Finley "No-Merit" Letters Follow Up

In 2026, the Supreme Court decided Trump v. Cook and Trump v. Slaughter, two cases that cemented the President's ability to remove principal officers. Professor Fred Jacob joined us to break down these two cases and analyze what they have to say about the Court's view of presidential power and independent agencies.

Today, we are excited to feature a current law student on the Podcast. Grace DeBoer is a third-year student at American University Washington College of Law, and she is also currently an Articles Editor on the Administrative Law Review. Grace studied Biology as an undergraduate, and she is interested in health law generally, and Health Insurance-related law, Fraud and Abuse, and Food and Drug law specifically. These interests led her to write her comment for Administrative Law Review on the regulation of drug compounding, where she argues that FDA should take stronger action to regulate excessive compounding of GLP-1 drugs now that the GLP-1 shortage has ended.  On this episode, Grace walked through how GLP-1 compounds are regulated and the tension between access and safety that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) balances.

Our guests from Phillips Black return to give an update after a month of having their report and law review article published!

Today, we are excited to feature a current law student on the Podcast. Joining us is a second-year law student, Jo Ross. Jo is a junior staffer on the Administrative Law Review at American University Washington College of Law, and as part of his graduation requirements, has written an incredible paperdiscussing the Environmental Protection Agency’s wastewater monitoring practices.Specifically, Jo analyzed whether the EPA needs to be doing more from a data privacy perspective to ensure that American’s privacy rights are not being violated through wastewater monitoring systems.

On this episode, we take a profoundly hard look at the ethical landscape of criminal defense lawyering through the lens of a Pennsylvania-specific criminal post-conviction procedure called the Finley “No-Merit” letter. With us for this discussion is an esteemed group of individuals from Phillips Black, a nonprofit public interest law practice dedicated to providing the highest quality of legal representation to incarcerated individuals in the United States sentenced to the severest penalties under law. Joining us are two Phillips Black staff attorneys, Thomas Roberts and Elie Kirshner, both HarvardLaw graduates, as well as their colleagues, Yahya Moore and Stephen Lazar, both of whom were wrongfully convicted of second-degree murder, which, in Pennsylvania, meant that they were automatically sentenced to life without parole. Yahya was incarcerated for 27 years, and Stephen for 16, before both of their convictions and sentences were later vacated. Yahya and Stephen both now work as paralegals helping petitioners navigate post-conviction. If you want to learn more about Finley letters after listening, you can check out Phillips Black’s comprehensive Finley Report at phillipsblack.org/finleyreport, or you can read Yahya and Thomas’s co-authored article about Finley letters published by the Harvard Law Review.

Today, we are excited to feature another current law student on the Podcast. Joining us is second year law student, Nicole Paredes-Cisneros. Nicole is a junior staffer on the Administrative Law Review at American University Washington College of Law, and as part of her graduation requirements, has written an incredible paper discussing the regulatory landscape surrounding social media design, with a particular focus on “dark patterns.” As many of the social media giants face landmark trials on child safety, Nicole’s Comment is more relevant than ever.

On this episode, we are so grateful to be joined by Matt Pawa to discuss the intersection of Environmental and Administrative Law. There may be no better person in the field to have as our guest today: Matt is a pioneer of environmental litigation, having been involved in many of the nation’s most important environmental cases for over 25years. Matt’s 13-year lawsuit against more than a dozen oil companies for polluting New Hampshire groundwater resulted in over $100 million in pre-trial settlements and a $236 million verdict against Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest verdict in state history. He also launched the first ever climate change tort case in the U.S. back in 2004, bringing an action against many of the largest coal burning power plants, allof which has contributed to Matt being widely recognized as the nation’s foremost expert on climate litigation against fossil fuel companies ever since.Matt is also no stranger to rolling up his sleeves and keeping the Monkey Wrench spirit of the late, great Ed Abbey alive, noted by the dismissal of all criminal charges he obtained for climate protesters Ken Ward and Jay O’Hara in the Lobster Boat Blockade back in 2014—the case ended so emphatically that the district attorney issued a dramatic statement on the courthouse steps announcing he was dropping the charges and would join an upcoming climate march (pretty impressive stuff to say the least).We also want to highlight two other great resources mentioned in this episode: First, go check out Matt’s own podcast, “Mother Earth,” – he is taking a break from it currently, but may return to it at any moment. and Second, we would like to highlight Hazel Rosenblum Sellers recent piece published in the Michigan Law Review entitled: “Good Cause for Goodness' Sake: A New Approach to Notice-and-Comment Rulemaking.”

On this episode we speak with Nancy Lewis about the wide world of Government Contracts. While on its face, government contracts may not sound like the most glamorous field of law,beneath the surface there is a complex, dynamic, and endlessly challenging landscape. These behind the scenes, unsung heroes, help negotiate and execute everything from major federal IT overhauls to defense contracts that impact national security. Nancy serves as the Assistant Solicitor and Branch Chief for Acquisitions and Intellectual Property at the U.S. Department of theInterior. A combat veteran and former Army JAG officer, she brings deep expertise from both military and civilian federal procurement. This episodewill explore bid protests, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (known as the FAR), and the evolving challenges agencies and contractors face in today's procurement environment.

Today, for the first time ever, we are excited to feature a current law student on the Podcast. Joining us is second-year law student, Jared Zwettler. Jared is a junior staffer on the Administrative Law Review at American University Washington College of Law, and as part of his graduation requirements, has written an incredible paperdiscussing the Federal Railroad Administration, otherwise referred to as the “FRA.”Specifically, Jared analyzed the FRAs recent action surrounding high speed rail in the U.S., with a particular focus on the California High Speed Rail Project.  This is a brief conversation with Jared about his paper, but if you are desiring more, please find a link to Jared’s Comment in the show notes. My name is Elliott Hiller, and along with Cyrus Crevits, we are your hosts for this 7th season of A Hard Look.

This episode of A Hard Look dives into the regulation of cryptocurrency, one of the hottest and most complex topics in modern finance.From the rise of digital assets to the challenges of oversight and enforcement, crypto is testing the boundaries of financial law and innovation. But how is the regulatory landscape evolving? What are the risks and opportunities of digital assets? And with the new administration’s stance on these assets being an about face from the Biden Administration, what does the future hold for cryptocurrency in the United States? Joining us to answer these questions, and many more, are Professors Gerard Comizio and Jerry Buckley.Professor Comizio is the associate director of the Business Law Program at American University Washington College of Law, the director of the law school’s Digital Asset Law Project, and currently teaches one of the first digital asset law courses in the United States.Professor Buckley is recognized as a thought leader in the field of financial services regulation and is a founding partner of Buckley LLP––the leading national financial services law firm that combined with Orrick in 2023. Professor Buckley also serves as an Adjunct Professor at American University Washington College of Law.