On The Merits

On 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 punitive executive orders. We previously heard from Yale Law School professor John Morley, who said these firms had no choice because an executive order could have kickstarted a devastating run on the partnership. Today's podcast guest sees it differently. David McGowan, a professor at the University of San Diego School of Law, says the firms that settled did so because they forgot the unique role they play in the American justice system and, instead, see themselves as more of business venture. "To me, the firms that have come to terms with the administration are signaling that, at their essence, they are financial services, financial adviser companies," he said. "I don't think that that is a given. I think that that is a choice." Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Goodwin 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 this episode of our news podcast, On The Merits, we hear from the firm's chair, Anthony McCusker, about how Goodwin managed this feat. He tells Bloomberg Law reporter Tatyana Monnay that he attributes the firm's recent success to a long-term strategic plan it developed called "Goodwin 2033." He also talks about where he thinks the legal industry is heading when it comes to tech—specifically, AI—and growing competition for law firms. "In a world where maybe the legal answer might be free, or quick to get into the world, clients are going to value that deep industry experience," McCusker said. "Clients are going to value that business advisory expertise that our lawyers bring. And so ensuring that we are preparing all of our people to be able to deliver that type of benefit to clients is one of the things we're really focused on." Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Eric Greenberg, General Counsel of Cox Media Group and author on generative AI's impact on law, shares his insights on the evolving relationship between law firms and in-house teams. He emphasizes that AI should be used for strategic collaboration beyond just speeding up processes. Greenberg advocates for interoperable AI tools that foster real-time cooperation. He also predicts a market polarization where elite and boutique firms thrive, urging lawyers to embrace AI innovations now to stay relevant.

President 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 White House deals with others remain unclear, according to Yale Law School professor John Morley. "The point here is to extract a demonstrative form of obedience," Morely said. He said he's already seen a "chilling effect" with firms less willing to take on matters pushing back against the administration than in Trump's first term. Morley, who has studied law firm collapses, does not blame the leaders of firms that struck deals with the White House to avoid punitive executive orders. Court wins for the four firms who have challenged orders targeting them so far show that those firms made the right, albeit risky, choice to fight. "I am absolutely certain that, if one of these executive orders survived a temporary injunction proceeding, that would be the death of the firm," Morley said. "Or at least I think the probability is very high." Morley spoke to Bloomberg Law reporter Roy Strom on this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, about what has become of Trump's attacks on Big Law and what would happen if the President resumed them. He also discussed how they've changed the attitudes of his students at Yale about which firms they may want to work at in the future. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

You 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 gone through.  The Wall Street firm, which this week announced a new managing co-partner, has lost nearly three dozen partners just this year. And not all of them have left because of the firm's controversial deal with President Trump for free legal services. On today's episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Law reporter Justin Henry explains why Cadwalader may be too specialized to thrive in today's full-service legal industry. He also talks about ways the firm can turn itself around without having to resort to a merger. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

In this discussion, Yale Law School professor Scott Shapiro shares his insights on how law firms can harness their vast reserves of proprietary data to build custom AI tools. He emphasizes that firms can achieve remarkable results by training AI on their own work product, enhancing legal reasoning, and speeding up processes. Shapiro describes how he and his students created a generative model using legal documents, addressing both excitement and anxieties around AI in legal education. He argues for the necessity of law firms to adopt tailored AI solutions for improved outcomes.

On 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 estate and energy partners with Latham & Watkins, and Michelle Kallen is an appellate and advocacy partner at Steptoe. "The latest number that I've seen is a $50 billion annual investment in the data center construction area by 2030," Stolte tells Roy Strom. Stolte talks about how his firm has organized to address the explosion of generative AI and the infrastructure that supports it. Latham real estate partner Rechtin talks about the unique skill set that made him the perfect fit for the niche pursuit, and Steptoe's Kallen tells Jessie Kokrda Kamens about the rapidly evolving regulatory challenges that a robust infrastructure practice faces. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The 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. "I think it's going to be a big mistake for law schools to continue to admit large law school class sizes," she said, "when we can predict with some pretty good certainty that GenAI is changing the business models of firms and their hiring practices." Gray spoke to Bloomberg Law editor Jessie Kokrda Kamens on our podcast, On The Merits, about the ways AI will change the jobs of entry-level attorneys. The former Quarles & Brady recruiter also discussed what law students should be doing right now to get ready for a job market that's about to get much more competitive. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

It'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 the last six months provides one data point. On average, law firms that settled subsequently lost attorneys more attorneys than those who fought the president in court, according to data obtained by Bloomberg Law columnist David Lat. But there are some firms that buck this overall trend as well as plenty of caveats. Lat joins our podcast, On The Merits, to walk us through this data on law firm headcounts since Trump started targeting law firms in the spring. Lat also talks about the lawyer moves that will likely happen later this year that could give us an even clearer picture of how firms are doing and what effect the Trump deals are having on them. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Delaware 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 involved in that process. That's raising some eyebrows because Wachtell is also a go-to firm for companies in Delaware, often called the corporate capital of the world. Lawyers from other prominent firms, like Wilson Sonsini and Richards, Layton & Finger, also helped shape the law. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Law's Jennifer Kay and Roy Strom talk about what firms like Wachtell did in Delaware, what they stand to gain, and what all this has to do with Elon Musk's so-called "DExit." Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.