Law Talk Will Soon Be Streaming In Video From The CBS Lake Charles Television Studio
Law Talk, the area’s only ask-a-lawyer call-in talk show, is moving to a new video platform with CBS Lake Charles. According to co-host Mark Judson, the former radio show will now be aired from the CBS Lake Charles television studio in a video streaming format.
Judson said that the show will be broadcast via an interactive streaming platform on the CBS Lake Charles Facebook Page and YouTube Channel. (At press time, the show’s live broadcast time was still to be determined.) Judson also said that CBS Lake Charles’ regular television programming will promote Law Talk with PSAs.
Jonathan “The Law Dawg” Fontenot and Mark Judson
The new video platform will allow viewers to send in their legal questions electronically via Facebook, says Judson, and, since the show will be internet-driven, the same episode will be viewable any time online. According to Judson, this will significantly increase access, as viewers will be able to tune in on their schedule as opposed to being confined to a live radio broadcast that can only be heard at a particular hour of a particular day.
Judson believes that the new format is a win-win deal. “We are thrilled to be partnering with CBS Lake Charles. (The station) does a great job of getting local programming and good information out to our community.”
Productions like “Poke Nation,” an informative sports magazine-type show about McNeese State University Athletics; “Sound Off,” the popular local sports talk show that covers all area athletics; and numerous PSAs that feature local organizations and happenings in our area are examples of the station’s commitment to the community.
“Law Talk, which answers viewers’ legal questions, addresses timely legal topics, and features special guests with useful legal information, fits right into the CBS Lake Charles line-up of local productions,” Judson said.
Law Talk is also hosted by Lake Charles attorney Jonathan “the Law Dawg” Fontenot. Fontenot says that he is excited about the increase in outreach that the new arrangement with CBS Lake Charles will produce.
“When we were on the radio, we would get two or three callers a show tops,” said Fontenot. “With the new streaming format, we can easily reach viewers from all over the region at any time and take as many questions as they can send us even when we are not on the air. So many people have questions and aren’t sure where to turn. We may not have all the answers on Law Talk, but we can certainly get viewers heading in the right direction.”
When asked about the transition from radio to TV, Fontenot quipped, “I’ve always been told that I have a face for radio, so I’m not sure how this is going to go over.”
Fontenot, a native of Cameron Parish and an avid outdoorsman, frequently dresses as though he’s just coming in from the marsh. “That’s probably because I’m just coming in from the marsh,” he says. When asked why his co-host, Judson, does not dress similarly, Fontenot says, “he’s an Ole Miss graduate; he doesn’t own camouflage and wouldn’t know what to do with it if he did.”
According to Fontenot, his and Judson’s contrasting styles, backgrounds and points of view help to make the show interesting. “I’m a former prosecutor and a pretty direct type of guy,” says Fontenot, “whereas ‘the director’ (Fontenot’s nickname for Judson) is more touchy-feely. For example, if you tell me you have a flat tire, I want you to tell me where you are so I can come and get you and change the tire. The director, on the other hand, will want to know how you had the flat tire and how the experience of having the flat tire made you feel.”
According to Fontenot, the practice of law often involves emotional expectations as well as legal expectations. “So, between the director and myself, we make for a pretty good lawyer.”
According to Judson, Law Talk fields a variety of questions on topics such as wills, inheritance issues, powers of attorney, land ownership issues, small claims disputes, child custody disputes, and even wildlife and fisheries questions. Fontenot says that the number-one recurring topic is still contractor disputes from hurricane repairs.
Law Talk is a public service of the SWLA Law Center, a nonprofit law firm that has been helping the under-resourced of SWLA gain access to justice since 1967.
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