Welcome!

With more than 44,000 total subscribers, Law Dork is a go-to source for legal reporting and analysis about some of the biggest news stories of our day, from the Supreme Court to trial courts. Now, as Donald Trump prepares to return to power, Law Dork will also be covering the legal story of the new Trump administration — choices, policies, challenges, responses, and effects.

In addition to wide-ranging coverage of the courts and the new administration, Law Dork — by me, Chris Geidner — is regularly ahead of the curve on stories relating to LGBTQ issues and criminal justice questions due to my longtime expertise in covering those areas. Law Dork also extensively covers post-Roe, immigration, and democracy developments.

For nearly 15 years, I have been one of the key reporters in the country covering the Supreme Court and our legal system. Part of that coverage expertise has always included tracking and covering cases long before they get to the Supreme Court. I also have extensive political reporting experience, having covered aspects of the past three presidential administrations from D.C. Before that, while in law school, I was editor-in-chief of the Ohio State Law Journal. It was there that I also began blogging back in 2003 — calling it Law Dork.

Since 2022, I have published my unique brand of in-depth, skeptical legal journalism here at the latest iteration of Law Dork. Join the tens of thousands of people who already subscribed to Law Dork to help them traverse the complex legal landscape of our moment by subscribing now.

What should you expect from Law Dork?

With my newsletter, I’m bringing together the many lessons I’ve learned over the past three decades, including my time in law school and as a practicing lawyer, to help make sense of the world today — an uncertain time with important consequences for the way we live our lives and the way our government operates.

This period is pivotal to the way our legal system, our politicians, and, ultimately, our country operate. This newsletter will cover those legal developments — from the Supreme Court to the incoming Trump administration to lawmakers and public policy advocates and into the states — by highlighting what’s happening, talking with the key decision-makers and those working to influence them, examining stories that others are missing, and analyzing what matters and why.

I need your help.

This is my full-time job.

I am doing this independently. I am covering the stories that I think matter and talking with the people who I think are essential to understanding what’s happening.

I need subscribers and, ultimately, I need paid subscribers — because journalism costs money.

Pay if you can do so to support my work.

What if you’d like to do more to support my work?

Taking a page from others, I would certainly be open to more substantial financial support for this work. Please email me.

Law Dork in the media — and at your event

In conjunction with publishing Law Dork, I am often asked by others to discuss the topics that I cover on their shows and at their events.

In my time as national journalist, I’ve been a guest on TV and radio and podcasts — including on CNN, C-SPAN, MSNBC, and NPR. I’ve served as a panelist, moderator, and guest speaker at conferences and events across the country, from universities to businesses to nonprofit organizations.

I am asked to talk about the Supreme Court and its cases and justices; the law and related political and policy questions; LGBTQ, criminal justice, post-Roe, and democracy issues. I also am often asked to discuss the media landscape.

To book me on your show or bring me to your event to speak or participate in a panel discussion, please fill out this form or email me.

How did I get here?

I’m Chris Geidner (obviously), and I’ve been writing or in journalism, in one form or another, for nearly 25 years. I’ve been recognized with national awards for my reporting, including winning a GLAAD Media Award and being named NLGJA’s Journalist of the Year and several other NLGJA awards over the years.

Back in early 2000, I began my first full-time journalism job, working as a copy editor at the local newspaper in Warren, Ohio. Over the next two years, I performed many roles there, ending as the editorial writer at the paper, the Tribune Chronicle. Starting blogging while in law school enmeshed me in the online world and ultimately led me here today. In the time since, I’ve written thousands of posts, articles, columns, and more reporting on and analyzing some of the biggest issues of the past 20 years. In my work, I’ve done my best to share my understanding of the legal and political questions that have confronted us and — most importantly — tell the stories I’ve found.

I spent a significant amount of that time as the legal editor and Supreme Court correspondent at BuzzFeed News. I’ve also written for The New York Times and MSNBC, among other national publications, and worked at Metro Weekly, The Appeal, and Grid News. I’ve appeared on CNN and MSNBC, among other stations and shows, to discuss the Supreme Court. As part of my work, I often have covered the ins and outs of state and local developments with extensive, in-depth beat reporting. I spent two years working wholly on criminal legal issues, helping to educate myself on the complex set of issues and decision-makers that fuel our carceral system.

I’ve conducted interviews with some of the biggest newsmakers in the world, including former President Barack Obama and many Cabinet members, lawmakers, and state officials. My Twitter feed and other social media platforms have been must-read spaces for legal and political news for the past 15 years.

Before all of that, I practiced law in Ohio, both for a private firm and in state government, and worked at the newspaper before law school.

To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.