196. Pursuing Justice in a Violent Land (Part II) — Kurt Ver Beek & Emily Cole
Cross & Gavel Podcast
In , Ross Halperin and I laid a foundation for the work of ASJ in Honduras under the leadership of Kurt Ver Beek and others. In this episode, I am joined by Kurt himself to discuss his exchange of letters between Nicholas Wolterstorff in a wonderful book, , which looks at the meaning of justice and the work ASJ. Kurt is joined by Emily Cole, who has focused on Latin America most of her career and remains a passionate advocate for the well-being and development of that region. I speak to them about a number of things, focusing on the structural details of working in the area, including the...
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195. Pursuing Justice in a Violent Land (Part I) — Ross Halperin
Cross & Gavel Podcast
Today, we start a two-part journey into the heart of Honduran society. Our focus will be on one man, Kurt Ver Beek, and the organization he co-founded, . Kurt is a professor of Sociology (Emeritus) at Calvin University and lead investigator for an agreement between Transparency International, the Honduran Government, and ASJ. For this first episode, we are joined by the reporter Ross Halperin, whose recent biography () of Kurt’s ministry (New York Times profile ) paints a fascinating picture of a man dedicated to the cause of justice. While Ross and I do not discuss the entire scope of...
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194. Building an AI-Savvy Workforce — Kevin Frazier
Cross & Gavel Podcast
My conversation today is on the necessity of adaptive leadership in the coming wave that is artificial intelligence. My guest is Kevin Frazier, the newly minted AI Innovation and Law Fellow at The University of Texas School of Law. His article () in Law & Liberty is called Building an AI-Savvy Workforce. His new podcast, Scaling Law (), is excellent. Find his other work at Lawfare (). Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.
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193. Ten Commandments in Classrooms — Mark David Hall & Andrea Picciotti-Bayer
Cross & Gavel Podcast
On June 20, 2025, the Fifth Circuit returned its decision in the Louisiana Ten Commandments case (), upholding the District Courts order blocking the law from going into effect. This was followed by a petition on June 26 for a rehearing en banc by the State (). At the same time, Texas passed its on bill () requiring displays of the Ten Commandments in classrooms. On June 24, that law was challenged in the Northern District of Texas () by a group of parents seeking to stop the bill from going into effect. Needless to say, our topic today is very timely, discussing the history of public displays...
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192. The Death & New Life of Law and Religion — Marc O. DeGirolami
Cross & Gavel Podcast
This week, we have a special episode. One near and dear to my heart and my own intellectual history. It is a conversation with professor Marc O. DeGirolami on his piece published in the Oxford Journal of Law & Religion covering the life and death of law and religion. Read it . In it, he takes us into the first wave of this movement and its advent forces with those like Harold Berman and John Witte, Jr., who took on the critical mantle of reacting to “the deconstruction of the American Christian legal heritage proceeding apace in the courts and the academy.” DeGirolami discusses the...
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SPECIAL EPISODE: Integrating Faith in Legal Practice — Boatman Ricci (Foundations Series)
Cross & Gavel Podcast
The Foundations Series is a new web content venture from CLS aimed at helping Christian law students transition from 3Ls to first-year associates. It features Christian practitioners skilled in the integration of faith and practice, offering guidance in conversation with students at the early stages of their legal development. My guests today are James A. Boatman & Stephen Schahrer, collectively from the Florida law firm Boatman Ricci. James is a commercial litigator with extensive experience in both federal and state courts. He has handled a broad spectrum of matters including:...
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191. Religious Law Schools, Rankings, & Bias — Michael Conklin
Cross & Gavel Podcast
With the release of U.S. News Rankings , renewed interest has surfaced regarding the parameters and impact of placement. Where law schools fall speaks to not only the quality of their percieved education, but also success regarding student employment and faculty publication. On this episode, I speak with Michael Conklin, a scholar who’s been measuring bias within the Rankings system, this time focusing his attention on religious law schools. His paper, soon to be published in the Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy, is entitled . Dr. Michael Conklin is the Visiting Assistant Professor...
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SPECIAL EPISODE: Relational Wisdom for Lawyers — Ken Sande (Wellness Program)
Cross & Gavel Podcast
It is no secret that law students and attorneys exist in a stressful environment. As Amy Levin recently wrote, "[l]aw student mental health is at an all-time low." The American Bar Association (ABA) has conducted a study that shows how this environment tends to contribute to high rates of mental health disorders and substance abuse. In an effort to face this challenge, LSM has launched the Wellness Program—focused on providing students resources and discussions to face this issue, together. In this special episode, Michelle Williams talks to Ken Sande about relational wisdom,...
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190. Play In The Joints — Falco Anthony Muscante II
Cross & Gavel Podcast
For most of the second half of 20th century, the Supreme Court has wrestled with finding a balance between the Free Exercise of religion and the Establishment Clause, offering several tests to test the limits of permissible accommodation without the undue appearance of government endorsement. Among those tests has been a little-thing called the “play in the joints,” famously introduced in Walz v. Tax Commissioner of New York (1970). In this episode, I explore this concept with Falco Anthony Muscante II, whose paper in the Ave Marie Law Review is called . In our conversation, we...
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SPECIAL EPISODE: Integrating Faith in Legal Practice — Joe Ruta & Stephen Lyon (Foundations Series)
Cross & Gavel Podcast
The Foundations Series is a new web content venture from CLS aimed at helping Christian law students transition from 3Ls to first-year associates. It features Christian practitioners skilled in the integration of faith and practice, offering guidance in conversation with students at the early stages of their legal development. My guests today are Joe Ruta and Stephen Lyon. Joe is a Partner of Ruta, Soulios, & Stratis LLP. He is outside general counsel to over 30 corporations ranging from startups to public companies as well as not-for-profits. . Stephen is a deputy assistant public...
info_outlineThis week, we continue our conversation on mental health and the various reasons why law students don’t get the help they need. My guest is Amy Levin—someone who not only understands the legal profession but has also spent much time studying mental health. Amy has written a new paper entitled The Kids Aren’t Alright, in which she discusses the decline in law student mental health and encourages law schools to take steps to normalize mental well-being and to support students in seeking help.
In our discussion, we focus on common stressors, which students struggle the most, why other professions seem to be doing better, and how law students can improve their own mental health.
Amy is a Clinical Professor of Law at LMU Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. She graduated from the UCLA School of Law, Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, and the Department of Social Welfare, where she earned a JD/MSW. Amy also worked for ten years at Arnold & Porter as a litigation attorney and clerked for the Honorable Richard A. Paez of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Faculty bio.
Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.
NOTE: In an effort to help normalize the conversation surrounding mental health, CLS launched the Wellness Program as part of Law Student Ministries. We hope to provide you not only training and support, but also forums where these topics can be discussed and destigmatized. Our first three conversations can be found here (w/ Dr. Tina Armstrong on healthy leadership), here (w/ Ruth Haley Barton on daily rhythms), and here (w/ Dr. Barbara L. Peacock on soul care).