I got the idea for Real Law Radio while driving home, listening to a talk radio show host complaining about how lawyers are doing bad things to America. He complained that frivolous lawsuits were ruining our country and he made insulting remarks about the intelligence of a woman (now infamous) who sued McDonalds for injuries caused by hot coffee. She supposedly won millions, and he failed to mention that she didn't win much of anything.

The radio host then went on spouting total nonsense about the legal system and lawyers in America. I'd heard this kind of thing many times before. Myths about frivolous lawsuits and gross overexaggerations about law and politics have often replaced honest discussion about legal matters. Usually I would ignore it, but this time, I found myself getting really angry about the misinformation he was presenting as fact.

As I turned off my car stereo and pulled into my driveway, I realized that this wasn’t just a case of misinformation. This was evidence to me that the legal profession had totally failed to communicate what it is lawyers do and how well they do it. I knew the real world of law, having been a trial lawyer and prosecutor. And it wasn't anything like what was being said on the radio.

I decided to get to the root of the fear and misunderstanding of the law. I wanted to challenge the misconceptions of those who believed things were all wrong with our legal system.

"The legal profession had totally failed to communicate exactly what it is lawyers do and exactly how well they do it."

I wanted to talk to people, to have a conversation about the execution of law in the real world and to get them to "Think before you fear.”

So, here I am. As the host of Real Law Radio, I talk with people each week to explore the legal side of life. Real Law Radio digs into politics and controversial subjects from a uniquely legal perspective. Real Law Radio always seeks to examine - if not challenge - the headlines that usually present mistaken assumptions and distortions about public policy and law.

Do I sound conservative? Yeah. Liberal? Yeah. Does that make me a "progressive" or an "independent." No. It means I'm thinking and I want to get my listeners thinking with me. In my experience, life is complicated, and this stuff rarely fits into neat little boxes of political ideology. I enjoy exploring the (typically) unharmonious exchange of ideas that makes our legal, political and social landscape so incredible and dynamic, and I truly value the input we get from guests and listeners - it makes the conversation worth having.

We need programming that doesn't oversimplify and give meaningless, feel-good responses to legal and political subjects. We need a challenge and a good conversation.

It's time to think before we fear.

It's time for Real Law Radio.

Real Law Radio broadcasts live every Saturday afternoon from the studios of Newstalk 1420 WHK, also known as Cleveland Ohio's "Choice for Intelligent Talk." Intelligent? Some think so. The station is Ohio's longest running station. The weekday line-up is hard core conservative, with no apologies: i.e., Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, and Michael Medved. WHK is currently owned by Salem Communications. [Read more.]

The mission of Real Law Radio is simple, i.e., to encourage people to "think before you fear."

In a practical sense, the mission of Real Law Radio is to improve upon the quality of media coverage on legal and political stories and to offer listeners primary sources on the subject at hand.

Of course, the long term goal of the show is syndication!