I Am The Law

Angelique Torres is a legal aid lawyer who represents children navigating the U.S. immigration system. Her clients arrive at the border without a parent or legal guardian and are placed in government custody. In this episode, Angelique explains the forms of immigration relief available to her clients, including Special Immigrant Juvenile status and asylum, and how she builds trust with children as they share the difficult experiences that can shape their cases. Each case requires advocacy on several fronts: preparing clients for asylum interviews, working with parents and child advocates, challenging prolonged detention through habeas petitions, and representing a child’s expressed wishes even when others may believe a different outcome is in their best interest. She explains how changes in funding can reshape the course of legal aid work, from the services organizations can provide to the cases they can take on, and why success ultimately depends on what each child wants from their case. Angelique is a graduate of Quinnipiac University School of Law.
This episode is hosted by Katya Valasek.
Editor’s note: This interview was recorded before changes to the federal funding structure for legal services for unaccompanied children. Angelique’s description of her organization’s federal funding reflects the arrangement at the time of recording and is no longer current.
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If you've listened to I Am the Law for any length of time, you know the practice of law rarely looks the way it does on screen. Hours of preparation, client calls, problem solving, and stress don’t exactly make for catchy courtroom stories. But for many lawyers, those fictional portrayals were our guests' first introduction to the profession. In this special episode, Kyle and Katya ask their guests two questions: Who is your favorite lawyer from pop culture, and what does pop culture get right or wrong about being a lawyer?
The answers reveal where fiction overlaps with the realities of legal practice, and where it falls short. Guests reflect on the characters who inspired them, the preparation and pressure behind legal work, the emotional stakes of representing clients, and the sense of purpose that draws people to the profession. Pop culture may compress timelines, heighten the drama, and oversimplify the work, but it can still capture something real about what motivates lawyers and why the work matters to them.
Featured voices:
Doron Gold, Episode 143, The Therapist Who Left Law: Treating Perfectionism in Lawyers
Jimmy Lai, Episode 151, An Introvert's Path to Running an Immigration Law Firm
Devin Morse, Episode 144, Public Defender to Private Practice: Criminal Defense From Scratch
Vineet Dubey, Episode 146, Poisoned Goods: Suing to Clean Up Consumer Products
Mark Purpura, Episode 153, Building a Practice Around Delaware's Corporate Code
Randy Prebula, Episode 142, Scientist to Regulatory Lawyer: Getting Medical Devices to Market
Storm Lineberger, Episode 158, Fine Print, Big Money: Making Insurers Pay Up
Richard Hy, Episode 155, After the Headlines: Lawsuits in the Wake of Disaster
Jonathan Merel, Episode 154, More Than Legal Advice: Building a Firm for High-Conflict Divorce
Jennifer Long, Episode 156, Sharpening the Craft of Special Victims Prosecution
Charles Star, Episode 157, One Career in Three Acts: Big Law, Contract Work, Plaintiff Firm
Yuliya Flynn, Episode 148, Concierge Outside Counsel: Compliance, Contracts, and Keeping Clients Deal-Ready
Michelle Hanlon, Episode 149, Space Law: The Work Behind an Emerging Practice
Elizabeth Stong, Episode 152, Federal Bankruptcy Judge: Running a Second Chance Court

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Leanna Taing is a lawyer for Los Angeles County, where she represents the Office of Public Guardian in mental health conservatorship proceedings. In this episode, she explains what happens when someone is unable to care for themselves due to a mental health condition and no family or friends can step in. Leana walks through how cases move from hospital referral to courtroom, why these civil cases require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and what it means to cross-examine someone whose autonomy is at stake. She also discusses managing a caseload in the hundreds, the shift from bench trials to jury trials, and how she transitioned into this work after seven years in child welfare law. Leana Taing is a graduate of UCLA Law.
This episode is hosted by Katya Valasek.
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Frances Prizzia began her career as a public defender. Today, she runs her own criminal defense practice, representing clients facing charges ranging from DUI and assault to murder. In this episode, Frances explains how a criminal charge can often have damaging consequences outside the courtroom, affecting a clients’ housing, immigration status, professional licenses, and family matters. These are areas that public defenders frequently have limited ability to address. She walks through an attempted murder case involving a client with schizophrenia to show how mental health history can shape defense strategy. Frances also breaks down preliminary hearings, plea negotiations, and the many factors that go into deciding whether to take a case to trial when the stakes can mean decades in prison. This leads to her desire to build a more holistic practice and the hard limits of what a lawyer can do when clients insist on making their own choices. Frances is a graduate of Santa Clara University School of Law.
This episode is hosted by Kyle McEntee.
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Kimberley Baker Guillemet helped form the Los Angeles Office of Reentry to ensure that when someone leaves prison, limited employment options do not lead to a cycle of crime. In this episode, she discusses her work helping the formerly incarcerated rejoin society and altering conditions that lead to initial jailings. Kimberley is a graduate of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
This episode is hosted by Kyle McEntee.
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