Bite-Sized Business Law: Beyond the headlines with Amy Martella

In the busy world of business law, where the daily decisions and corporate behavior shape our economy and influence our lives, it can be difficult to unpack the stories that really matter. Bite-Sized Business Law aims to do just that, finding the top stories, and breaking them down with host Amy Martella. As the Executive Director of the Corporate Law Center at Fordham University School of Law, Amy guides listeners through thought-provoking events that bridge the gap between academic scholarship, the corporate landscape, and the “real-world”.

Amy’s passion for dissecting business law issues finds a dynamic platform in the podcast, Bite-Sized Business Law. Through engaging interviews with corporate attorneys, industry experts, and scholars, she brings to light the multifaceted impacts of corporate decisions on society. In this exclusive interview, Amy shares her journey from an avid podcast listener to a compelling host, her motivations behind creating a business law podcast, and the exciting, sometimes controversial, insights her series aims to deliver. Join us as we explore the mind behind Bite-Sized Business Law and gain a glimpse into the future trends that will shape the corporate world.

Can you introduce yourself and give us an overview of your podcast?

Hi, I’m Amy Martella and I am the Executive Director of the Corporate Law Center at Fordham University School of Law. In that role, I develop conferences, events, and symposia that bring together scholars, professionals, policymakers, and students to study, discuss and debate current issues and perennial questions in business and financial law.

I’m also the creator and host of the Bite-Sized Business Law podcast, which tackles compelling business law issues through interviews with corporate attorneys, industry experts, public figures, and business law scholars. My own background includes a wide range of legal experience at small and large law firms, tech start-up companies, and as a law clerk on three different federal courts. I’ve got a J.D. from Fordham Law School and a B.A. from Boston College.

Amy Martella

What was the first podcast you ever listened to, and how did it influence your interest in podcasting?

At the risk of sounding terribly basic, the first podcast I ever listened to was Serial –Adnan Syed. As a young mom with babies and toddlers underfoot, I had no time to sit down anymore, and I found this medium so easy to listen to on the go. From the moment I heard Sarah Koenig’s voice, I was hooked. Podcasts are now a regular part of my day at one point or another.

What motivated you to start a podcast focused on business law?

As the Executive Director of the Corporate Law Center at Fordham Law School, I’m constantly convening events, lectures, roundtables, conferences, and debates to study and discuss business and financial law. Our students, faculty, and alumni really like the work we do, but we knew we could elevate it to an even broader audience via podcasting.

Corporations have a huge impact on society, from the economy to politics to the tech we use to shaping our government’s foreign policy. And you don’t have to be a lawyer or an industry insider to have a vested interest in what’s happening in the business world. But when you open the newspaper or read traditional media, you often get a take that either doesn’t examine the issue deeply enough or is only what the finance industry wants you to know. Our expert guests, including scholars, journalists, corporate lawyers, authors, and business leaders, provide deeper, albeit often controversial, insights that you won’t get from other sources. My goal is to wrestle with ideas and question commonly held assumptions about the way corporations affect our daily lives. I think Bite-Sized Business Law does a solid job of going beyond informing our audience to give them a true understanding of what motivates corporate behavior, moves the markets, and makes the world go ‘round.

Which podcasts do you draw inspiration from, particularly in the legal and business space?

I try not to miss a Daily if it relates to business or politics. What I like about The Daily is how the short length drives home the most important aspects of an issue and the reporting done almost in real-time proximity to the “event” shows me what people’s knee-jerk reactions tend to be. That allows me to formulate deeper questions and challenge initial assumptions about these events. I also love Planet Money and the way it demonstrates that almost any issue is somehow related to our economy. Another, perhaps guilty pleasure, podcast that I listen to is The Prosecutors, which is legal but also true-crime focused. The hosts unabashedly draw on their own professional backgrounds which serves as a good reminder to me: even though I’m interviewing experts, I have my own expertise as a lawyer that I can add to the conversation.

What are you most excited for listeners to hear in your current series?

I’m always excited when the Corporate Law Center Faculty Director, Richard Squire, comes on the show. He’s not only brilliant, but he’s funny and super engaging to listen to. We have an upcoming episode where I pose the question to him: should Sam Bankman-Fried spend even one day behind bars? This episode questions everything we thought we knew about how we punish white-collar crime in America and whether there are alternative ways to do it. It’s a super fascinating question, and I can’t wait to hear what our listeners think.

If readers can start on one episode of Bite-Sized Business Law where should they start?

Is Elon Musk Overpaid at Tesla? Interplanetary Warfare: Mars vs. Delaware.

Which future business law trends discussed in your series are you most eager to see come to life?

So many! Artificial Agents in the boardroom, meaning having an AI robot sit as a member on a corporate board. That issue was discussed on this episode, and I’m convinced artificial agents are coming soon to a boardroom near you.

Greater transparency into litigation funding arrangements which, as of now, require almost zero disclosure. The private equity spigots have been turned on full blast and they’re flooding mass tort litigations with money, which creates real risks, from sanction evasion to bankrupting viable corporations. That issue was discussed here and I’m looking forward to seeing how it evolves in the near future.

Where is Bitcoin headed and how many other digital coins will get ETFs? This is a fascinating ride to be on, as my guest Anthony Scaramucci explains in this episode.

I’m also eager to see the global corporate community rise to the 21st century challenges of promoting stability in a world rife with geopolitical tension and taking steps to stem certain global risks like election interference, even if it negatively impacts share prices. That issue will be discussed on an upcoming episode celebrating 80 years of Bretton Woods and calling for a new world geo-economic order.

Listen to Bite-Sized Business Law on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other popular podcast apps >>