On The Merits
tekijä: Bloomberg Law
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Elite Law Firms Are Leaving Their Rivals Behind
Elite Law Firms Are Leaving Their Rivals Behind
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On The Merits takes you behind the scenes of the legal world and the inner workings of law firms. This podcast offers in-depth analysis on the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the business of law and the legal industry overall. You'll gain insights into how the latest government actions, policies, and business developments are impacting the industry and hear from leading attorneys, legal scholars, industry experts, and our own team of journalists as they share their perspectives on the forces driving change.
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Uusimmat 50 jaksoa 320 jaksosta
- Elite Law Firms Are Leaving Their Rivals Behind · 19 minA new study from Chambers and Partners reveals that the most elite, fastest-growing law firms, such as Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins, are seeing a compounding of their…
- When Winston Met Taylor: US-UK Firm's Chief Looks to Bridge Gaps · 24 min"Culture" is a popular buzzword for law firm leaders describing in vague terms what sets them apart from their rivals. For Winston Taylor's Steve D'Amore, it's a key part of…
- Baker McKenzie Head: Law Firm Billing Should Be Ready to Move On · 17 minAI is changing the way the legal profession operates and everyone — lawyers, law firms, and especially clients — needs to look past the institution that is the billable hour…
- Sidley Leader Yvette Ostolaza Shares Growth Strategy · 19 minSidley Austin LLP crossed $3.74 billion in revenue last year and has its sights set on $4 billion — but according to its top leader, the number is a byproduct, not the goal. The…
- K&L Gates Goes on the Offensive in the Legal Talent Wars · 14 minWhen it comes to winning the legal industry talent wars, the best defense is a good offense, according to K&L Gates' global managing partner, Stacy Ackermann. Her firm is "going…
- Say Goodbye to the Era of Never Changing Law School Rankings · 13 minFor a long time, the top dozen or so law schools in US News & World Report's annual rankings stayed remarkably consistent, with Yale for example holding the top spot every year…
- John Quinn Warns of Generational Clash When Firms Get Investors · 14 minLaw firms bringing in outside investors is one of the hottest topics in the legal industry right now. John Quinn, founder and chairman of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, says…
- Why Polsinelli Lawyers Won't Get Billing Credit for AI Training · 18 minThe chair of law firm Polsinelli says he doesn't want his attorneys—and especially not his junior attorneys—to use AI legal tools grudgingly. But the firm will not be giving…
- AI Poses Private Capital Opportunity, Mayer Brown Chief Says · 18 minOutside investors circling law firms may help some shoulder the growing costs of artificial intelligence, according to Mayer Brown's Jon Van Gorp. "I could see private capital…
- Trump's U-Turn in Big Law Fight Shows White House Fury for Firms · 13 minThe Trump administration surprised everyone last week when it first dropped an appeal in its fight against four law firms and then, less than 24 hours later, reversed itself and…
- Goldstein Still Has Cards to Play Even After Guilty Verdict · 13 minProminent lawyer and high-stakes poker player Tom Goldstein was convicted on some, but not all, of the 16 criminal charges against him when his federal trial wrapped up this…
- Law Firms Can't Afford to Miss Out on Data Center Boom · 15 minLarge law firms are going all in on the nationwide data center build out—nevermind that lurking AI bubble. On today's episode of our podcast, On The Merits, we hear from…
- DEI at Law Firms Remains Live Issue a Year Into Trump's Term · 14 minIt's been over a year since Donald Trump returned to the White House and almost immediately made it a priority to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at large law…
- AI and the Coming Mismatch Between Law Schools and Law Firms · 9 minThe future lawyers of America were taking the LSAT this weekend. But, by the time they get their JDs in a few years, law firms may have replaced many of their entry-level…
