For those who aren’t aware, I like to take on new challenges (like joining this blog, for example). As if 1L year isn’t busy enough, right? One of my favorites this year is the Just Law Podcast, which we launched in November 2020. We’ve put out ten episodes so far, with more great content coming before the end of the semester.

We have a great team. One of the toughest things (other than launching a podcast in the middle of a worldwide pandemic) is saying goodbye to good people, and this year we will be losing our 3L friends, Co-Hosts Lea Silverman and Kevin O’Sullivan, and Executive Producer Mark Grayson. These three helped found the podcast and were the main drivers in getting it off the ground, long before I came in. Suffice it to say, replacing them will be impossible.

But Joanna Plaisir and I will continue on, and our hope is to add new talent for next year to help us expand the podcast marketing and production team, as well as assist with interviews. We want to build Just Law for the long term, and hope to make it part of the fabric of BC Law, just like the Impact blog. Next year we’ll be in the studio (we hope) on campus, ready to record more great episodes for everyone out there listening. So if you’re a current or incoming student and have podcasting or sound mixing and engineering experience, and you want to get involved, email us at justlawpod@bc.edu and let us know. And check out Just Law on Captivate, or your favorite podcast platform.

We’ve certainly come a long way. I remember in September of 2020 when I was asked to help host the podcast. It was very exciting to me, as it felt, in this somewhat serendipitous and special way, to be the perfect culmination of everything I had done to that point. I could use my media experience, my passion for journalism, and my interest in the law to add a unique voice in the community and help tell stories worth telling, and explore topics big and small, serious and fun.

Before I came to law school, I had hoped to get into television or radio and be a host, before deciding against it given the struggling nature and challenges of the industry as it stands today. But from the time I was a little kid watching America’s Funniest Home Videos on an old antenna TV in the late 1990s and early 2000s Boston—pretending to be host Tom Bergeron by night, and WGBH/PBS news hosts by day, broadcasting has always had a special place in my heart.

I am very excited about what is ahead, and very proud of what we were able to start this year. There are big things in store, and I have no doubt that by the time (sniffle) Joanna and I walk at graduation in two years’ time as Kevin (sorry brotha), Lea, and Mark will in just a few short weeks, we will grow Just Law into something that extends far beyond Centre Street.

To our listeners and members of the community, thank you for your support this year, and we look forward to what we have in store going forward as we grow this into something that defies even our own expectations. To BC, thanks for trusting us with this great platform and giving us the resources to take this to the next level. To Kevin, Lea, and Mark, thanks for pouring the foundation that Joanna and I can build upon, and being such great mentors this year.

After a year that has been trying for all of us in so many ways, we look forward to the road ahead, and the looming summer break. To all of you who have made this all possible, as I type on the same laptop that has seen me through from the LSAT, to applying to law school, through 1L, and 10 Zoom episodes of this show—in the words of broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow—good night, and good luck.

Epic Games v. Apple and the Future of Big Tech – Just Law 2020-21 – Just Law

In this episode Tom Blakely talks with BC Law Prof. David Olson, who was interviewed recently on the blockbuster case Epic Games v. Apple in the Wall Street Journal–a case that has the potential to shape the direction of Big Tech and antitrust law as we know it.Professor Olson joined Boston College Law School in 2007. He teaches Patent Law, Intellectual Property Law, Antitrust Law, and various seminars. Professor Olson also serves as the Faculty Director for the Program on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Professor Olson researches and writes primarily in the areas of patents, copyrights, antitrust, and incentives for innovation and competition. He has published scholarly articles on patent law, copyright law, antitrust, music licensing, and first amendment copyright issues. His writing has been cited in Supreme Court and other legal opinions, and he has testified before the U.S. Congress on matters of drug patents, FDA regulation, and antitrust. Professor Olson is interested in international IP and competition law, as well as comparative law in intellectual property and antitrust. For one semester in 2015, he was Visiting Professor of Law at Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (PUC-Rio), where he conducted research and taught a course on intellectual property.The media frequently seeks Professor Olson’s insights and opinions. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, and Reuters, among others. He has appeared as a guest panelist on WBUR’s Radio Boston, WAMU's Kojo Namdi Show, and on Public Radio Canada. His op-eds have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Times, and The Hill.Professor Olson came to Boston College from Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society, where he researched in patent law and litigated copyright fair use impact cases. Before entering academia, Professor Olson practiced law as a patent litigator. Professor Olson clerked for Judge Jerry Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Professor Olson has been recognized for his teaching excellence and contributions to Boston College Law School. In 2011, he received the Business & Law Society Faculty Award for Achievement in Business & Law. In 2012, he received the Professor Emil Slizewski Award for Faculty Excellence.

1. Epic Games v. Apple and the Future of Big Tech 43:23
2. President Biden Withdrawing US Troops from Afghanistan 58:31
3. A Necessary Conversation with APALSA 01:16:39
4. Free For All 01:00:05
5. COVID-19: Analyzing the Legal and Policy Implications of the Pandemic 42:53

Tom Blakely is a first-year student and co-host of the Just Law Podcast. Reach him at blakelth@bc.edu.