It's standard for law firms to tout their lawyers' expertise on the big legal questions of the day. Usually though, the day in question didn't pass by more than 230 years ago. “ How to Build a Nation in 15 Weeks, ” a free podcast started by Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler attorneys Jon Hatch and Harry Sandick, is dedicated to exploring the hottest topics and reliving the debates of the 1787 Constitutional Convention through a modern lens. Self-proclaimed amateur historians Hatch and Sandick developed the idea for the podcast after stumbling on a coincidence that had nothing to do with the Constitution. “I heard that on the calendar this year, the days of the week match up with the calendar in 1787,” said Sandick, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. After becoming deputy chief of appeals in the Southern District in 2004, Sandick briefly joined Jenner & Block before heading to Schulte Roth & Zabel in 2007. He then jumped to New York-based Patterson Belknap three years later, joining as a partner in its litigation department and white-collar defense and investigations team. Hatch, a litigator with a broad practice whose title is counsel at the firm, specializes in antitrust matters, white-collar cases and investigations. Each week the two lawyers, along with other Patterson Belknap attorneys, record one or two episodes of their podcast that mirror debates that took place the same week 231 years ago at the convention. For example, since on May 30, the delegates were debating the Virginia Plan at the convention in Philadelphia, the show for that day is dedicated to that topic and its current place in the U.S. political and legal landscape, Sandick explained. “[We] really try to keep the focus on what was discussed that week and then try to situate it in constitutional law, issues of political theory [and] how well has this worked out in practice,” said Sandick. They also explore ideas proposed at the convention that the delegates rejected, and imagine what the U.S. legal and political landscape would look like if the ideas were adopted. Sandick said the discussions help to inform current debates around issues like the president's pardon power and the process of impeachment. “They are of particular interest now, because the current political environment raises a lot of questions about how our government is supposed to work and what the norms are that people should follow,” he added. It is this renewed public interest in understanding how America came to be that Sandick said made 180-attorney Patterson Belknap get behind Sandick and Hatch's podcast. “The firm was very enthusiastic I think because they realize, in part, that this is an opportunity for lawyers here to play some small part in this ongoing national dialogue we have about our Constitution and our government,” Sandick said. The podcast will run until September, when the Constitutional Convention ended over two centuries ago. “ How to Build a Nation in 15 Weeks ” is available for download on iTunes.