Above the Law - Thinking Like a Lawyer

13 episodes scanned. 30% of ad slots promote the show's own products.

Recent Episodes

1. Legal Horror Stories To Keep You Up At Night

   Oct 28, 2026

   Host Catherine Urbino presents a Halloween-themed episode of The Thinking Like a Lawyer podcast, walking through six legal stories from Above the Law in 2026. The stories cover Alabama's congressional map, DOJ proposals to let the attorney general freeze state bar ethics investigations, AI hallucinations at Sullivan & Cromwell, a $2 million sanction against Skadden and Kirkland, Cadwalader's partner departures after its merger with Hogan Lovells, and a Freshfields managing partner's misdirected email about an AI spinoff. Urbino speaks alone this week, with co-host Joe Patrice absent.

2. The Trump Administration Struggled With The Bar Exam And Its Inbox

   Oct 21, 2026

   Above the Law colleagues Catherine Urbino and Stacy Zaretsky run through the week's legal news, starting with former Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia, who was not licensed to practice law despite calling herself a lawyer and general counsel. They also cover Cooley's associate salary match, Quinn Emanuel's scaled-back work-from-anywhere policy, Lowenstein Sandler's NICU leave policy, and a DOJ filing that blamed an unread email for missing a temporary restraining order on a $20 million ad campaign. The discussion centers on professional licensing, big law compensation and flexibility, and the government's compliance with court orders.

3. Iron Curtain Descends On Biglaw Financials

   Oct 14, 2026

   Hosts Joe Patrice and Catherine Peppino of Above the Law discuss Kirkland & Ellis's decision to stop disclosing its financials to reporters and what that means for the American Lawyer rankings. They also cover Judge James Ho's judicial opinions, which they read as Supreme Court auditioning, and Ropes & Gray's new policy giving attorneys 100 hours to experiment with AI. The conversation touches on private equity's role in big law, partner compensation, and whether AI will end the billable hour.

4. Bird Watching: Hawks vs. Hawkeyes

   Oct 7, 2026

   Joe Patrice and Catherine Robino discuss Senator Eric Schmitt's failed attempt to trap special prosecutor Jack Smith in a perjury trap during congressional hearings, which spectacularly backfired when Smith revealed he attended an Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball game rather than an Atlanta Hawks game. The episode also covers Big Law compensation developments, with White & Case inadvertently revealing new salary ranges matching Milbank's recent increases, and a troubling Department of Justice initiative to investigate Watergate-era special prosecutors Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski for alleged ethical breaches.

5. All The Court's A Stage And Trump Judges Merely Players

   Sep 30, 2026

   Joe Patrice and Catherine Rapino discuss three major legal stories: the Eighth Circuit's repeated defiance of Supreme Court rulings on Missouri's gerrymandered congressional map, demonstrating how Trump-appointed judges use federal courts as a staging ground for career advancement; Big Law working hours in London, with top firms requiring associates to stay past 10 PM despite billable hour mismatches; and a Texas judge's inappropriate public criticism of a female defense attorney's sleeveless dress, exemplifying outdated courtroom dress code policing.

6. Weil Get You And... Then Maybe You'll Go To Cravath

   Sep 23, 2026

   Joe Patrice and Catherine Rubino discuss major developments in the legal market, including partner departures from Weil Gotchel (notably Mike Illo's move to Cravath with his book of business), speculation about Weil pursuing merger partners, and the troubling use of ChatGPT for legal advice in college sports (Lane Kiffin's LSU case). The episode weaves together themes of AI regulation, college football conference realignment, the Protect College Sports Act, and Brett Kavanaugh's visit to a Notre Dame dorm—exploring how regulatory capture and competitive moat-building operate across both AI and college sports industries.

7. Law Firm Passive Aggressiveness On Parade

   Sep 16, 2026

   Joe Patrice and Catherine Robito discuss three major legal stories of the week: Weil's passive-aggressive characterization of Cravath as a "smaller platform" following partner Mike Iello's departure, revealing internal tensions between growth-focused and tradition-focused factions in Big Law; Missouri's attempted gerymandering and the resulting constitutional crisis involving conflicting state and federal court orders; and First Circuit Judge Rogery Thompson's informal, Gen Z-influenced bankruptcy opinion that sparked social media debate about judicial writing style and propriety.

8. Legal Catastrophes The Old-Fashioned Way

   Sep 9, 2026

   Joe Patrice and Catherine Rubino discuss three major legal ethics failures from the week: Holland & Knight's removal from an NCAA case after lawyers sent emails calling a Rhode Island judge "dumb" and a student-athlete "poop man" to opposing counsel; Skadden Arps and Kirkland Ellis receiving a $2 million sanction for repeatedly withholding evidence in a false claims act case; and Lewis Rice's former bankruptcy practice head departing following allegations of serving the founder's interests rather than the bankrupt entity's interests.

9. The ILTACON Wrap-Up

   Sep 4, 2026

   Joe Patrice discusses the International Legal Technology Association (ILTACON) conference in Nashville with Maddy Martin, Senior VP of Growth at Smith.ai. They explore trends in legal technology, including the shift from proprietary platforms to modular, integration-focused architectures; cost consciousness among big law firms; and the evolving role of AI in legal workflows. The conversation examines how enterprise legal tech innovations are trickling down to small and solo firms, and emphasizes the importance of keeping humans in the loop rather than fully automating legal processes.

10. A Tribute, A Tactic, Or An Appellate Issue?

    Aug 27, 2026

    Catherine Urbino hosts the Thinking Like a Lawyer podcast with co-editor Stacy Zaretski from Above the Law, discussing three major legal stories: prosecutor Shanan Buckingham's hair bow fashion choices in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial and their potential appellate implications; Wood Smith Henning & Berman's $700 million private equity deal with Charlesbank Capital Partners, marking the largest PE investment in a U.S. law firm; and attorney Paul Robinson's felony tampering charges related to his son's alleged involvement in a Penn State cocaine distribution ring. The episode explores how these stories intersect professional ethics, business innovation, and personal consequences in the legal world.