrying about how a person can advance your career right now. Those organic connections are what actually sustain a practice over the long term. Get on your feet. Going to court to handle small applications in person builds a type of confidence you simply cannot get sitting at your desk on a video call. Pull someone up with you. If you are senior enough, look around and find a junior lawyer to sponsor. The profession has a strict obligation to teach the next generation how to actually think. Guest: Aneka Jiwaji, commercial and securities litigator, and co-founder of JI Law. Where to listen and how to support the showSearch Studying Law Around the World on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. If you found value in this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating. Selected episodes are eligible for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit with the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) and Continuing Legal Education (CLE/CPD) credit with the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC).For approved episodes and accreditation details, visit: https://studyinglawaroundtheworld.com/

  6. Aug 26

    Presence Over Perfection, The Happy Lawyer, and Writing for Children with Shani M. King and N. Jeremi Duru

    In this week's episode of Studying Law Around the World, I sat down with Shani M. King and N. Jeremi Duru. Shani and Jeremi are brilliant legal scholars, law professors, and longtime friends who met as undergraduates at Brown University. Having built formidable careers in child advocacy and civil rights litigation, they recently collaborated on a deeply personal children's book published by Fair Share Publishing. They generously shared their insights on navigating heavy legal work, protecting family time, and the true meaning of professional success. Presence Over Perfection: Why your children do not expect you to be flawless. Discover how giving 20 minutes of completely undivided attention is vastly more valuable than an hour of distracted multitasking. The Happy Lawyer Principle: How choosing a practice area that genuinely speaks to your substantive interests makes you not only a better professional but a happier and more emotionally available parent. A Pure Form of Advocacy: How writing for children serves as a direct, refreshing oasis away from the heavy and procedural nature of traditional legal and academic writing. The pressure to bill hours and climb the legal ladder can easily overshadow your personal priorities. Shani and Jeremi prove that you can actively structure your life to prioritize your family without sacrificing your professional impact. You cannot always control a demanding legal workload, but you can control your focus. By being deeply intentional with your available time and actively expressing your emotions, you build a legacy that goes far beyond your legal resume. Make the 20 minutes count. You will have days where your workload is overwhelming. When you finally step away from the desk, put your phone down. Even a brief, fully intentional moment of connection matters more to your children than sheer quantity of time. Find your creative oasis. Traditional legal work, especially in fields like civil rights or litigation, can be emotionally heavy. Find a creative outlet to recharge your energy and gain a fresh perspective. Do not just follow the fad. Do not pick a practice area simply because it is lucrative or currently trendy. Pursue work that you find substantively meaningful so you can be a happier lawyer and a more present human being. Guests: Shani M. King and N. Jeremi Duru, law professors, legal scholars, and co-authors of a newly released children's book on fatherhood. Where to listen and how to support the showSearch Studying Law Around the World on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app. If you found value in this episode, please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show on your platform of choice. Leaving a rating and review is the best way to support the podcast, helping us continue to grow and bring these invisible rules of the legal profession to more junior lawyers around the world. Selected episodes of Studying Law Around the World are eligible for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit with the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) and Continuing Legal Education (CLE/CPD) credit with the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC).For approved episodes, accreditation details, and participation information, please visit: https://studyinglawaroundtheworld.com/

  7. Aug 24

    The Power of Narrative, Proactive Career Strategy, and the Human Connection with José Bottazzo

