Original Jurisdiction

Within the world of legal nerds, there has been a lot of buzz lately about originalism, the theory of constitutional interpretation that calls for interpreting the Constitution based on the original public meaning of its provisions. Some of this might be due to the start of the latest Term of the U.S. Supreme Court, and some of this might be connected to the publication of Justice Samuel Alito’s new book, So Ordered: An Originalist’s View of the Constitution, the Court, and Our Country.In light of this, I was delighted to speak with Professor Sherif Girgis of Notre Dame Law School, a leading scholar of originalism and a former law clerk to Justice Alito. In our conversation, Sherif and I covered what he views as the best argument in support of originalism, as well as the particular type of originalism he espouses (because originalism is not a monolith). We also discussed the current Supreme Court, including what grade he would give it; the chances that the justices will overrule Obergefell v. Hodges, which recognized the constitutional right to same-sex marriage; and the past, present, and future of the First Amendment.Thanks to Sherif for joining me—and congratulations to him on his upcoming move to Harvard Law School.Show notes:* Sherif Girgis bio, The University of Notre Dame Law School* What Is Originalism? | Interview: Sherif Girgis, by Sarah Isgur and David French for Advisory Opinions* Sherif Girgis joins the Harvard Law faculty, by Harvard Law News StaffSponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email [email protected]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlat.substack.com/subscribe

Five years ago this fall, Mathew Rosengart made international headlines when he secured the termination of the 13-year conservatorship of pop icon Britney Spears. But while he might be most famous for how he helped #FreeBritney, Rosengart has litigated many major matters over the years, representing clients ranging from Hollywood celebrities like Sean Penn and Selena Gomez to multinational corporations like Meta and Verizon.How did Mathew, co-chair of the media and entertainment litigation group at Greenberg Traurig, get to where he is today? Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing him about his remarkable career. We discussed his clerkship with David Souter, then a justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court; his service as a federal prosecutor, where he handled several high-profile cases; and his current practice at the highest levels of entertainment law and litigation.Thanks to Mathew for joining me on this must-listen episode of the Original Jurisdiction podcast.Show notes:* Mathew S. Rosengart bio, Greenberg Traurig* Mathew Rosengart, Hollywood’s King of Litigators, Talks Britney Spears Conservatorship, Early Legal Influences and Standing Up Against Bullies, by Malina Saval for Variety* The Man of Steel, by Elizabeth Gehrman for BC Law School Magazine* Justice Souter’s book list, by Mathew Rosengart for SCOTUSblogSponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlat.substack.com/subscribe

My latest guest is an acclaimed appellate and Supreme Court advocate, Jennifer Bennett of Gupta Wessler. To introduce her, I’m going to turn over the floor to a former podcast guest: Judge Vince Chhabria (N.D. Cal.), for whom Bennett clerked. When I mentioned to Judge Chhabria that I was going to be interviewing Jennifer, he immediately moved into testimonial mode:"Funny, I was going to email you to suggest that you interview her! She is truly one of one. She recently won her fourth Supreme Court case, GEO Group v. Menocal. Despite representing workers in all four of her cases (the first three on arbitration), she has won all four of them, and each one of them has been unanimous. In other words, this lawyer for working people has never lost a vote in her four cases on behalf of working people at the current Supreme Court!She also just argued her fifth case at the Court, Flowers Foods, Inc. v. Brock—the arbitration case about ‘last-mile’ drivers. It seems like she might win that one, too.Jenn was my very first law clerk—I refer to her as Chhabria Clerk Zero. For around three months, before the other law clerks started, it was just me and her in chambers, sifting through our new cases and figuring out how to handle them.Steve Berzon came to my informal swearing-in, I was lamenting not having immediate law clerk help, and he mentioned that this person who clerked for [Judges] Marsha [Berzon] and Jesse [Furman] had about six months to kill before starting a fellowship at Public Justice and might be interested. I was so lucky to have Jenn. Given how amazing she is and given her experience in Jesse’s chambers, she was able to get me up and running in a way that would have been impossible otherwise. She played a big role in teaching me how to be a good district judge."Thanks to Judge Chhabria for the intro, and thanks to Jenn for joining me.Show Notes:* Jennifer Bennett bio, Gupta Wessler LLP* High Court Bar’s Future: Gupta Wessler’s Jennifer Bennett, by Jeff Overley for Law360* US Supreme Court weighs bid to narrow worker arbitration exemption, by Daniel Wiessner for ReutersPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email [email protected]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlat.substack.com/subscribe

