Joe and Kathryn talk with Charlie Harrel, COO of Opus 2 about building platforms that make virtual hearings actually work. We all saw the ad hoc Zoom rooms of the early days of the pandemic, but conducting real trials, arbitrations, and mediations require a lot more than a simple videoconference. Harrel talks about designing a product that increasingly serves the domestic and international hearings securely and as seamlessly as possible. They've run over 800 days worth of virtual hearings since March, so they appear to be on to something.

Highlights

• Doing electronic trials - 2:39
• Working digitally and remotely - 4:42
• Making it seem simple - 8:45
• Maximizing the virtual experience - 12:14
• The security side of things - 17:10
• Justice needs to be seen and heard - 18:21
• The implications of tech in the current moment - 23:38

Episode Resources

• Connect with Kathryn Rubino and Joe Patrice
• kathryn@abovethelaw.com
• joepatrice@abovethelaw.com
• Connect with Charlie Harrel
• charrel@opus2.com
• https://uk.linkedin.com/public-profile/in/charlie-harrel-86415437?challengeId=AQH_5E10y8EjPAAAAXTaFSko55SUWsKVOV3NlsZ8JivbozDgZwwETB77msfBs3T8geKtOuj5lgXljJNAB6-46Hsur_8MjkyFiA&submissionId=e6a3ed00-ad44-3916-480b-aee834b41221

Sports and entertainment attorney Darren Heitner joins Joe and Kathryn to talk about sports and the law in the age of COVID. Conference contractual agreements, declining TV ratings, bubbles, season tickets, occupancy limits, business interruption insurance -- the pandemic has created all sorts of havoc for practitioners in this space.

Highlights

• A new return to college football - 0:59
• Darren's background - 2:37
• Sports world and the pandemic - 3:34
• The NBA "bubble" example - 4:49
• MLB problems - 5:56
• Fans in the stadiums? - 7:00
• College sports - 7:27
• Which is the best choice? - 11:11
• How conferences avoid problems - 15:14
• What hurdles the leagues will have to confront - 22:59
• How serious this is - 27:13
• What's going to happen to this industry going forward? - 28:15
• Litigation takes time - 29:32

Episode Resources

• Connect with Kathryn Rubino and Joe Patrice
• kathryn@abovethelaw.com
• joepatrice@abovethelaw.com
• Connect with Darren Heitner
• heitner@gmail.com

Oklahoma 1Ls threw themselves a party and... oops someone has COVID. And the law school didn't tell most of the class what was going on. As law schools return to campus and frighteningly few are going completely remote, this is something that's going to come up again and again. How should law students approach the semester?

Highlights

• A new Above The Law story in Oklahoma - 0:42
• COVID on campus - 2:09
• Managing emergencies - 3:19
• The danger of forcing people going to school during a pandemic - 3:33
• Schools that have decided to reopen - 9:26
• Take action to change things - 10:40

Episode Resources

• Connect with Kathryn Rubino and Joe Patrice
• kathryn@abovethelaw.com
• joepatrice@abovethelaw.com