BEL AIR—This week I caught up with an old friend, who is one of the most charming and well known personalities on TV today. Lisa Bloom is also one of the most respected attorneys across the nation and in between her many duties as a lawyer, TV legal analyst and loving mother, the beautiful attorney spoke with us about some of the cases we are seeing in the news and her own law practice.

Bloom is a daily panelist on “The Insider,” which airs on CBS at 7:30 p.m. in Los Angeles and is nationally syndicated, she’s a CBS Legal Analyst who frequently appears on “The Early Show,” and a CNN Legal Analyst who frequently appears on “Anderson Cooper 360,” “Jane Velez-Mitchell’s Issues” and other CNN and HLN shows.

Lisa adds, “I’m also a regular on the ”˜Dr Phil Show.’ I average three TV shows per day.” The talented legal expert also has a forthcoming book, which she describes as, “Think, all about empowering women and girls to use our brains,” said Bloom.

Bloom also tells Canyon News exclusively, “OK, Tommy, you forced it out of me, I’ll give it up. I do have two great shows in development, which I’ll be hosting if and when they come to pass I post my daily appearances on Twitter. You’ll have to become more tech savvy and follow me.”

Q-Lisa, what types of cases does your firm represent?

A-“I have a passion for justice. That means I represent people in with many different kinds of legal problems: accident victims, people who were discriminated against, people who have been arrested, those with divorce and child custody problems, celebrities, people in the middle of media firestorms. You name it! TheBloomFirm.com is a general practice, and if we can’t help you, we can usually find you someone in our nationwide network of attorneys who can. So anyone seeking justice should contact me via our website, TheBloomFirm.com. We want to help!”

Q-Your mother is the esteemed Gloria Allred, one of the most prominent and respected victims’ rights attorneys on the planet, certainly in the U.S. Was it her distinguished work in this field that made you want to become an attorney?

A-“Actually, as a kid I saw how hard my mom studied in law school, and the long hours she worked as an attorney and I thought, I’ll do anything exceptthat! But as I got older college age, positively ancient! I knew I wanted to help people like child sexual abuse and rape victims, and becoming a lawyer was the best way to accomplish that. I also discovered one of the great secrets of life: that if you love what you do, it’s not work. The hours may be long, but the day flies by. As an attorney, my mother has always been my role model. She is the most principled attorney I’ve ever known. Unlike all the others, she only takes cases and positions she truly believes in, and she fights like hell, Tommy, sometimes for decades, for her clients. They are lucky to have her.”

Q-Lisa, you don’t have to name names, but have you had any recent cases that shocked you, or have you become so desensitized by the system and the crimes people commit today?

A-“One of the things that shocks me is how harsh we are to juvenile offenders in America. We are completely out of step with the rest of the civilized world. Amnesty International reports that the U.S. has over 2,000 inmates serving life without parole sentences for crimes committed as minors. Guess how many in the rest of the world? 12! We don’t have a juvenile crime wave. Juvenile crime is down significantly from the 1980s. Kids are not adults in the civil law. They can’t drink, drive, vote, hold a full time job, sign contracts or live independently. So why do we try them as adults in the criminal law? It’s barbaric. If they commit a major violent crime they should face years behind bars, but not life without parole. They should have a chance to make an argument to the parole board years or decades later that they have reformed. Most of us middle aged folks are very different than we were as teenagers.”

Q-You were Joy Behar’s guest on her show tonight (Tuesday) discussing Joran Vander Sloot’s case in Peru. Do you believe he’ll be punished for this crime or do you think he’ll be released as he was in Aruba?

A-“I think Peru has him cold. He left too much forensic evidence behind, the body was in his room, there’s video of him going to and coming from the room he fled. Aruba had a much harder time proving a case against him, because a body was never found, and they had no crime scene.”

Q-Do you believe people who commit sex crimes can be rehabilitated, and what should we do with sexual and violent offenders in our country?

A-“There is no evidence that child predators can be reformed, unfortunately. They have high rates of recidivism. Therefore, they must serve long sentences on the first offense. I believe prisons are for those who I don’t want living next door to me or you. Violent predators must be kept away from us. I’d decriminalize prostitution and marijuana, though, and have more social programs to get these people help. Prison is the wrong place for them, and is an insanely expensive way for us to deal with these social problems.”

Q-What advice do you give people who want to make a difference and change the laws in our nation and also locally by the states, regarding domestic violence and sex crimes?

A-“Let’s raise our kids to never accept verbal, physical or sexual abuse to get out of a relationship at the first sign of that kind of trouble. Let’s raise our boys to respect girls. Let’s all report any suspected abuse. As for changing the laws, contact your congressperson. Be brief, polite and factual about the change you’d like to see. They work for us. Organize your friends and neighbors to get on board.”

My friend Lisa is single, but very much in love with her boy friend Braden Pollock. You can learn more about her by following her on Twittertwitter.com/LisaBloom, and Facebook, facebook.com/Lisa.R.Bloom.