Widener Law Commonwealth's Podcast

There's been a renewed focus on mental health and wellness over the past few years, and that includes law school students. Join podcast host Tara Mead as she talks with Professor Rebecca Waldemar and Dean of Students Randi Teplitz on how mindfulness and wellness can help students develop the essential skills they need to succeed. Episode Transcript (PDF) Mentioned in This Episode   Mindfulness in Law society -- https://www.mindfulnessinlawsociety.org/   The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh -- https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/miracle-of-mindfulness-thich-nhat-hanh/1101968286   Insight Timer -- https://insighttimer.com/ Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness for Lawyers -- some of the benefits!   Reduces stress   Less vulnerable to burnout   Improves focus and attention   Improves resilience   Increases creativity and problem solving skills   Improves concentration   Generally improves cognitive performance   Enhances feelings of wellbeing     Music Credit: LeChuckz

In this episode, host Tara Mead talks with Legal Methods professors Amanda Sholtis and Anna Hemingway on how they help first year students with the challenges of law school, notably in the areas of communication and analysis of the law.  Episode Transcript (PDF)        Music Credit: LeChuckz

Thank you for listening to the Widener Law Commonwealth podcast. We have been on hiatus since May. Although our subseries Things I Wish I Knew has concluded, we are delighted to welcome our new host Tara Mead. Tara joined Widener Law Commonwealth this semester as the new marketing and communications manager. Her first episode will be released tomorrow and covers the struggles first year law students face and ideas about how to overcome them. If you have any podcast episode suggestions, please email them to webcwlaw@widener.edu. We look forward to sharing new content with you soon.

One of the joys of being a Widener Law Commonwealth student is meeting alumni. Gabriella Romeo ’21, Student Bar Association President, interviewed alumnus Anthony Cox ’17. In-person restrictions did not keep them from a fun and engaging interview. In addition to his comments during the interview, Anthony emphasizes the importance of mentorship. "Seek mentorship. My motto is make it to the top and send the ladder back down to help others up. There is nothing like having someone guide you up the ladder who has been up before." Anthony D. Cox Jr. is an associate attorney at Dickie McCamey and Chilcote. His practice consists primary of civil and commercial litigation on the defense side. Anthony is also the chair of the firm’s professional licensing defense group where he represents professionals before state and federal agencies. Anthony is a May 2017 graduate of Widener Commonwealth where he served as President of BLSA for two-years; and editor on the Law Review; the President of Moot Court; and a Vice-Presiden

One of the joys of being a Widener Law Commonwealth student is meeting alumni. Gabriella Romeo ’21, Student Bar Association President, interviewed alumnus Prince Holloway ’08. In-person restrictions did not keep them from a fun and engaging interview. As a Trial attorney at Stampone O’Brien Dilsheimer Law, Prince is dedicated to standing up for both the injured and the innocent. He is the unique attorney that practices and produces results in both plaintiffs’ civil litigation and criminal defense. Prince’s civil practice concentrates on helping catastrophically injured persons obtain the compensation they deserve. Prior to joining Stampone O’Brien Dilsheimer Law, he served as an Associate at a well-respected personal injury firm based in Philadelphia. In this role, he gained invaluable trial experience and developed an interest in representing children and the elderly who were abused and neglected in the foster care and nursing home settings. He has also successfully represented numerous individuals injured b

The 14th Annual Dean’s Diversity Forum Faith in the Future: America’s Ongoing Quest to Build a Diverse Democracy. Keynote Speaker: Vincent Rougeau Vincent Rougeau is the dean of Boston College Law School, the inaugural director of the new Boston College Forum on Racial Justice in America, and the 2021 president of the American Association of Law Schools. Dean Rougeau has just been named the first lay president of the College of the Holy Cross. Panelists Iva Ferrell, Associate Professor of Legal Methods at Delaware Law School The Honorable Royce L. Morris, Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas Joseph Robinson, Executive Director at the MLK Leadership Development Institute Books referenced during the presentation include: Caste – Isabel Wilkerson My Grandmother’s Hands – Resmaa Menakem How to be Antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 – Ibram X. Kendi The New Jim Crow – Michelle Alexander Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail Uncomfortable Conversations