- New Epstein Revelations Bring Massive Upheaval at Paul Weiss · 10 minLegal giant Paul Weiss is getting a new chairman for the first time in nearly two decades, but this transition is definitely not happening in a planned, orderly fashion. Brad…
- Even Cravath, Wachtell Must Now Fight 'the Talent Wars' · 16 minThere was a time when elite Wall Street firms such as Cravath or Wachtell seemed to rise above the lateral tug-of-war among other firms. That doesn't appear to be the case any…
- Litigation Financiers Won't Be Ambushed Again on Capitol Hill · 13 minLast year, the litigation finance industry was nearly taxed out of existence by a measure Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) tried to attach to a big tax and spending package. The…
- Goldstein to Put His Cards on the Table at His Criminal Trial · 14 minThe trial of Tom Goldstein, the elite Supreme Court advocate and co-founder of SCOTUSBlog who was charged with criminal tax evasion after years of playing ultra-high-stakes poker…
- Latham & Watkins M&A Leaders on the 'Year of the Mega Deal' · 14 minLatham & Watkins beat out its rival Kirkland & Ellis in our annual League Tables ranking of M&A activity for 2025. And on this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, the firm's…
- Law Firm Crackup Comes Amid Anti-Plaintiff Mood in Delaware · 14 minThere's never a good time for a law firm to see one of its most prominent partners leave and take several attorneys with him. But this is especially bad timing for Bernstein…
- Trump, Mergers and AI: A Tumultuous Year in the World of Big Law · 17 minIt's not a very controversial statement to say that Donald Trump's attacks on law firms were the biggest Big Law story in 2025. But, according to the guests on today's episode of…
- Cadwalader Loses Its Long Struggle to Stay Independent · 15 minNew York's oldest law firm answered the outstanding question surrounding its ability to remain independent with a resounding no when it announced a merger with Hogan Lovells last…
- Everyone Hates Early Law School Recruiting, But Everyone Does It · 24 minIt's become common now for firms to recruit elite law students even before the end of their first semester of their first year of law school, something that would have been…
- Client Relationships Suffer as Lawyers Put Billing on Autopilot · 16 minNow is the time of year when many law firms pressure their attorneys to get their clients to pay bills before the end of the year. It's something that clients loathe just as much…
- OpenAI's GC Chang Shares Insights from 'Extremely Stressful' Job · 17 minOpenAI is a relatively new tech startup with the litigation demands of a massive Fortune 500 company. That means that Che Chang, its general counsel, has had to scale up his…
- Brad Karp Heckling Shows Anger at Law Firms Hasn't Faded · 14 minIt's been a difficult year for Brad Karp, chair of Wall Street law firm Paul Weiss. In January he suffered a heart attack and then, a few months later, he chose to strike a pro…
- McDermott Wooing Outside Investment May Portend Industry Shakeup · 12 minAs Big Law looks for ways to scale up, McDermott Will & Schulte says it's looking at outside investment in the firm—a move that could set off a paradigm shift in how law firms…
- Top In-House Lawyers Absorb More Responsibility, Much More Money · 15 minThe top lawyers at the largest publicly traded companies in America are being asked to wear many hats at once—and also getting paid handsomely to do so. That's the takeaway from…
- Ropes & Gray Is Exception, Not the Rule, for Non-Equity Partners · 17 minMost of the biggest law firms in the US have a two-tier partnership model, where some partners have equity in the firm while others don't. So it was a bit of a surprise when the…
- Firms That Did Trump Deals Forgot They Were Law Firms, Says Prof · 20 minOn this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, we take another look at the reasoning behind the deals law firms struck with the Trump administration earlier this year to avoid…
- Goodwin Chair on Revenue Rise and New Competitors for Law Firms · 14 minGoodwin Procter made a splash this month when it announced it had raked in $2.7 billion in the 2025 fiscal year, a record for the firm and a 12% gain from the previous year On…
- What a GC Wants to Hear From His Outside Law Firms on AI · 14 minToday's guest on our podcast, On The Merits, is a general counsel who is looking for more from the law firms trying to win his business. Specifically, he wants to hear more about…