Over the three decades that I’ve been in and around the legal profession, one of the most interesting developments has been the rise of what I’d call “The Modern Attorney General.”Years ago, the typical state attorney general had a fairly sleepy role. Much of the job was reactive—enforcing criminal laws or defending state statutes in court—and focused on in-state developments.Today, the office looks very different. State attorneys general have harnessed their powers to pursue aggressive affirmative agendas, from policing entire industries to serving as a check on the federal government. Many AGs are now national figures who play a major role in shaping law and policy—whether it’s red-state AGs suing the Biden administration or blue-state AGs suing the Trump administration.As a proud resident of the Garden State, I’m especially interested in the New Jersey Attorney General’s office—one of the most powerful in the country. So I was delighted to interview Matthew Platkin, New Jersey’s 62nd attorney general. During his four years in office, which ended in January, Matt handled dozens of high-profile cases, including multiple matters that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.Last month, Matt returned to the private sector and launched Platkin LLP, a mission-driven firm he co-founded with former colleagues from the New Jersey AG’s office. In Matt’s words, the firm will “hold the world’s most powerful corporations and institutions accountable when they break the law and harm the public.”Thanks to Matt for his service as New Jersey AG—not without controversies, some of which we discussed—and for joining me on the podcast.Show Notes:* Matt Platkin bio, Platkin LLP* Platkin: ‘I said from day one that I was going to pursue justice,’ by Briana Vannozzi for NJ Spotlight News* Former New Jersey attorney general launches new law firm, by David Thomas for ReutersPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email [email protected]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlat.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comIf you’re my age, you’ll recall the story of Bernhard Goetz. On a New York City subway car on December 22, 1984, Goetz shot four Black teenagers from the Bronx at point-blank range. Accused of attempted murder, Goetz went to trial—and was acquitted on the most serious charges, after claiming he acted in self-defense.Goetz became internationally famous—or infamous, as the case may be—and folks who were around in the ‘80s will surely be interested in looking back on his case, seeing where he is now, and the like. But even if you’re not familiar with Bernie Goetz, the issues his actions raised remain very relevant to our current moment.If you’re interested in exploring these important subjects, I have a reading recommendation for you: Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York’s Explosive ‘80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation, by Elliot Williams. A former prosecutor turned CNN legal analyst, Williams is perfectly positioned to delve into the Goetz case—and connect it to current controversies.Thanks to Elliot for writing Five Bullets. And thanks to him for joining me—for a wide-ranging discussion covering his fascinating career as a lawyer turned journalist, his compelling new book, the Goetz case, and what’s going on right now in Minnesota (Elliot is a former senior official at ICE)—on the Original Jurisdiction podcast.Show Notes:* Elliot Williams bio, Penguin Random House* Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York’s Explosive ‘80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation, Amazon* The Subway Vigilante Who Never Left Is Back (gift link), by David Segal for The New York TimesPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email [email protected].

