The Valley Current®: Why Do Fresh & Independent Appellate Eyes Matter for Appeals?
THE VALLEY CURRENT®️ COMPUTERLAW GROUP LLP
Release Date: 07/18/2026
The Valley Current®: Can a Sitting President Be Arrested and Charged with Perjury While Holding Office?
THE VALLEY CURRENT®️ COMPUTERLAW GROUP LLP
Can a sitting president be charged with perjury, or does the presidency itself put prosecution out of reach? In this episode of The Valley Current®, host Jack Russo examines a constitutional puzzle where the law appears clearer than the path to enforcing it. The Supreme Court says unofficial conduct receives no presidential immunity, yet restrictions on official-act evidence can make proving a case far more difficult. Add decades-old Justice Department policy against indicting a sitting president, a five-year statute of limitations that keeps ticking, and the political arithmetic of...
info_outline
The Valley Current®: What Really Happens at Big Law Firms?
THE VALLEY CURRENT®️ COMPUTERLAW GROUP LLP
What if the Big Law partnership track isn’t a ladder at all, but a tournament where the rules can change mid-game? Host Jack Russo examines a 2026 lawsuit alleging that attorney Matthew Cali’s path to partnership unraveled after he survived a “widow-maker” heart attack. From punishing billable-hour demands and opaque credit allocation to shrinking equity partnerships, Jack digs into the economics behind a system that can reward extraordinary effort without granting ownership. The stakes extend far beyond one lawsuit. Generative AI is beginning to automate the junior-level work that has...
info_outline
The Valley Current®: Pro Se Filing Abuse in the Florida State Courts
THE VALLEY CURRENT®️ COMPUTERLAW GROUP LLP
Florida doesn’t just discourage frivolous pro se filings. It has found a way to make some litigants pay with something far more valuable than money. Host Jack Russo examines Florida’s unusually aggressive approach to filing abuse, where vexatious litigant restrictions, prefiling orders, and other procedural barriers are only the beginning. For prisoners who repeatedly pursue frivolous claims, the consequences can include forfeiture of gain-time, potentially turning abusive litigation into more time behind bars. Jack explores the logic behind Florida’s sanction-forward system, the...
info_outline
The Valley Current®: Pro Se Filing Abuse in the New York State Courts
THE VALLEY CURRENT®️ COMPUTERLAW GROUP LLP
New York has no statewide vexatious-litigant blacklist, yet it processes millions of cases while confronting everything from panicked tenants to determined serial filers. How does the system keep its doors open without letting abuse consume the courts? Host Jack Russo examines New York’s distinctly flexible answer: Part 130 sanctions, judge-crafted filing injunctions, and electronic gatekeeping rather than California-style statutory barriers. But the deeper twist is philosophical. New York increasingly treats mass self-representation not simply as misconduct to punish, but as an...
info_outline
The Valley Current®: Pro Per Filing Abuse in the California State Courts
THE VALLEY CURRENT®️ COMPUTERLAW GROUP LLP
California built one of the nation’s toughest systems for stopping abusive self-represented litigants, but it deliberately left one courthouse door far less guarded. In this installment of The Valley Current®, host Jack Russo examines California’s “pro per” rules and the striking divide between civil litigation and cases involving criminal defendants and habeas petitions. On the civil side, vexatious litigants can face security requirements, a statewide blacklist, and pre-filing restrictions designed to protect courts, businesses, and defendants from litigation by attrition. Yet...
info_outline
The Valley Current®: Can a Pro Se Litigant Be Sanctioned for Frivolous Filings in Federal Court?
THE VALLEY CURRENT®️ COMPUTERLAW GROUP LLP
In federal court, filing without a lawyer does not mean filing without consequences. But those consequences change dramatically depending on which courthouse door you enter. Host Jack Russo examines the sharp divide between civil cases, where Rule 11 can expose pro se litigants to fines and crushing attorney fees, and criminal or post-conviction proceedings, where courts rely instead on procedural barriers and “soft sanctions.” The contrast comes into focus through a 2026 Ghislaine Maxwell ruling, where a federal judge confronted filings he characterized as frivolous and fictitious, yet...
info_outline
The Valley Current®:META - Round 1 to Plaintiffs
THE VALLEY CURRENT®️ COMPUTERLAW GROUP LLP
Meta entered the courtroom facing staggering financial exposure. By the end of Round 1, the plaintiffs had drawn first blood. In this episode of The Valley Current®, host Jack Russo examines how a coalition of state Attorneys General opened its case with hard numbers, damaging internal communications, and a deceptively simple theory: “hook, hold, harvest, hide.” Then came whistleblower Arturo Béjar, whose testimony and Meta’s own BEEF survey threatened to widen the gap between what the company said publicly and what its internal research revealed about teens’ experiences. Meta has...
info_outline
The Valley Current®: Bet the Company - Meta on Trial
THE VALLEY CURRENT®️ COMPUTERLAW GROUP LLP
Meta faces a legal problem most companies never encounter: What happens when settling may be financially impossible, but losing could be catastrophic? In an Oakland federal courtroom, state attorneys general are accusing Meta of addictive product design, child privacy violations, and concealing what it knew about the risks to young users. With theoretical exposure reaching $1.4 trillion, this is no ordinary Big Tech lawsuit. Host Jack Russo examines the unusual advisory jury, explosive internal evidence, and the financial constraints that may have left Meta with no practical choice but to go...
info_outline
The Valley Current®: Can One Do Too Much to Attempt to Extend Lifespan?
THE VALLEY CURRENT®️ COMPUTERLAW GROUP LLP
How far would you go to live longer, and at what point does the pursuit itself become part of the risk? Entrepreneur Bryan Johnson has spent millions turning his own body into one of the world’s most closely monitored longevity experiments, embracing extreme measurement, supplementation, and medical intervention in a highly engineered war on aging. But what happens when even that level of control runs up against the unpredictability of human biology? In this episode of The Valley Current®, host Jack Russo explores the increasingly lucrative world of biohacking and the provocative science...
info_outline
The Valley Current®: How to Handle IRS Audits of Nonprofit Entities
THE VALLEY CURRENT®️ COMPUTERLAW GROUP LLP
The IRS may be auditing fewer nonprofits, but when it chooses a target, the odds are increasingly stacked in its favor. With data models now driving much of the selection process, an innocent-looking Form 990 can become a roadmap to an organization’s weakest points. In this episode of The Valley Current®, host Jack Russo examines what lawyers, founders, executives, and nonprofit boards need to know before an audit letter ever arrives. Jack explores how compensation decisions, donor receipts, board minutes, and even missed filing deadlines can create years of hidden exposure. More...
info_outlineFor most lawyers, winning an appeal starts with the law. For veteran appellate advocate Myron Moskovitz, that's only the beginning. In this episode of The Valley Current®, Jack Russo sits down with Myron to explore why even brilliant lawyers, elite law schools, and top firms often miss the strategic elements that can make or break a case. Drawing on more than 60 years of appellate experience, Myron explains why lengthy introductions, emotional attacks, and overreliance on AI can quietly sink otherwise strong briefs. He shares surprising insights into judicial psychology, including how a client's reputation can influence outcomes and why fresh, independent review can uncover arguments others overlook. From "bad guy" cases to the hidden art of persuasive advocacy, this conversation reveals why winning on appeal is about far more than simply being right on the law.
https://moskovitzappellateteam.com/
Jack Russo
Managing Partner
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrusso
"Every Entrepreneur Imagines a Better World"®️