Speaking of Justice Mark Wahlstrom

In Season Two of Speaking of Justice host Mark Wahlstrom is joined by Nationally recognized author and Attorney Matthew P. Barach. Considered by many as “the fixer” in Massachusetts family law, Matt is an esteemed family law trial and appellate attorney as well as the Founder and Principal of Barach Law Group LLC, a boutique law firm dedicated to excellence in family law.

His recent book, “The Family Law Guide to Appellate Practice,” published by the American Bar Association, shares Matt's family law appellate expertise with other lawyers, helping them to navigate this highly specialized and complex area of law.

Judge Frederic Block joins host Mark Wahlstrom to discuss his new book, " Crimes and Punishment, entering the mind of a sentencing Judge. Judge Block is a senior Judge on the US District Court of Eastern NY with almost 25 years covering every type of trial. His new book looks at the essential issues facing the US judiciary as regards our nations changing perception on the impact of mandatory sentencing, excessive prosecutor over reach and the long term social impact of felony convictions and sentencing equity.

The book has been praised by both conservative and liberal commentators as a welcome examination of the daily frustrations, biases, struggles and conflicts judges face every day and why our society needs to examine how we set policy over punishment for crimes. A fantastic interview of a fascinating Judge and author on one of the key topics in the US today.

You may purchase "Crimes and Punishment" by going to the ABA book store and ordering a copy today.

The Mraz matter is an in depth look into how a major personal injury case victory can be inadvertently turned into a sour loss by the failure to use Qualified Settlement Funds and simple language in settlement or verdict instructions. Guest Patrick Hindert, VP of Business Development for Independent Life and the co-author of the settlement industry bible " Structured settlements and periodic payments judgments" joins host Mark Wahlstrom in what is a primer on how to avoid potential legal malpractice when attempting to preserve the planning options for personal injury victims.

The Mraz case refers to a case in the Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 3, California in a case A.M., a Minor, etc, et al., Plaintiff and Respondent, v Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. The West Law reference is 2019 WL 2433188 and it looks at what was a massively successful verdict by the firm on behalf of a minor client, that inadvertently and through a lack of utilizing some of the available planning options for structured settlement planning, ended up in a dispute about the loss of rights to structure payments for the plaintiff.

This is an ESSENTIAL case for structured settlement professionals and trial lawyers to pay attention to in that it looks at why Qualified Settlement Funds and 468B trust are such a vital, but under utilized tool in litigation as well as the failure to simply include instructions or notations that preserve the right of parties to structure payments.

In this weeks episode of Speaking of Justice, Attorney Dree K. Collopy, author of AILA's Aslylum Primer, A practical Guide to US Asylum Law and Procedure, joins Mark Wahlstrom to discuss current events in immigration law, Asylum law practice and a summary of this definitive guide to Asylum Law Practice.

Few areas of law are in the news more than issues regarding Aslyum and immigaration and Dree has been a tireless advocate for the rights of those seeking asylum. This discussion on what is happening at the border, the break down in process and confusion in the current system will be of interest to anyone who is in the practice of immigration law, as well as citizens with friends and family seeking asylum.

You can learn more about Attorney Dree Collopy and her firm, which is located in Washington, DC by checking out her website at Benach Collopy, LLP. You can also go to the website for the American Immigration Lawyers Association to find out more about the book, how to purchase it and to get involved or educated on this unique area of immigration law.

Mark Wahlstrom is joined in this episode of Speaking of Justice, originally broadcast in December 2015 by famed trial lawyer, Gerry Spence to discuss his recent book, "Police State". This was a look at how for decades, in cities all across America, rogue police have allegedly gotten away with murder.

Written and published at time when the Freddy Gray and Ferguson protests were front and center, as well as the emergence of the BLM movement, this book and perspective capture a very specific turning point in American culture.

According to Spence the distance that had been created between law enforcement and society is a growing threat best illustrated by an increasingly militarized police who increasingly appear to pose a risk to the civil liberties of ordinary citizens. His observations are somewhat prophetic given the continued tension evident in 2019 toward police enforcement in many communities across America.

Gerry Spence spent over 50 years defending the rights of citizens, big and small in cases spanning from the Karen Silkwood case, Imelda Marcos, Randy Weaver and Jeffery Fieger. In this podcast one of the great lions of criminal law draws a parallel between what the climate is in America today vs a time in the 1930's in Germany, with a warning regarding the tendency of people to surrender their rights in return for the illusion of safety. While his perspective is certainly strongly in the "progressive" camp, his warnings about the loss of freedoms and rights apply to all sectors of the US justice system.

A great interview! You can learn more about Gerry Spence by going to his law firm website and you can purchase the book on Amazon.

Paul Bland, Executive Director of Public Justice was Mark Wahlstrom's guest during December of 2015 on Speaking of Justice. 

Paul was discussing the DirecTV v Imburgia case that had recently been decided by the US Supreme court, with the ruling following a trend in which the use of mandatory or forced arbitration agreements are part of just about every financial, consumer and employment contract, thus eliminating the rights of consumers to sue directly or to join as part of a class action. The subsequent election of Donald Trump and changes in both the composition of the federal courts and government regulatory bodies makes this analysis from almost four years ago very interesting in retrospect.

Paul pointed out in this discussion, while in fact there were other major cases coming before the SCOTUS in the spring of 2016, all was not lost as to the rights of consumers in this important area, or so it seemed at the time. Many changes were beginning to occur in administrative, governmental and employment contracts where in the mandatory arbitration and mediation clauses were being removed, but due to the results of the 2016 election many of those changes were eliminated or subsequently reversed.