On The Merits

Benjamin 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 to smaller litigation-only firms or, like Klubes, starting their own. In this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Klubes talks with Bloomberg Law reporter Tatyana Monnay about why he thinks these boutique firms are better suited to taking on the Trump administration than firms like Skadden, where he was a partner in the 2000s. "The issues that seemed to be driving a lot of Big Law capitulation were the transactional practices and the clients in those practices that believed that they were going to suffer as a result of retaliation by the Trump administration," he says. "That of course just isn't part of my practice or many boutique litigation practices." Klubes also says new technology, particularly AI, can mitigate some of the disadvantages of starting a small firm. "Document reviews are much more subject to technological innovation and reducing the need for a mass number of lawyers to be thrown at a case," he says. "AI can do it faster and typically, frankly, more efficiently." Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

If 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 funder Burford Capital announced that now, in addition to financing individual lawsuits, it also wants to buy minority stakes in entire law firms. This comes after the consulting giant KPMG won a license earlier this year to start its own legal practice in Arizona after the state loosened its rules on who can own firms. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Law reporters Emily R. Siegel and Justin Henry talk about the ethical risks that may be involved here and about why companies like Burford and KPMG think investing in law firms could be so lucrative for them. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The 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 according to Major, Lindsey & Africa partner and recruiter Kate Reder Sheikh, who wrote about the trend for Bloomberg Law. She spoke to Bloomberg Law editor Jessie Kokrda Kamens for our podcast, On The Merits, about why some associates are forgoing the riches of partnership and exit the Big Law universe. "The pay is going to be half of Big Law," she said, "but it's very appealing to a lot of people to stay at a firm but be doing work that they're genuinely excited to get out of bed and do in the morning." Reder Sheikh also shared her thoughts on the shifting power balance at Big Law firms, the rise of nonequity partnerships, and whether junior lawyers should expect their firms to match Milbank LLP's summer bonuses. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The 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 Technologies. Now, the firm and the startup are mired in a messy litigation battle against one another. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Law reporters Alex Ebert and Evan Ochsner get into the unusual agreement these two parties made with each other and why it ended so poorly. They also talk about the myriad challenges in the race to get into the the legal tech space. "Law firms aren't afraid to get creative in this space, especially with AI," Ochsner says. "They're worried about getting left behind." Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

A 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 they have any regrets? According to Bloomberg Law reporters Justin Henry and Elleiana Green, not really. They spoke with several former associates who say they stand by their decisions to, as one legal recruiter put it, "loudly quit." But that doesn't mean the road ahead will be easy. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, the two reporters talk about where these lawyers may land and whether they risk being blackballed from Big Law. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Fenwick & 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 blockbuster IPO and Fenwick made money not only advising its client on going public, but also through the firm's ownership of almost 900,000 shares in the design and collaboration software company, according to Bloomberg Law reporter Brian Baxter. The value of those shares more than tripled on July 31, Figma's first day of public trading. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Baxter talks about why this type of non-traditional compensation model can make some law firms outside Silicon Valley a bit squeamish. He also talks about how, despite the huge potential upsides, there are financial and ethical risks when a firm owns a stake in its own clients. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Susman 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 culture. "When we vote to take a case, it is a case of the firm," Kalpana Srinivasan, a managing partner at the firm, said on our podcast, On The Merits. "You hear sometimes there may be other places where there are a couple of partners who are trying to do contingent work or doing something that may be different from the traditional financial model of that firm, and then the success or failure of that matter can be very much tied to that partner. We want to take on risk as a firm." Srinivasan and her co-managing partner, Vineet Bhatia, spoke to Bloomberg Law editor Jessie Kokrda Kamens about their firm's unique culture that shies away from lateral hires, and also about why they bristle at being described as a "litigation boutique." This conversation is a part of our Leading Law Firms project, in which we score law firms using more than just traditional metrics like a firm’s bottom line. Throughout this month, we’ve been sharing interviews with the leaders of other firms like McDermott Will & Emery, Cahill Gordon & Reindel, and DLA Piper. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Neal Katyal and Gurbir Grewal, lawyers who command well over $2,000 an hour for their services, are slashing their rates to defend two New Jersey municipalities against a Justice Department lawsuit over their "sancutary city" policies. This on its own would be noteworthy, but what makes it even more interesting is that their law firm—Manhattan-based Milbank LLP—reached a deal with the White House earlier this year, pledging $100 million in free legal services on shared focus areas to avoid getting hit with a punitive executive order. On this episode of On The Merits, Bloomberg Law reporter Alex Ebert talks about why the Justice Department is suing these cities, just how big of a discount they're getting from Milbank, and whether the work could prompt the White House to rip up its the deal with the firm. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Junior lawyers can climb the ranks faster than ever before, according to DLA Piper leader Frank Ryan, but they also should think about checking their politics at the door. Associates "need to be mindful of over rotating into politics," Ryan, the firm's global co-chair, said in the latest edition of Bloomberg Law's On The Merits podcast. "We live in an overly partisan world. Yes, you have strongly held beliefs—and, yes, those are very important—but your job is to serve others. Whether you like that or don't like that, that is the nature of the profession." Ryan talked with Bloomberg Law editor Jessie Kokrda Kamens about why he thinks younger lawyers can stymie their career advancement by opining publicly on hot button issues. He also explained how his firm is looking to expand “in a much more thoughtful way" after growing to one of the largest in the world. This conversation is a part of our ⁠Leading Law Firms project⁠, in which we score law firms using more than just traditional metrics like a firm’s bottom line. Throughout this month, we’ve been sharing interviews with the leaders of other firms like McDermott Will & Emery and Cahill Gordon & Reindel. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Former Davis Polk associate Ryan Powers started writing op-eds for local newspapers earlier this year criticizing the Trump administration's agenda. A few months later, the Wall Street firm he worked for fired him. Powers' story is one example of how some Big Law lawyers have had to make tough career choices since the president retook office. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Powers speaks with Bloomberg Law reporter Tatyana Monnay about what happened and the purposefully ambiguous reason Davis Polk cited for his dismissal. The firm declined to comment for this podcast. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.