Minimum Competence

Andrew and Gina Leahey

500 episodes listed below

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Daily legal headlines with historical muscle.

The gist

Minimum Competence tracks the legal stories shaping courts, agencies, business, and public life. Each episode moves quickly from a date-specific legal history segment into headline briefings on litigation, regulation, bankruptcy, civil rights, antitrust, and political power.

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About Minimum Competence

Minimum Competence is a daily legal news briefing with a strong sense of legal memory. The show does not simply list filings and verdicts. It places current disputes beside earlier moments that shaped American law, from Reconstruction and civil rights enforcement to war powers, tort claims, franchising, and direct election of senators. The result is compact but not thin. Episodes often start with a date in legal history, then pivot into the day's cases, agency fights, corporate disputes, and political-legal developments. Recent editions have covered DOL oversight clashes, ABA diversity rule debate, QVC's bankruptcy filing, Live Nation monopoly developments, and John Eastman's California disbarment. Other stories range from xAI pollution claims and Albertsons opioid litigation to Amazon's satellite internet purchase, a law student's free speech fight, and Opportunity Zone criticism. The show also keeps a close eye on political power. It has covered Trump-related judicial picks, DOJ influence claims, immigration enforcement around birth tourism, global tariffs, and court fights over RFK Jr.'s HHS overhaul. Corporate law is a recurring lane. Bankruptcy, antitrust, right to repair, pregnancy bias claims, franchise regulation, and AI's push into law schools all appear as part of the same legal ecosystem. Civil rights history gives the show extra weight. Episodes on the Civil Rights Act of 1866, Colfax, Cruikshank, Jackie Robinson, Lincoln, and Reconstruction frame law as something built through courts, statutes, culture, and institutional pressure. The style is orderly and brisk. It favors explanation over banter. Legal terms are introduced through concrete disputes rather than treated as insider vocabulary. That makes the show useful for lawyers and law students, but also accessible to journalists, founders, policy watchers, and anyone trying to follow how legal decisions move through public life. Its strongest feature is the historical hinge. A headline about a modern lawsuit arrives with a reminder that the law's current shape was formed by older conflicts over accountability, equality, federal power, and private influence.

Made for: Minimum Competence suits lawyers, law students, journalists, founders, policy watchers, and legally curious listeners who want a fast but substantive read on the day's legal developments.

What sets it apart: The show pairs current legal headlines with a short legal-history frame, making today's cases and agency fights feel connected to older doctrines, statutes, and institutional battles.

In their own words

Minimum Competence is your daily companion for legal news, designed to bring you up to speed on the day’s major legal stories during your commute home. Each episode is short, clear, and informative—just enough to make you minimally competent on the key developments in law, policy, and regulation. Whether you’re a lawyer, law student, journalist, or just legal-curious, you’ll get a smart summary without the fluff. A full transcript of each episode is available via the companion newsletter at www.minimumcomp.com. www.minimumcomp.com

legal history anniversariesconstitutional lawcivil rights enforcementantitrust and competitionbankruptcy and corporate disputesagency oversightpolitical power and courtslaw schools and legal profession

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Find your next episode

About Minimum Competence

In their own words

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Episodes

New York Alleges TikTok Ran "Placebo" Safety Tests on Teens, Florida Goes It Alone Against Meta & a Judge Orders Christa Pike Execution Evidence Preserved

The EEOC Fights to Keep Its Law-Firm DEI Records Secret, Disney Takes On the FCC & What Sen. Kelly's AI Tax Bill Would Actually Tax

SCOTUS Opens Its Term With Boulder's Climate Case, the Harvard Funding Fight Hits the First Circuit & Poland Charges Google Over Publisher Payments

Tennessee Calls Its Failed Execution a "Tragedy," a Judge Strikes Down the Federal Noncitizen-Voting Crime & New Mexico Seeks Up to $40B From Meta

SCOTUS Takes Up Mandatory Immigration Detention, the Forced-Labor Tariffs Go to Trade Court & Tennessee's Failed Execution

SCOTUS Revives Third-Country Deportations, Jack Smith Faces the Senate & Why California's Wealth-Tax Critics Miss the Mark

A Judge Blocks Trump From Using Counterterrorism Grants as Election Leverage, Alito Recuses From a Big Climate Case & Florida Asks a Court to Freeze OpenAI's Model Development

A New Mexico Jury Finds Meta Misled Millions Over Cambridge Analytica, TikTok Pays Alabama to Dodge the First Teen-Harms Trial & SCOTUS Revives the SAVE Voter Checks

Reporters Turned Away From the White House Despite a Court Order, the ABA Fights for Its Accreditation Power & New York Calls Polymarket Illegal Gambling

Missouri's Map Hits SCOTUS a Third Time, a Judge Tosses Michigan's Climate-Antitrust Suit Against Big Oil & OpenAI Turns Musk's SEC Filings Against Him

Trump Asks SCOTUS to Detain a Pro-Palestinian Scholar, a Federal Judge Takes Leave After a "Super Drunk" Conviction & DoorDash's $131.5M NYC Pay Settlement

