What Minimum Competence is and How to Support the Show

What is Minimum Competence?

At base, Minimum Competence is a podcast and companion newsletter. We have always intended for it to be a daily legal news source for legal professionals–but have found that a great many non-legal professionals enjoy it as well. 

Each week there is a newsletter and a podcast. The newsletter can be signed up for below and the podcast can be subscribed to wherever you find your podcasts: be that Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc. 

We also occasionally do single-topic “Max Min” Minimum Competence episodes, where we run down one legal concept in a bit more detail. A good example of that is our Max Min on Section 230. 

Who are you?

Thanks for asking. I’m Andrew Leahey, and I wear a lot of hats—tax and technology attorney, writer, columnist, and adjunct professor. I do some of those things better than others. I’m one-half of the team here at Minimum Competence. 

My writing is all about diving into the intersection of law, technology, and policy, which I explore in my weekly column Technically Speaking for Bloomberg Tax. I’m also a regular contributor to Forbes, Law360, and other platforms, where I tackle everything from tax policy to tech advancements and their impacts on the legal landscape.

When I’m not writing or practicing law, you’ll find me teaching at Drexel Kline School of Law, where I get to share my experiences with students who are just as passionate about the law as I am. 

I’m also pretty into tech outside of work, running esq.social, a Mastodon instance for legal pros to connect and chat.

How can I support the show?

As of right now, we have been in talks with some advertisers but haven’t made any decisions–we are reluctant to add anything to the show or the newsletter that could be considered “cruft.” As such, any advertising partnerships we undertake will need to be tailored to our audience and for products or services for interest. We’d like to stay away from selling foam mattresses.

If you want to support the show, the best ways in no particular order are:

1. Tell a friend.

2. If you have a law firm or legal services company, consider reaching out to us to “sponsor” a week of shows. We’ll mention you, highlight what you want highlighted, and direct listeners and readers as you wish. Reach out for inquiries. 

3. Become a paid subscriber to this Substack. 

4. Make an ongoing contribution via esq.social Patreon – all of the funds go back into the same slate of projects, including Minimum Competence. 

5. Make a one-time contribution via esq.social BuyMeACoffee – all of the funds similarly go back into the same slate of projects, including Minimum Competence. 

Engage in the community (consider signing up on esq.social, send in story ideas, etc.)