    In this week's episode of Studying Law Around the World, I sat down with José Bottazzo. After building a highly successful career as a litigation partner in Brazil, José made a bold pivot, moving to Toronto to become a leader in legal recruitment. Now the Director of Client Services at Forge Recruitment, he generously shared his insights on how law firms evaluate senior talent, the distinct differences between private practice and in house roles, and how internationally trained lawyers can perfectly position their skills. The Proactive Career Strategy: Why you must stop waiting for the perfect moment to network. Discover how building authentic connections before you ever need a job keeps you from getting trapped in a "golden cage." The Private Practice vs. In House Divide: How to strategically align your practice based on your end goal. Learn why law firms reward deep, narrow specialization, while in house roles require a broad, generalist approach. The Power of Narrative: Why internationally trained lawyers need to stop over explaining the technical differences of their home jurisdictions and start leading with their proven business generation and people skills. It is incredibly easy to put your head down, bill hours, and assume your hard work will automatically translate into partnership or a dream general counsel role. José proves that you must treat yourself as a business unit. In a legal market increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence and private equity, your technical skills are only the baseline. The professionals who will thrive in the future are the ones who lean into their humanity, building genuine trust and community with their clients and peers. Build a compelling story. Your resume is just a piece of paper. To stand out, you must craft a narrative that connects your past experience directly to the business problems your future employer is trying to solve. Act like a business owner. Do not just wait for a partner to hand you work. Go out, build a small book of business, and use those relationships as leverage to find the exact platform you need to grow. Double down on human connection. As technology automates routine legal tasks, emotional intelligence becomes your most valuable asset. Connect with your local community and focus on building authentic trust. Guest: José Bottazzo, former litigation partner, legal recruitment expert, and Director of Client Services at Forge Recruitment. Where to listen and how to support the showSearch Studying Law Around the World on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app. If you found value in this episode, please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show on your platform of choice. Leaving a rating and review is the best way to support the podcast, helping us continue to grow and bring these invisible rules of the legal profession to more junior lawyers around the world. Selected episodes of Studying Law Around the World are eligible for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit with the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) and Continuing Legal Education (CLE/CPD) credit with the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC). For approved episodes, accreditation details, and participation information, please visit: https://studyinglawaroundtheworld.com/

  8. Aug 21

    Digital Assets, The Truth About Trusts, and Writing Your Own Niche with Demetre Vasilounis

    In this week's episode of Studying Law Around the World, I sat down with Demetre Vasilounis. Demetre is a trust and estates lawyer, a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP), and a recognized leader in family wealth and succession planning. After discovering his love for estates during a mandatory articling rotation, he built a thriving practice advising ultra high net worth families. He generously shared his insights on navigating complex tax laws, the importance of multidisciplinary networking, and how to successfully blend pop culture with legal expertise. What you will learn The Tax Reality: Why understanding tax is absolutely non negotiable for estate planners. Discover why modern trust law is focused on tax deferral and risk analysis rather than finding magical loopholes. Creating Your Niche: How Demetre combined his love for writing, anime, and gaming with legal practice to become a sought after expert in the rapidly evolving area of digital assets. The Power of Rotations: Why remaining open minded during your early career rotations is the best way to find a practice area that truly clicks with your personality and academic interests. Why this mattersIt is incredibly common to feel like you have to hide your unconventional hobbies to be taken seriously in a corporate legal environment. Demetre proves that integrating your genuine interests into your professional profile actually makes you stand out. By writing publicly about niche topics that intersect with the law, you build a highly visible, authentic reputation that attracts both clients and a supportive community. You do not have to choose between being a rigorous professional and being yourself. Three takeaways Do not hide your interests. Whether it is anime, video games, or technology, writing about how your personal passions intersect with the law is the fastest way to build a memorable brand. Embrace the tax code. You cannot effectively plan an estate without understanding the tax implications of death. Lean into the technical learning and seek out advanced educational programs like the TEP designation. Try everything once. Do not lock yourself into a single practice area too early. Be open to trying fields you never considered, because they might just provide the perfect blend of academic challenge and human connection. Guest: Demetre Vasilounis, trust and estates lawyer, writer, and leader in family wealth, succession planning, and digital assets. Where to listen and how to support the showSearch Studying Law Around the World on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app. If you found value in this episode, please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the show on your platform of choice. Leaving a rating and review is the best way to support the podcast, helping us continue to grow and bring these invisible rules of the legal profession to more junior lawyers around the world. Selected episodes of Studying Law Around the World are eligible for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit with the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) and Continuing Legal Education (CLE/CPD) credit with the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC). For approved episodes, accreditation details, and participation information, please visit: https://studyinglawaroundtheworld.com/

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A podcast with more than 70 hours of conversations with lawyers, professors, and students from over 20 countries. Each episode shows how people study law, build careers across borders, handle setbacks, and find purpose in their work. You will hear clear advice, practical tips, and global insights from different legal systems and top schools. A useful guide for anyone interested in law school experiences, law career advice, legal industry insights, and the views of legal scholars. Selected episodes accredited by the Law Society of Ontario and the Law Society of British Columbia. ISSN 2819 733X

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