One of the joys of being a Widener Law Commonwealth student is meeting alumni. Gabriella Romeo ’21, Student Bar Association President, interviewed alumna Niki Carter ’08. In-person restrictions did not keep them from a fun and engaging interview. Niki currently works at TE Connectivity, a company that designs and manufactures connectivity and sensors products for harsh environments. In her position at TE, Niki counsels the Aerospace, Defense & Marine business unit, and more specifically serves as North American regional commercial counsel for the Aerospace & Defense business and lead counsel for the Marine, Oil & Gas, business. Niki is an experienced business legal advisor, with extensive expertise with U.S. Government, Department of Defense contracts and acquisition regulations. As a trusted business advisor, Niki counsels internal clients on a variety of matters, including contract negotiation and interpretation, customer claims, risk and liability issues, and emerging issues in relevant regulat

The 2021 Jurist in Residence Lecture, A Second Chance: Rehabilitation, Reform and Reentry, sponsored by the Law and Government Institute, was held on Thursday, February 4. The lecture will be presented by The Honorable Royce L. Morris, Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas. Featured Panelists Hon. Scott A. Evans, Criminal Calendar Judge, Dauphin County Kelly Evans, Deputy Secretary, Office of Reentry, PA Board of Probation and Parole Daniel Karhnak, Senior U.S. Probation Officer Douglas Hollis, Mentoring Coordinator, Sound Community Solutions (former juvenile lifer) Judge Morris's Biography After more than 25 years of distinguished service as an attorney and civic service to his community, Royce Morris was elected to serve as a Judge on the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas in 2018. Judge Morris has provided numerous Continuing Legal Education Seminars for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, having previously served that organization as president, vic

Widener Law Commonwealth's Environmental Law Distinguished Speaker Series Presented: Earth in Trust: Inalienable Rights for a Collective Ecological Future on November 19, 2020. Mary Christina Wood is a Philip H.Knight Professor of Law at University of Oregon and Faculty Director of the law school’s nationally acclaimed Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program. Her research focuses on a fundamental rights approach to ecological restoration and distribution of resources. She is one of the foremost authorities in the world on the pubic trust principle and is widely credited with originating the approach used in youth-led litigation across the U.S. and in other countries around the world invoking the principle to hold government accountable for promoting the fossil fuel energy system. She is a frequent speaker on global warming issues and has received national and international attention for her sovereign trust approach to global climate policy. Professor Wood is author of Nature’s Trust, Environmental Law

This is a recording of the 2020 Annual John Gedid Lecture Series: The President and the Rise of Partisan Administration of the Law hosted by Widener University Commonwealth Law School, Law and Government Institute. This lecture series honors John Gedid, one of the founders of Widener Law Commonwealth, the school’s first vice-dean and the founder of Widener’s Law and Government Institute. Professor Gedid has served as a wonderful mentor to every faculty member the school has hired. The series showcases the work of nationally recognized young scholars much the same way Professor Gedid has fostered, encouraged, and applauded the work of those who joined the school he helped to found. Speaker Kevin M. Stack is Lee S. & Charles A. Speir Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University Law School. He writes and teaches in the areas of administrative law, separation of powers, and statutory interpretation. In 2019, he was appointed as a Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States.  In 2013, he r

One of the joys of being a Widener Law Commonwealth student is meeting alumni. Gabriella Romeo ’21, Student Bar Association President, interviewed alumnus Steve Ryan ’07. In-person restrictions did not keep them from a fun and engaging interview. Steve, a Brooklyn, NY native turned Central Pennsylvanian, shared his legal journey beginning from his first days at Widener to his well-established career in Workers’ Compensation Law. Keeps your eyes out for a special appearance of Gabriella’s cat Mia and your ears open for Steve’s favorite Harrisburg Pizza joint. Steve Ryan is an associate with Martin Law LLC who practices workers’ compensation law. The primary focus of his practice is on injured workers. He found a passion for this area of the law after observing the difficulties that many workers faced in the workers’ compensation system. In the Spring of 2015, Mr. Ryan became a certified specialist in Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation by the PA Bar Association’s Section on Workers’ Compensation Law as authoriz

Welcome to the seventh episode of Things I Wish I Knew (a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast) hosted by students Jonathan Nace along with cohosts Connor Behrend and Mark Uriarte. In this episode, the three hosts discuss what life has been like for them since the school transitioned to online learning in March 2020. Things I Wish I Knew podcast subseries is about learning from your mistakes and progressing in your law school careers. The hosts and guests will be having candid discussions about many topics including anxiety, test taking strategies, technical difficulties, and much more. Subscribe to the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and other third-party podcast players so you don't miss an episode. We hope you enjoy hearing about law school from the people who know best - law students. For more information about the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast, visit commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/podcast.   Music: Bob Birthisel (Pond5)

