A podcast started by SLU School of Law in February hopes to use the school’s legal expertise to make various law topics accessible to a broader audience.
Each episode of SLU LAW Summations, hosted by outreach librarian Cori Dugas, features an interview with one of the school's experts on a given topic of general interest. The inaugural podcasts cover modern challenges for women in the workplace with professor Marcia McCormick, director of the William C. Wefel Center for Employment Law, and the impact social media has on the workplace with professor Matt Bodie.
McCormick’s interview came in advance of the “Shattering the Glass Ceiling” symposium at the law school, while Bodie’s interview more broadly looked at new challenges facing human resources departments.
“Everyone is really excited” Jessica Lillie Ciccone, director of communications for SLU, told the Madison County Record. “A lot of our faculty are really excited about it, because it gives them a chance to talk about stuff that really interests them.”
Ciccone said the idea came about after discussion about the expertise within the school’s faculty. They arrived at a podcast that would discuss the topics in a way that would be accessible to a number of audiences, from fellow lawyers to students considering the law school.
“We have a great faculty that have a pretty diverse set of expertise and we really wanted to tap into,” Ciccone said.
The school plans to produce two podcasts a month, roughly 15-20 minutes each.
In the next episode, Ciccone said professor Joel Goldstein would discuss the vice presidency. His dissertation on the office form the basis of his book, “The Modern American Vice Presidency: The Transformation of a Political Institution.”
Ciccone said it covers what makes a good vice president and other questions in advance of the final state primaries solidifying each political parties’ presidential contender.
Though the podcast touches upon legal topics, Ciccone said they have not yet considered how to make the podcast eligible for continuing legal education credits. She said part of the difficulty would be in proving that legal professionals had fully listened to the podcast.
“That’s the goal is to take something that is timely and interesting and look at the legal issues involved,” Ciccone said. “
In addition to being published to the school’s websites, the podcasts will also make their way to SoundCloud and iTunes.