#57: Join Aliza Shatzman to discuss using technology for Federal Judge accountability with Clerks

The Tech Savvy Lawyer

It’s essential to stand up and take necessary actions against harassment in the workplace. Employees have the right to feel safe and positive, both mentally and physically, where they work. This can be especially harrowing when the harassment takes place in a judge's chambers. This week’s episode of the Tech Savvy Lawyer podcast features Aliza Shatzman, president and founder of the Legal Accountability Project. She joined us today to talk about using technology to hold federal judges accountable for their behavior toward their clerks.

Aliza is an attorney and an advocate based in Washington, DC, who writes and speaks about judicial accountability. In March 2022, Aliza submitted written testimony for a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearingabout the lack of workplace protections for judiciary employees, detailing her personal experience with harassment and retaliation by a former DC Superior Court judge. This led Aliza to create The Legal Accountability Project. As President of The Legal Accountability Project, Aliza's mission is to ensure that law clerks have positive clerkship experiences while extending support and resources to those who do not. Through data collection, analysis, programming, and partnerships with law schools and other stakeholders, Aliza is quantifying the scope of harassment, discrimination, and diversity issues in the courts, and using the results to craft effective solutions.

Join Aliza and me as we discuss the following three questions and more!

01. What programs are you using to collect, manage, and utilize all this information and how do you use computer engineers to assist you?

02. How did you find the appropriate engineers to assist you? And why did you not create the database for LAP yourself?

03. What are three ways you're being mindful of the customer when using technology? So it doesn't seem that to the user that it's just a soulless process?

In our conversation, we cover:

[00.09] Tech setup – Starting the conversation, we dive into a quick look at Aliza’s current tech setup and her background.

[06.47] Whitelisting system – Aliza explains the whitelisting system and how it operates in the legal accountability project.

[08.47] Lack of reporting—Aliza explains why attorneys are reluctant to report any type of mistreatment in the clerkship.

[13.03] A safe space – Aliza explains how they are maintaining transparency in their program and the outcomes of it.

[18.06] Security: Aliza demonstrates how they protect data from breaches and their data privacy policy.

[25.51] Vetting process – Aliza shares the vetting process to get her engineers and the importance of them understanding the project and being responsive.

[30.00] Aliza’s experience – At the end of our discussion, Aliza shares her experience with harassment and gender discrimination when she was a law clerk and how she empowers the new generation to speak publicly.

Resources

Connect with Aliza

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/aliza-shatzman-58b55223/

Website - legalaccountabilityproject.org/

Twitter - twitter.com/AlizaShatzman

Equipment Mentioned in the Podcast

● MacBook Air - apple.com/macbook-air/

● iPhone xs - gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_xs-9318.php

● iPod –

● Webcam - elgato.com/en/facecam

- logitech.com/en-us/products/webcams.html

● Microphone - bluemic.com/en-us/products/yeti/

Software & Services Mentioned in the Podcast

● AWS cloud storage - aws.amazon.com/products/storage/