Paramount Settles With the States to Clear Its Warner Bros. Merger, the Botched-Bar-Exam Vendor Pays Up & Why Tariffs Need an Unwinding Mechanism

Tesla's Race-Discrimination Trial Opens, CNN, MS NOW and Politico Sue Over a White House Press Ban & Law Schools Confront AI

Charlie Kirk's Family Eyes a Suit Against UVU, Noncitizen-Voting Defendants Challenge the Law Itself & the CLARITY Act Crashes in the Senate

Supreme Court Blocks Trump's Mail-Ballot Restrictions, Musk's X Drops Apple but Keeps Suing OpenAI & Why Breaking Up the Big Four Won't Fix Auditor Misconduct

Arizona Sues L'Oréal Over Hair-Relaxer Cancer Risks, a Second Judge Blocks the Mail-In Voting Rule, the "Loyalty Question" Falls & a ChatGPT Brief Backfires

Texas Holds TikTok Liable Over Child Safety, 41% of Lawyers Say the Job Harmed Their Mental Health & California's New Kids-Online Laws

Court Tosses NESE Pipeline Permit, Chemours' $455M North Carolina PFAS Deal & Legal-AI's Harvey Hits $15.5 Billion

SCOTUS Leaves Missouri's Map in Limbo, U.S. Resumes Visas for Hungary and Poland Only & Law Degrees Earned Behind Bars

Appeals Court Blocks SAVE Database for Voter Checks, the Montana License-Plate Loophole by the Numbers & Fixing NY's Charity Bottleneck

Trump Takes Mail-In Voting Back to SCOTUS, IRS Targets Race-Conscious Schools' Tax Exemptions & Big Law Data Breaches

Google Dodges an Ad-Tech Breakup, Boeing's $3.1M "Rounding Error" FAA Fine & the EPA's Blocked California Emissions Gambit

Charlie Kirk's Accused Killer Will Face a Death-Penalty Trial, Tiger Woods' 5-Year License Ban & Fixing Massachusetts Truck Taxes

"Keffe D" Guilty in Tupac Murder, Trump Fights On for Mail-In Voting Curbs & SCOTUS Lets the White House Ballroom Rise

Judge Rules Pro-Palestinian Deportations Unconstitutional, Big Law Leasing Surges 17% & CXMT Sues the Pentagon

Meta's $18B Child-Harm Settlement, Tate Brothers' Extradition Bail Fight & Bayer's $7.25B Roundup Deal Advances

Judge Weighs Kennedy Center Trump Signage, Lisa Cook Fights Fed Removal & X Loses NY Hate-Speech Suit

Kennedy Center Renaming Defies a Court Order?, Deloitte's $21.5M DEI Settlement & Ninth Circuit Blocks Ideological Grant Strings

SCOTUS Lifts Mail-In Voting Block, U.S. Plans Record 200K Visa Revocations & Google Brings Gemini AI to Big Law

Judge Voids 75-Nation Visa Ban, Golden Gate Bridge Protesters Sentenced & TikTok's $400M Kids-Privacy Deal

Teen Drops Meta/Google/Snap Suit, DOJ Targets Mar-a-Lago FBI Agents & Tech Giants Fight Over AI Voice Data

Tupac Defense Says "Don't Believe My Client," Trump's Nine New Judicial Picks & DOJ Uses Comey's Novel in "86 47" Threat Case

Meta Whistleblower Testifies "Profits Won," Judge Strikes Ghost-Gun Rule SCOTUS Upheld & Trump's Law-Firm Privilege Claim

29 States Put Meta on Trial, DOJ Probes William & Mary Scholarships & Why the Public Deserves a Stake in AI

Tupac Murder Trial Opens, AG Blanche Backs Pirro Against Trump & Judge Clears End to Somali TPS

Court Upholds Trump's De Minimis Tariff Repeal, SCOTUS Takes Immigrant Detention Fees Case & a Courtroom AI "Prompt Injection"

Motley Rice's $67M Meta Fee, Trump Media Sued Over Paid Truth Social Access & Palestinian Students Sue Columbia

Fifth Circuit Voids Surprise-Billing Formula, Judge Blocks USPS Mail-In Limits & White House Pushes New Reflecting Pool Charges

Mangione Heads to Trial, Trump Says Weaponization Fund Is "Up to Blanche" & Social Media Suits Advance

Senate Confirms Todd Blanche as AG in 50-49 Squeaker, Alito Stays on SCOTUS & NJ's $2.5B PFAS Settlement

Trump Goes 0-21 on Voter Rolls, Signs New Birthright Orders & Meta Hit With $567M in New Mexico

U.S. Refunds $100B in Supreme Court-Struck Tariffs, New Mexico Sues for Epstein Files & OpenAI Fights Apple

DOJ Fights IRS-Suit Fees, Amazon Loses Perplexity AI Ban, Final Oath Keepers Cases Dismissed & EPA Climate Grants Restored

Todd Blanche AG Confirmation Advances, Benefits-Data Immigration Lawsuit & Trump's 75 First Amendment Losses

