Episodes

  • Episode 51: How Lawyers and Rental Assistance Impact Eviction Cases

    Episode 51: How Lawyers and Rental Assistance Impact Eviction Cases
    May 19 2026
    Facing an eviction, a tenant has to decide if the added expense of an attorney is worth it for the possibility of avoiding an eviction judgment. In a discussion of a randomized controlled trial outside the A2J Lab, Faculty Director Jim Greiner talks with economists Aviv Caspi and Charlie Rafkin about when, why, and whether lawyers make a difference in evictions cases. The study coincided with a government emergency housing fund that expired during the RCT, which helped answer how lawyers can best make a difference as well.
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    49 mins
  • Episode 50: Pro Se Litigants, AI, and the Future of Legal Assistance

    Episode 50: Pro Se Litigants, AI, and the Future of Legal Assistance
    May 12 2026
    State bar associations typically file more UPL complaints than consumers. Given the intended aim of protecting consumers, UPL may actually be serving more as an obstacle and less as a protection for consumers using generative AI in the legal space. That's the argument Wake Forest Law Professor and UPL expert Ellen Murphy makes in the latest Proof Over Precedent episode, where she identifies the legal industry's progress with AI regulation by state and how AI and human counseling may combine to be the strongest access-to-justice resource.
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    39 mins
  • Episode 49: AI and the Future of Legal Aid—Navigating Unauthorized Practice

    Episode 49: AI and the Future of Legal Aid—Navigating Unauthorized Practice
    May 4 2026
    The low cost and accessibility of AI make it a potential game changer for pro se litigation and the future of affordable legal aid. But with the patchwork of state unauthorized practice of law (UPL) rules and no court resolution on AI's UPL liability, it also faces an uncertain future as a legal tool. HLS students tackle the issue in the latest Proof Over Precedent and distinguish between legal information and legal advice—a key to general-purpose AI's future in law.
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    23 mins
  • Episode 48: Legal Evolution from Auto Clubs to Access Barriers

    Episode 48: Legal Evolution from Auto Clubs to Access Barriers
    Apr 27 2026
    When the organized bar association faced financial strain during the Depression, it cracked down on low-cost legal service providers via auto clubs like AAA, contributing to today's access-to-justice gap. In this "How did we get here?"-style episode, HLS student Andrew Reed interviews Stanford Professor Nora Freeman Engstrom and University of Chicago Fellow James Stone about their research and the "revolution" taking place in many states to reform the legal profession.
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    38 mins
  • Episode 48: Legal Evolution from Auto Clubs to Access Barriers

    Episode 48: Legal Evolution from Auto Clubs to Access Barriers
    Apr 27 2026
    When the organized bar association faced financial strain during the Depression, it cracked down on low-cost legal service providers via auto clubs like AAA, contributing to today's access-to-justice gap. In this "How did we get here?"-style episode, HLS student Andrew Reed interviews Stanford Professor Nora Freeman Engstrom and University of Chicago Fellow James Stone about their research and the "revolution" taking place in many states to reform the legal profession.
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    40 mins
  • Episode 47: How Does Interrogation Room Design Impact Legal Outcomes?

    Episode 47: How Does Interrogation Room Design Impact Legal Outcomes?
    Apr 23 2026
    How likely would you be able to answer questions under duress seated in a hard chair in a windowless, flourescent-lit box of a room? What about in a larger space with natural lighting and comfortable seating? In this episode of Proof Over Precedent, HLS student Spencer Thieme discusses interrogation rooms and the effect of a physical environment on stress, memory, disclosure, and false confessions. She also considers potential randomized controlled trials for studying interrogation room design.
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    21 mins
  • Episode 47: How Does Interrogation Room Design Impact Legal Outcomes?

    Episode 47: How Does Interrogation Room Design Impact Legal Outcomes?
    Apr 23 2026
    How likely would you be able to answer questions under duress seated in a hard chair in a windowless, flourescent-lit box of a room? What about in a larger space with natural lighting and comfortable seating? In this episode of Proof Over Precedent, HLS student Spencer Thieme discusses interrogation rooms and the effect of a physical environment on stress, memory, disclosure, and false confessions. She also considers potential randomized controlled trials for studying interrogation room design.
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    21 mins
  • Episode 46: Upsolve in Depth—When does Legal Explanation Become Illegal?

    Episode 46: Upsolve in Depth—When does Legal Explanation Become Illegal?
    Apr 20 2026
    The role of trained nonlawyer volunteers is at the center of a back-and-forth court case between nonprofit Upsolve, Inc. and Letitia James, attorney general of the state of New York. This "Student Voices" episode tackles both the access to justice issues at stake for indigent defendants in debt collection cases, as well as New York's unauthorized practice of law statute governing the decision(s), including the most recent ruling by the New York District Court in March. When a service akin to legal and procedural translation is measured against the practice of law itself, it leaves access to justice in an uncertain state.
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    23 mins