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comWelcome to the first Original Jurisdiction podcast episode of the new year, an opportune time to both reflect on 2025 and look ahead to 2026. To kick things off, I decided I wanted to interview a Biglaw leader, to get a sense of both the challenges and opportunities facing large law firms today.I was delighted to be joined by Jon Van Gorp, who has served as the chair of Mayer Brown since 2021. A member of both the Am Law 100 and the Vault 100, Mayer Brown has around 2,000 lawyers, $2 billion in revenue, and 150 years of history. As for Jon, he’s a Chambers-ranked, leading practitioner in structured finance—and we began our conversation by discussing his distinguished career in practice.We then moved on to discuss his leadership of Mayer Brown, which Jon views as a way of giving back to an institution that has given so much to him. We covered his approach to leadership, the firm’s strategic plan, and its approach to AI adoption.But Jon was also willing to tackle topics that other Biglaw leaders have been avoiding, such as partner pay and the (rather fraught) relationship between the Trump administration and large law firms. Thanks to Jon for his time, insight, and willingness to discuss delicate—but incredibly important—issues.Show Notes:* Jon D. Van Gorp bio, Mayer Brown LLP* Beyond cold hard cash, warm fuzzies are the way to a lawyer’s heart, firm chair says, by Jenna Greene for Reuters* Mayer Brown Chair On Why Law Leaders Need To Listen More, by Kevin Penton for Law360Prefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email [email protected].

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comDuring the three-plus years that I’ve been hosting this podcast, I’ve welcomed a diverse range of guests. They’ve exhibited demographic diversity, of course, but also other forms of diversity—including diversity of opinion and experience.So I was embarrassed when I recently noticed that although I’ve interviewed more than a dozen current and former judges, only two have sat on state courts (and by the time I interviewed them, those judges—Rolando Acosta and Debra Wong Yang—had left the bench). Put another way, I have not, until today, hosted a sitting state-court judge—a considerable omission, considering the significance of state courts. As noted by the National Center for State Courts, “State courts play a critical role in our democracy, handling about 96 percent of all legal cases in the United States.”I set out to remedy this gap—and was delighted when Justice David Wecht, a longtime friend, agreed to join me. He’s a timely guest: last month, he and two of his colleagues were reelected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, for which I named them Judges of the Week. Why? Their court is one of the most important state courts in the country—for reasons I discussed with Justice Wecht on the episode.In our conversation, we also covered the justice’s interesting path to the Pennsylvania high court; why he believes young (and not-so-young) lawyers should get involved with their communities; certain unique features of the Pennsylvania Constitution, as well as its relationship to the U.S. Constitution; and, of course, his recent reelection to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.Congratulations to Justice Wecht on his reelection—and thanks to him for joining me.Show Notes:* Justice David N. Wecht bio, The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania* Approach The Bench: Justice Wecht On Judicial Campaigns, by Cara Bayles and Steven Trader for Law360* Law Day Shabbat: Address by Justice David Wecht, Temple Israel, Wilkes-BarrePrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email [email protected].

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidlat.substack.comWelcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.Yesterday, Southern California Edison (SCE), the utility whose power lines may have started the devastating Eaton Fire, announced its Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program. Under the program, people affected by the fire can receive hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in compensation, in a matter of months rather than years—but in exchange, they must give up their right to sue.It should come as no surprise that SCE, in designing the program, sought the help of Kenneth Feinberg. For more than 40 years, often in the wake of tragedy or disaster, Feinberg has helped mediate and resolve seemingly intractable crises. He’s most well-known for how he and his colleague Camille Biros designed and administered the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. But he has worked on many other headline-making matters over the years, including the Agent Orange product liability litigation, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust, the multidistrict litigation involving Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer—and now, of course, the Eaton Fire.How did Ken develop such a fascinating and unique practice? What is the most difficult aspect of administering these giant compensation funds? Do these funds represent the wave of the future, as an alternative to (increasingly expensive) litigation? Having just turned 80, does he have any plans to retire?Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ken—the day after his 80th birthday—and we covered all these topics. The result is what I found to be one of the most moving conversations I’ve ever had on this podcast.Thanks to Ken Feinberg for joining me—and, of course, for his many years of service as America’s go-to mediator in times of crisis.Show Notes:* Kenneth Feinberg bio, Wikipedia* Kenneth Feinberg profile, Chambers and Partners* L.A. Fire Victims Face a Choice, by Jill Cowan for The New York TimesPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email [email protected].