Todd Blanche Anti-Weaponization Fund, Capital One Trump Debanking, Tom Goldstein Appeal, Reflecting Pool Case Dropped

DOJ Drama, Prediction Markets, and the Limits of Congressional Power

Trump Asks SCOTUS to Toss E. Jean Carroll's $83M Verdict, Blanche AG Vote Stalls, Bar Exam Chaos

Chobani Zero-Sugar Class Action, eBay $56M Stalking Settlement, Charlie Kirk Case

SCOTUS Mail-In Voting, J&J's $5.5B Talc Deal & Meta on Trial

Trump Mail-in Voting Attack Halted, Tom Goldstein Sentenced to Six Years

Legal News for Fri 7/24 - SCOTUS Lawyer to be Sentenced, DOJ Drops NYTimes Subpoenas, Paramount Merger Frozen

Legal News for Thurs 7/23 - Times Air Force One Subpoena StorY Rolls On, Teen Plaintiff Drops Mental Health Case Against Meta, Judge Doubts Science Behind Talc and Ovarian Cancer and Fund the IRS!

Legal News for Weds 7/22 - Meta AI Layoff Suit Chugs Along, Court Voids NLRB Union-Preserving Rule, Judge Saves Immigrant TPS Permits and CA Film Tax Credits Catching Strays

Legal News for Tues 7/21 - Paramount WB Merger Frozen, Anthropic $1.5b Copyright Settlement for Piracy, DOJ Launches Probe into Harvard

Legal News for Mon 7/20 - NJ Assault Weapons Ban Struck Down, Judge Stops Admin from Clawing Back Grants, Meta Greenlight to AI-Fire and IRS Top Attorney Out

Legal News for Fri 7/17 - Appeals Court Restores Journalist Escort Policy at Pentagon, Judge Scolds DOJ Over Hallucinated Case, "Public Charge" Green Card Rule and DraftKings vs. Philadelphia

Legal News for Thurs 7/16 - Trump's Personal Lawyer Blanche Grilled, Second Pro-Trump FL Judge Gets Appointed to Fed Bench, FTC Backs Curbing ABA Role

Legal News for Weds 7/15 - Blanche BS AG Hearing, Free Speech Challenge to Trump ICC Sanctions on Judges etc., and End of Fed Oversight for LA School District

Legal News for Tues 7/14 - Subpoenas for Times Reporters, Trump's IRS Deal Void, More Tylenol Autism Nonsense and Big Companies May Yet Miss Chevron Deference

Legal News for Mon 7/13 - Apple and OpenAI in Legal Fight, Disability Telework Rights, TPS Work Permits for Haiti and Others Extended and Sanctions for Hallucinated Case Cites

Legal News for Fri 7/10 - DOJ Sues Maryland Over Sanctuary Policies, Grand Jury Transparency, Simpson Thacher Malpractice Suit in FL and Trump Guts Election Commission

Legal News for Thurs 7/9 - SAVE Database Weaponized Against Voter Rolls, DOJ Threatens State Election Officials and ex-Olympians Bogus DC Reflecting Pool Charges

Legal News for Weds 7/8 - Judge Dugan Sentencing, Bayer's Roundup SCOTUS Win, CA Captive-audience Fight

Legal News for Tues 7/7 - Meta Faces $1.4t Demand, Forced-labor Tariffs are Pretext, USPTO Abandon "Board of Peace" Trademark and Combatting DSTs with 100% Tariffs

Legal News for Mon 7/6 - Detention Limits for Migrants, Final E. Jean Carroll Verdict Against DJT, and SCOTUS' Next Big Term

Legal News for Thurs 7/2 - SCOTUS Shadow Docket Swells, MN Shuts Down Wrongful Conviction Unit, Judge Blocks USPS Restrictions on Mail-in Voting

Legal News for Weds 7/1 - Birthright Citizenship Survives, Transgender Athletes Can Be Banned, and Trump's Power to Fire Independent Agency Heads

Legal News for Tues 6/30 - SCOTUS Calls Fed Independent, OKs Late-arriving Mail Ballots, and Coca-Cola's Post-Chevron Tax Fight Trial Balloon

Legal News for Mon 6/29 - Luigi Hearing, TPS Migrants Told to Prepare to Leave, and $69m Bail Bond Price Fixing Settlement

Legal News for Fri 6/26 - SCOTUS Immigration and Gun Rights Signals Pretty Clear, Real Estate Class Action Transparency Ruling Major Shift

Legal News for Thurs 6/25 - Sanctuary City Protections and Facial Recognition Transparency in NJ, and Trump Admin Must Explain Covering Civil Rights Mural with Tarps

Legal News for Weds 6/24 - NY Hate Speech Social Media Law, YouTube Settles Social Media Algorithmic Harm Case, Federal Judge Vacates Trump Courthouse Immigration Arrest Policy

Legal News for Tues 6/23 - LA "Sanctuary City" Fight with Feds, Voter Roll Database Limits, and OpenAI, Cloud Computing, and the R&D Credit

Legal News for Mon 6/22 - CA Parental Notification Ruling, Trump Birthright Citizenship Fight Rolls on and Cameras in Federal Courtrooms?