Episode 89 - The Bernstein Bear (Main Interview with Justin Bernstein) Artwork

Unscripted Direct

Conversations with the law school trial advocacy community. Hosted by Spencer Pahlke (shareholder at Walkup Melodia and trial advocacy director at UC Berkeley School of Law) and Justin Bernstein (director of trial advocacy at UCLA School of Law).

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Unscripted Direct

Episode 89 - The Bernstein Bear (Main Interview with Justin Bernstein)

May 01, 2024 • Season 6 • Episode 14

Introduction. Spencer hosts solo!
The Break (0:02:07). Results from UCLA's Amicus Cup and GW's Estrella -- as well as Stetson's 2024 EATS awards.
Anger Translator (0:03:48). President Obama had an anger translator. Now Hofstra's Jared Rosenblatt has one, too. Jared shares his opinions on NTC Nationals -- from the case issues, to pairings that didn't match the rules, to "enlargements" that were too small to read, to the sexist and offensive TYLA witness. And Cumberland's Judge Jim Roberts is here to translate: "What Jared meant to say..."
Main Interview: Justin Bernstein (0:36:41). It’s the big interview of the big guy. We learn lots about Justin, including: when he won his first trial (and why the verdict wasn’t unanimous), what precipitated his mom’s concern about his first day at a new school, one of his basketball nicknames (if you know the other, do tell!), why he hates Stanford (but who got the last laugh), his greatest achievement and why it was the punchline of a best-man speech, and a few of his secrets to success at UCLA. Justin explains his unusual career arc: corporate litigator to poker player to mock trial consultant to academia. And we even get him to tell us about how Tom Cruise "coached" him in his early years of mock trial.