Featured Work
Take a look at my varied work, as both a freelancer and staff writer, covering everything from parenting to legal affairs, from big law firm life to aging and health policy, from finance to Jewish identity. My work has appeared in the New York Times online, The Examination, NewsGuard, as well as on parenting websites like Mother.ly and Mommy Bites, and on Bloomberg, Reuters and Law.com and its sister sites.
A decade after its pioneering food law, where does Chile’s obesity crisis stand?
The Examination
March 13, 2024
While studies show that food products, consumer habits and awareness have changed, experts say that it can take decades for obesity rates to budge.
My Son, the Live Peanut Allergy Science Experiment
The New York Times
October 2014
At age 5, Caleb is part of a medically supervised science experiment – not the kind of thing that a healthy, energetic, Lego-obsessed little guy is excited to sign up for.
5 Reasons I Love to Worry as a Jewish Mom
Kveller
July 2015
…having children, my worry became multiplicative; it was like another child—first the children kept me up at night, then the worrying about them did.
Where Seniors Go When Their Nursing Homes Close
The Atlantic
November 2015
When assisted-living facilities shut down, their elderly residents often have to scramble for a new home—and health and financial concerns can make it hard to find a fit.
Staying Home
Johns Hopkins Health Review
Spring/Summer 2016
From architectural interventions to new models of medical care, we're finding ways to help keep people happy and healthy in their homes as they age.
5 Ways to Help Your Child’s Speech Development Without Electronics
Carolina Parent
June 2017
New study shows link between handheld devices and speech and language delays in young children.
Your baby is listening to you, mama. Even in the womb.
Motherly
April 2017
You really can start connecting with your baby through language even before you’re holding him in your arms, and then on through those very early months when you think you are doing nothing more than changing diapers and counting the hours of sleep you got (or didn’t).
The Tobacco Litigation That Wouldn't Die
Law.com
May 2015
The original "Engle" tobacco class action is long gone, but its progeny live on. Now the verdicts and settlements are mounting.
SeaWorld appeal could force taming of its popular orca shows after trainer's death
Reuters
October 2013
A killer whale, the lawyer-son of a Supreme Court justice and the grisly death of wildlife trainer will play roles in a U.S. appeals court case next month that could forever change marine park operator SeaWorld’s marquee entertainment.
Obama's overtime pay push seen reshaping U.S. payrolls, courts
Reuters
March 2014
If the Obama administration follows through on overtime pay reforms, businesses will have to realign payroll policies for millions of salaried workers and a flurry of lawsuits could follow asking courts to clarify the new standards.
Billion-Dollar Lawyer Desmarais Quits Firm to Troll for Patents
Bloomberg
June 2010
John Desmarais, a former top earner at the 1,500-lawyer firm Kirkland & Ellis, spent more than 15 years representing some of the world’s largest patent owners. Now he’s one of them, and he’s gearing up to slay the kinds of companies he once defended.
Billion-Dollar Lawyer Desmarais Quits Firm to Troll for Patents
Bloomberg
April 2010
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP raised $125 million in a bond offering to refinance existing bank debt, a rare action by a U.S. law firm, according to two people familiar with the transaction.
‘Medieval’ U.S. Law Firm Pay Structure Buckles
Bloomberg
March 2009
U.S. law firms, including Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Shearman & Sterling LLP and WolfBlock LLP, are abandoning tradition as they cut costs in the deepening recession by imposing merit pay, slashing salaries and generally putting an end to decades of associate entitlement.
Jungle Warfare
Law.com
November 2016
A massive environmental suit against Chevron has strained the capacity of the Ecuadorian legal system.
An Unquiet Death
Law.com
November 2006
Milberg Lawyers Leave Jail, Hit Links, Slopes; Reflect on Life
Bloomberg
March 2010
The four lawyers who ran Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, the firm that got investors $45 billion from securities lawsuits against publicly traded companies, are reacquainting themselves with life on the outside now that they’ve left prison.
Spreading the Blame: The So-Called Phantom Epidemic of Silicosis has Become a Hot Potato for the Plaintiffs Bar
American Lawyer
October 2005
Silica exposure was once hailed as 'the next big mass tort.' But in June federal district court judge Janis Graham Jack of Corpus Christi eviscerated the attorneys representing individuals with silicosis claims, accusing them of intentionally manufacturing a mass tort in federal multidistrict litigation.
Madison County’s Litigation Factory
Litigation
20014
After the steel mills closed, suing the Fortune 500 became the biggest local industry. An inside look at how it works.
Jungle Warfare: A Massive Environmental Suit Against Chevron has Strained the Capacity of the European Legal System
American Lawyer
November 2006
It is hard to imagine a more unlikely place for a high-stakes trial of a multibillion-dollar claim against a multinational oil company than Lago Agrio, Ecuador, population 35,000.