- Trump Attacks Could Have Killed Law Firms, Yale Prof Says · 14 minPresident Donald Trump's attacks on law firms have hand their intended impact, even as courts shoot down executive orders against some as unconstitutional and the details of…
- NY's Oldest Law Firm Loses Key Partners, Faces Tough Choices · 12 minYou don't get to be the oldest law firm in New York without weathering some rough spots. But this may be one of the most difficult periods Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has ever…
- Every Law Firm Should Build Their Own AI, Yale Professor Says · 12 minLaw firms "have gold sitting on their hard drives," according to Yale Law School professor Scott Shapiro. Shapiro has enthusiastically embraced the use of generative AI in his…
- Data Center Explosion Hands Big Law Cross-Practice Opportunities · 19 minOn today's episode of On The Merits we hear from three lawyers working in the white hot world of data center projects. Mike Rechtin and Justin Stolte are, respectively, real…
- Why Law Schools are Making a 'Big Mistake' in AI Era Admissions · 12 minThe number of law students who graduated in the class of 2024 spiked compared to previous years. That worries Nikia Gray, the head of the National Association for Law Placement…
- Trump's Law Firm Deals May Have Hurt Headcount: David Lat · 15 minIt's still not clear what, if any, fallout the law firms that struck pro bono deals with President Donald Trump earlier this year will face. But analyzing attorney movements over…
- Wachtell Has Its Fingerprints All Over Delaware Law Changes · 14 minDelaware recently changed its corporate laws to make them more favorable to companies being sued by their shareholders and the mega-firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz was deeply…
- King & Spalding 2,400 Hour Rule Is Just the Norm, Recruiter Says · 13 minA memo from law firm King & Spalding to its associates saying they need to log 2,400 "productive hours" a year surprised some in the legal world. But today's guest on our…
- Chicago Law Dean on AI: You Won't Be Able to Entirely Avoid It · 15 minLike most schools worried about academic integrity, the University of Chicago Law School used to discourage its first-year students from using generative AI but now it has crept…
- What's KPMG Up to With Its New Law Firm in Arizona? · 13 minThe Big Four accounting firm KPMG has taken advantage of relaxed rules in Arizona to start a law firm there, but the company has broader ambitions outside of the state. KPMG…
- Big Law United to Save Lucrative White Collar Defense Work · 16 minThe largest law firms in the country are fiercely competitive, so it's notable when nearly 40 of them agree to sign on to a legal brief. That's what happened in an appellate case…
- Ex-Skadden Partner Talks Taking on Trump With New Solo Firm · 14 minBenjamin Klubes is a Big Law expat who just founded his own litigation-focused boutique firm—and he's not alone. Other former partners at larger law firms are now either moving…
- Law Firms Look Like Enticing Targets for Outside Investors · 11 minIf it wasn't already clear, it is now: well-capitalized investors want a piece of the US legal industry. The latest example of this trend came this week when the litigation…
- Why Do More Big Law Lawyers Want Off the Partner Track? · 13 minThe allure of making partner doesn't hold the same appeal that it used to for many Big Law associates. Some of them are swallowing a pay cut to jump to a smaller firm. That's…
- When a Law Firm's Tech Venture Goes South, the Lawsuits Fly · 13 minThe law firm Norton Rose Fullbright thought it was taking a great leap forward when it brought on two partners and acquired the legal tech startup they co-founded, NMBL…
- Did Associates Who Quit Over Trump Deals Burn Big Law Bridges? · 15 minA wave of associate lawyers resigned in protest from their Big Law jobs earlier this year after their firms struck controversial pro bono deals with the Trump administration. Do…
- Risky Bet on Figma Paid Off Huge for Silicon Valley Law Firm · 11 minFenwick & West's decision to seek equity in one of its tech startup clients is now, with the benefit of hindsight, looking like a stroke of genius. Figma Inc. last week had a…
- Why Susman Godfrey Lawyers Are Happy to Tackle Risky Litigation · 17 minSusman Godfrey has shown it's willing to take on high-risk, high-reward lawsuits with unconventional fee structures. Its leaders say this risk appetite is ingrained in the firm's…
