In this episode of ABOTA Speaks, host Jake Courtney talks with John Sweeney, the 2025 CAL-ABOTA Trial Lawyer of the Year, whose landmark civil rights cases in Los Angeles have shaped national conversations about policing, accountability, and justice.

Sweeney has tried some of the most emotionally charged and high-profile cases in California—cases involving police shootings, system failures, and families fighting for answers. He speaks candidly about what it means to step into the courtroom when the stakes could not be higher, and how leadership often looks like courage, preparation, and the willingness to tell a story that others are afraid to tell.

Their conversation explores:

• What real leadership looks like when lives, legacies, and public trust are on the line

• The pressures and responsibilities of trying emotionally charged civil rights cases

• Why courage, professionalism and civility remain indispensable even in the most hard-fought trials

Whether you’re drawn to trial strategy, courtroom leadership, or the deeper calling behind civil rights work, Sweeney delivers a powerful, uncompromising look at what it means to stand up for justice in the toughest cases.

Learn more about John Sweeney: https://thesweeneyfirm.com

and ABOTA: https://www.abota.org

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