Podcast
Against The Tide
Hosted by Debbie Hagan · EN
Corrupt business owners, unscrupulous local politicians, impossible odds and a highly unconventional student body are just a few of the obstacles faced by Lawrence R. Velvel, as he packs up his home of 16 years and heads north to become Dean of a brand new law school in Lowell, Massachusetts. When nothing in Lowell turns out to be what it first appears, Velvel and a handful of law students are forced to choose between giving up on their life long dream, and attempting the impossible.
This page turning story of the little law school that did is a classic David and Goliath tale, pitting the working class taxi drivers, bank tellers and contractors with the dream of creating a better life for themselves, against wealthy business men, former US Senators, even The American Bar Association. It is a tale of the everyman overcoming adversity and achieving the impossible. It is a true story.
"…an inspiring book…" Howard Zinn "A superb book, more compelling than most novels or movie scripts…" Michael Parenti
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Chapter 9, The Tide Starts To Turn, Part 3 - Against The Tide - MP3 edition
Feb 23, 200700:33:14Tap to summarize-In this episode: By the spring of 2000 the tide appeared to finally have turned. Fourteen years after it had first opened its doors, MSL boasted 1500 graduates who had gone on to careers in law, politics, real estate, education, law enforcement... the list goes on a
Transcribe →Chapter 9, The Tide Starts To Turn, Part 2 - Against The Tide - MP3 edition
Feb 22, 200700:33:56Tap to summarize-In this episode: At his invitation, MSL brings their case to Senator Kennedy's office one more time, but come to realize that their initial faith in justice amounted to no more than pure naivete. Beaten, but not defeated, MSL realizes that if it is to survive, it mu
Transcribe →Chapter 9, The Tide Starts To Turn, Part 1 - Against The Tide - MP3 edition
Feb 21, 200700:33:16Tap to summarize-In this episode: MSL continues to fight the ABA in the courts as well as with the US Department of Justice, but time and again finds that political agendas and incompetence thwarting their efforts. Finally MSL turns to Senator Ted Kennedy just as Congress is preparin
Transcribe →Chapter 8, MSL vs ABA, Part 3 - Against The Tide - MP3 edition
Feb 20, 200700:29:05Tap to summarize-In this episode: MSL takes its case all the way to the White House, and believes it finally has an ally in the form of the Anti-Trust Division of The United States Department of Justice. With the DOJ firmly on their side, MSL must finally prevail...but would they?
Transcribe →Chapter 8, MSL vs ABA, Part 2 - Against The Tide - MP3 edition
Feb 19, 200700:38:37Tap to summarize-In this episode: When a lawyer from The US Department of Justice informs MSL that not only had the DOJ procured evidence that proved the ABA's antitrust conspiracy, but that the judge presiding over MSL's antitrust case had not fully disclosed his involvement with th
Transcribe →Chapter 8, MSL vs ABA, Part 1 - Against The Tide - MP3 edition
Feb 18, 200700:24:22Tap to summarize-In this episode: In a dimly lit modern court room, MSL's anti-trust case against the ABA finally begins. The Judge, J. William Ditter Jr. claims to never have thought about the issues involved in MSL's conspiracy suit, however it soon becomes clear that Ditter is fa
Transcribe →Chapter 7, ABA Inspection, Part 3 - Against The Tide - MP3 edition
Feb 17, 200700:26:58Tap to summarize-In this episode: From the Board of Governors, to The Department of Justice, to The Department of Education, and finally to the ABA House of Delegates, MSL pursues their accreditation case against the ABA. Has the case been stacked against them from the start, or has
Transcribe →Chapter 7, ABA Inspection, Part 2 - Against The Tide - MP3 edition
Feb 16, 200700:28:53Tap to summarize-In this episode: The ABA report finally arrives and what Velvel reads makes him physically ill. Never content to suffer the slings and arrows however, Velvel and the MSL faculty swiftly switch back into offensive gear. Meanwhile the mystery of the law school fire a
Transcribe →Chapter 7, ABA Inspection, Part 1 - Against The Tide - MP3 edition
Feb 15, 200700:32:19Tap to summarize-In this episode: In 1992 the faculty at MSL spent six months researching and writing a 500 page self study that they considered a valuable discourse on legal education. Entitled "The Deeply Unsatisfactory Nature of Legal Education Today". But would their
Transcribe →Chapter 6, American Bar Association, Part 3 - Against The Tide - MP3 edition
Feb 14, 200700:34:11Tap to summarize-In this episode: Could MSL satisfy the ABA standards without sacrificing everything MSl stands for, or in order to survive must they turn MSL into another eilitist law school? Although the ABA claimed to applaud innovative and diverse law schools, a visit by the ABA
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