This UVA Speaks podcast features Crystal Shin, a Professor of Law and Director of the University of Virginia School of Law's Holistic Youth Defense Clinic. Shin explains that the clinic’s faculty and students represent their young clients in court proceedings, particularly those facing felony and misdemeanor charges. The clinic’s primary objective is to advocate for their young clients to keep them out of the system and in their homes, schools, and communities. Given the challenges and biases inherent in the criminal justice system, Shin highlights programs, such as the Restorative Justice program, that offer an alternative to traditional prosecution and incarceration. 

Transcripts of the audio broadcast can be found here. https://www.rev.com/transcript-editor/Edit?token=z8ZxwOMqDj9Gjxvv6TS91AMfmOsyFOA_XltJIt-3RRsseGSbUqzX3asRsVyXbIzwFx6UO_d6HT1EnwSethDaJi9Ilmk&loadFrom=DeliveryEmail&openShareModal=True&utm-source=mailgun&utm-medium=email&utm-campaign-name=transactional-email-htc&utm-campaign-content=share-file

Crystal Shin is a Professor of Law at the University of Virginia’s School of Law and Director of the Holistic Youth Defense Clinic. She joined the Law School in 2017 and served as the first full-time faculty director of the Program in Law and Public Service until 2020. Before entering academia, Shin was an attorney for the JustChildren Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center, where she provided legal representation to children and families in special education, school discipline, juvenile justice, and immigration.

UVA’s Youth Legal Defense Clinic

Ukraine's Preliminary Debt Restructuring Deal

Ukraine reportedly has reached terms with a subset of its bondholders, agreeing to restructure the country's roughly $24 billion in bond debt. What to make of the deal? It seems (to our view) to be premised on the IMF's entirely unrealistic assumptions about Ukraine's future debt repayment capacity. The reports we have seen about deal terms also don't explain what will happen to some important parts of the debt stock – including that of state-owned energy company Ukrenergo. Joseph Cotterill of the Financial Times joins us to explain the basic parameters of the deal, the underlying assumptions, and whether another restructuring of private debt is in the cards. And while we have Joseph, we also ask some questions about recent developments in litigation arising out of Mozambique's "tuna bonds" debacle. 

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 137 ft. Joseph Cotterill

Cambodia’s Debts to the US: How “Dirty” Are They?

Roughly a half century ago, in the 1970s, the US infamously bombed Cambodia. Less known is that the US, through a “Food for Peace” program, made a series of loans to the somewhat dodgy government of General Lon Nol. The loans were made, at least in part, to assist Cambodians displaced by the bombings. Fast forward a few decades, the US government periodically asks for the debts to be paid back, with interest. Cambodia responds: Seriously, you want to get repaid for lending money to an awful government (that you helped prop up after a coup) to pay for bombs that you dropped in violation of all sorts of laws? The real story is a bit more complex than the soundbite version. Our guest, Professor Randle DeFalco of Widener University Law School helps us begin to unpack the story of these debts.

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 138 ft. Randle DeFalco

A Better Way to Freeze (and Seize?) Russian Assets? 

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, there has been talk of what international law doctrines might be utilized to induce Russia to back off. One of those doctrines that has been whispered about is now, thanks to a wonderful new article by our guest, international law guru and Yale Law professor, Oona Hathaway, is that of Countermeasures. Oona and her co authors not only explain the law of countermeasures, but argue that these legal principles naturally extend into a doctrine of “collective countermeasures”. We ask Oona about these doctrines and their scope, particularly in the context of Russia and Ukraine. She argues that the doctrine, properly understood and applied, is (and should be) narrow. To quote Spider Man (maybe), “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”.

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 139 ft. Oona Hathaway

IMF Rescues Pakistan From the Brink of Default (Again)

Pakistan looks to be in the process of finalizing yet another IMF program. Yet again, it has been rescued from the brink of default with a bailout justified by some heroic assumptions about how a state of sustainability will magically materialize. Why? Our guest, Zohra Ahmed, of Boston University Law School, has a theory: that these bailouts (that ultimately hurt Pakistan because true economic reform never happens) are the price of consent. Specifically, consent by Pakistan to cooperate with US military interests. We discuss with Zohra both her theory and the evidence for it.

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 140 ft. Zohra Ahmed

“Admissible” host Natalie Blazer ’08, admissions dean at UVA Law, is back with all-new guests sharing law school admissions advice for the upcoming cycle.

Admissible Season 5 Trailer

The Champerty Show

Ah, Champerty. Perpetual runner-up, to the doctrine of consideration, in the Stupidest Legal Rule pageant. Why do directly (e.g., via the abuse of process claim) what you can do clumsily and indirectly (by limiting an injured party’s access to finance)? But what do we know? Actually, not much. We do know that Venezuela/PDVSA won a very interesting Champerty case in the Southern District of New York. And while we know very little about Champerty, we know enough to know we don’t like the doctrine very much, even if the outcome seems defensible.

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 141 ft. Mitu & Mark

Zambia’s Restructuring: A Post-Mortem

Zambia’s recently concluded restructuring seemed to drag on forever, debilitated by conflicts among the various creditor groups. Why did these different groups think the others were being unreasonable in their demands? And what can we learn from what happened? Our guest is one of the keenest observers in the sovereign debt world, who followed this restructuring at the ground level, Theo Maret.  

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 142 ft. Theo Maret

Antitrust attorney Megan Granger ’11 joins Admissions Dean Natalie Blazer ’08 to discuss how she built a successful legal practice at a preeminent global law firm. Granger shares what she wishes she had done differently in law school, her advice to young associates hoping to rise through the ranks, and the secret to longevity in a legal career. (University of Virginia School of Law, Sept. 13, 2024)

Season 5 Episode 1: How to Succeed in ‘Big Law’ With Megan Granger ’11

Hamilton Bank v. Sri Lanka: What the $@#$ ?

Accusations that Hamilton Bank is a giant fraudster stealing depositor funds, bizarro requests from Hamilton to the court that other creditors be constrained in using their contract rights against it, an amicus intervention in the case to say nothing at all . . . and on and on. This case gets more and more bizarre, which makes us suspect that whatever is going on under the surface is even weirder than the (already weird) stuff that is visible to outsiders like us. What no one is discussing, though, is the “unconditional rights” provision in the trust indenture document that arguably gives minority bondholders protection against any attempt to do a cram down.

Producer: Leanna Doty

Ep 143 ft. Mitu & Mark

A panel of legal scholars discussed the relationship between originalist legal philosophy and stare decisis, the legal principle of using precedent to determine outcomes in litigation. The panel consisted of Professors John Harrison and Deborah Hellman; Kurt Lash, University of Richmond School of Law professor; and UVA Law student Henry Dickman ’20. Professor Emeritus Lillian R. BeVier served as moderator. This panel was featured during UVA Law Federalist Society’s symposium “Originalism and Precedent: Exploring Paths to Reform.” (University of Virginia School of Law, Feb. 13, 2020

Originalist Perspectives on Stare Decisis

To request an audio transcript that is not at law.virginia.edu/news/videos-podcasts, please contact comm@law.virginia.edu. Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation. Consistently ranked among the top law schools, Virginia is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service.

Originalist Perspectives on Stare Decisis

University of Virginia School of Law

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