***This Podcast was recorded in February.*** Welcome to the sixth episode of Things I Wish I Knew (a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast) hosted by students Jonathan Nace along with cohosts Connor Behrend and Mark Uriarte. In this episode, host Jonathan interviews new Dean of Admissions Matthew Kerns. They discuss Matt's background and the law school application process. Things I Wish I Knew podcast subseries is about learning from your mistakes and progressing in your law school careers. The hosts and guests will be having candid discussions about many topics including anxiety, test taking strategies, technical difficulties, and much more. Subscribe to the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and other third-party podcast players so you don't miss an episode. We hope you enjoy hearing about law school from the people who know best - law students. For more information about the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast, visit commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/podcast.   Mus

Due to the global pandemic, the Widener Law Commonwealth podcast has been on hiatus since March 2020. We recently recorded our first episode since our break and have one previously recorded episode ready to be released. Check back on Monday, September 21, 2020 to hear the first episode of the semester.  If you have any topic suggestions, please email them to webcwlaw@widener.edu. 

Welcome to the fifth episode of Things I Wish I Knew (a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast) hosted by students Jonathan Nace along with cohosts Connor Behrend and Mark Uriarte. In this episode, host Jonathan and cohost Connor interview fellow law student Derek Hartman about his nontraditional path to law school. All three cohosts discuss their opinions on school breaks during the 5 minutes of unsolicited advice segment. Finally, host Jonathan and cohost Mark interview Melissa Barnes, another nontraditional law student with a unique journey to share. Things I Wish I Knew podcast subseries is about learning from your mistakes and progressing in your law school careers. The hosts and guests will be having candid discussions about many topics including anxiety, test taking strategies, technical difficulties, and much more. Subscribe to the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and other third-party podcast players so you don't miss an episode. We hope you enjoy h

Welcome to episode six of Widener Wordsmith, a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast. In this episode, Widener Wordsmith host and Adjunct Professor Pam DeMartino sits down with Associate Professor of Legal Methods David Raeker-Jordan to discuss how and why 1L students should construct the counterargument portion of their brief. Read the transcript for this episode. (PDF)    Mentioned in this episode: Counterarguments Handout   Music by runfirestop (Pond5)

Welcome to episode five of Widener Wordsmith, a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast. In this episode, Widener Wordsmith host and Adjunct Professor Pam DeMartino sits down with two Widener Law Commonwealth students who have published articles. They discuss the benefits to students who choose to pursue having something published. Mentioned in this episode:   PA Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division At Issue Newsletter: https://www.pabar.org/public/yld/pubs/atissue/2019/YLDAtIssueSpring.pdf [pg. 3.]   Appellate Advocacy Blog: https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/appellate_advocacy/2019/07/guest-post-cut-the-new-kid-some-slack-even-if-that-new-kid-is-you.html   Music by runfirestop (Pond5)

Welcome to episode four of Widener Wordsmith, a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast. In this episode, Widener Wordsmith host and Adjunct Professor Pam DeMartino sits down with Director of Academic Success Professor Amanda Sholtis. The two discuss the legal writing process. Read the transcript from this episode. (PDF) Music by runfirestop (Pond5)

Welcome to episode three of Widener Wordsmith, a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast. In this episode, Widener Wordsmith host and Adjunct Professor Pam DeMartino sits down with Director of Legal Methods Professor Anna Hemingway. The two review what 1L students should have learned in Legal Methods I and what they can expect to learn in Legal Methods II. Read the transcript for this episode. (PDF)   Music by runfirestop (Pond5)

Welcome to the fourth episode of Things I Wish I Knew (a subseries of the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast) hosted by students Jonathan Nace along with cohosts Connor Behrend and Mark Uriarte. In this episode, host Jonathan interviews Rebecca Ross, director of student accessibility services at Widener University, and Molly Acri, Assistant Dean of Administration and Registrar at Widener Law Commonwealth. They discuss the process of requesting academic accommodations. All three cohosts discuss their opinions on brief writing in the 5 minutes of unsolicited advice segment.  Things I Wish I Knew podcast subseries is about learning from your mistakes and progressing in your law school careers. The hosts and guests will be having candid discussions about many topics including anxiety, test taking strategies, technical difficulties, and much more. Subscribe to the Widener Law Commonwealth Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and other third-party podcast players so you don't miss an episode. We hope you