A show about building a thriving legal career and practicing law that can change the world.
In law school, you often hear a standard narrative. You can go into Big Law. Or you can get a job in government or nonprofits. In other words, you can either make money or do good in the world. But not both. Cause of Action with Spencer Pahlke dispels this myth, showing law students that there’s a third path: working as a plaintiffs’ attorney. With plaintiffs’ law, you can make a good living while fighting for causes you care about, from civil rights to environmental protection to corporate fraud.
Each episode, San Francisco-based plaintiffs’ attorney and UC Berkeley Law instructor Spencer Pahlke (https://www.walkuplawoffice.com/attorneys/spencer-j-pahlke/) sits down with one of the top attorneys in the country, exploring what they do, and how law students can find a job they’ll love.
10 | How to Win in the Supreme Court with Deepak Gupta
One crucial thing that often gets left out of conversations about legal cases is the appeal process. The corporate defense side has a long tradition of attorneys who specialize in appeals. But there are also plaintiff-side appellate attorneys. One of the very best is today’s guest, Deepak Gupta. Deepak and his firm, Gupta Wessler, have one of the highest win rates arguing appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court. He’ll share what the job of an appellate attorney is like day-to-day, how the work can ...
29 Sept 2026
9 | Holding Big Tech Accountable with Alexandra Walsh, plus NPLA Co-President Jan Rotich
Alexandra Walsh worked for two decades on the corporate defense side before starting her own plaintiffs’ firm and eventually joining Anapol Weiss. On today’s episode, she’ll discuss her class action litigation against Roblox and other online platform whose policies have enabled a culture of online grooming and the sexual abuse of children. Later, Penn Carey Law 3L Jan Rotich joins to share her perspective as NPLA Co-President. Suggestions for topics? Questions for our guests? Email the show...
22 Sept 2026
8 | Making It as a Trial Lawyer with Michael Cowen
Michael Cowen is one of the most successful and prolific personal injury attorneys around. He’s tried more than 120 jury trials alone, and has made a career holding big companies accountable for how their products and practices endanger the safety of the average person. He also never planned to be a plaintiffs’ attorney. In fact, Michael’s first job out of law school was at one of the oldest corporate defense firms in the country. On today’s episode, Michael shares why he made the journey acr...
15 Sept 2026
7 | Closing the Pay Gap with Lori Andrus
Some law students know right out the gates that practicing law is their calling. Today’s guest, Lori Andrus, started her career on Capitol Hill, and went to law school with every intention of staying in politics. Her goal was to use her knowledge of the law to shape policy. But along the way, Lori fell in love with litigation. She now has her own plaintiffs’ firm, Andrus Anderson, and tackles some of the same issues she imagined herself fighting for in Washington. Lori shares her journey to t...
28 Apr 2026
6 | When "We the People" Hire a Plaintiffs' Firm
Here’s something people don’t often mention: As a plaintiffs’ attorney, you can work side by side with government litigators, taking on some of the most important issues in the country. Case in point, today’s guest: June Pineda Hoidal. June is a managing partner of Zimmerman Reed. The Minneapolis-based firm collaborates with public entities, and has fought back against the opioid epidemic, major polluters, and the Trump administration, just to name a few. June unpacks what it’s like to bring ...
21 Apr 2026
5 | Three Law Students Walk into the Plaintiffs’ Bar
On today’s episode, Boston College 2L Marissa Lambert sits down with Angie Pati and Jonathan Koehler, law students at NYU and Rutgers. Angie and Jonathan discuss the ideals that brought them to law school, and how those values are leading them to careers on the plaintiff side. They detail the networking strategies that helped them find jobs, and Jonathan shares his secret for how to study for law school while you’re asleep. Suggestions for topics? Questions for our guests? Email the show at...
14 Apr 2026
4 | What It’s Like to Be an Associate at a Plaintiffs’ Firm
So far, we’ve been speaking with veteran attorneys—litigators who’ve spent decades taking on corporate giants. But today, we wanted to bring on someone who’s a little closer to law school. Someone who only recently went through the gauntlet of school, summer jobs, and studying for the bar – and who’s currently working as an associate at a plaintiffs’ firm. Jenna Forster is a fourth-year associate at Motley Rice. In just a short time, she’s already worked on cases taking on opioid manufacturer...
31 Mar 2026
3 | The Defense Attorney Who Exposed the Truth About Forever Chemicals
You often hear that summer jobs in law school can lay the foundation for your career. Which is kind of terrifying. It creates the impression that your decisions as a 1L can determine the entire course of your life. But here's the truth: your career is not going to be a straight line. Just ask today’s guest, Rob Bilott. Rob started as a defense attorney. But he’s gone on to bring major environmental class actions against chemical companies, and helped expose the truth about toxic "forever chem...
24 Mar 2026
2 | Fighting for Workers' Rights
It’s no secret that companies are stealing from their workers. Wage theft is rampant in America, but plaintiffs’ attorneys like Shannon Liss-Riordan are fighting back. Shannon is one of the country’s top lawyers bringing employment class actions, and in today’s episode, she and Spencer discuss Shannon’s cases against companies like Uber and FedEx. Later, Boston College law student Marissa Lambert joins Spencer to unpack President Trump’s attacks on America’s law firms. To learn more about u...
17 Mar 2026
1 | Find a Job You Love. Make a Great Living. Change the World.
Welcome to Cause of Action! On today’s inaugural episode, Spencer is joined by veteran plaintiffs’ attorney and Stanford Law lecturer Shanin Specter. They’ll discuss how law students can land the dream job—one that makes them happy, makes the world better, and pays off those student loans (and then some). Later, Boston College Law student Marissa Lambert shares why she’s building a career in plaintiffs’ law. Suggestions for topics? Questions for our guests? Email the show at Sp...
16 Mar 2026
Introducing: Cause of Action
Welcome to Cause of Action with Spencer Pahlke, a new podcast about building a thriving legal career and practicing law that can change the world.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
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