On The Merits

Earlier this year, our companion podcast, [Un]Common Law, published a series looking at the experiences of African American lawyers and judges working in the legal industry—which, to this day, remains one of the least diverse professions in America. Now, more than a year since George Floyd’s murder, and the wave of soul-searching in the legal industry that followed, 16 of the nation’s largest law firms, nine of which are in the Am Law 200, still do not have even a single Black partner according to a report from the American Lawyer.Back in January we interviewed former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, now a partner with Washington DC-based, Covington & Burling as part of [Un]Common Law's “Black Lawyers Speak Series," and today we are releasing the full Q&A as a bonus episode from that series. 

On this holiday weekend edition of Bloomberg Law's legal news podcast, On The Merits, we hear about a federal judge who likes to pepper his opinions with references to Taylor Swift, "The Lion King," and other bits of pop culture ephemera.Carmen Castro-Pagan, an editor on our Legal Intelligence desk, talks about the creative writing style of Judge Joshua D. Wolson and about why some judges like to spice up their opinions this way.

Entertainment law is not quite as glitzy or glamorous as you may have heard. That’s especially the case for music industry lawyers who work with up and coming hip hop artists.On our weekly legal news podcast, On The Merits, we learn what it’s really like behind the music from lawyers Desiree Talley, Gerard Anthony, Karl Fowlkes, and Tiffany Ballard. They say attorneys who represent artists must be hawk-like in guarding their clients’ intellectual property rights.The attorneys talk about fending off predatory executives and educating their own clients’ on the legal issues they face. They also explain how racial issues are never far from their minds, especially given the music industry’s legacy of mistreating black artists.

On this special weekend episode of On The Merits, reporter Holly Barker reads her story about what happens to aging lawyers when they get dementia, and what happens to their clients. Click here to read the story in print.

There are currently more than 160,000 practicing lawyers over the age of 65 in the U.S., a 50% increase from just a decade ago. But this age group is also more at risk of Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. That can have serious consequences for a lawyer's clients, especially if that attorney is a solo practitioner or works in a small firm.On this episode of On The Merits, Bloomberg Law reporter Holly Barker talks about her recent reporting on lawyers that are unaware of, or are in denial about, their own cognitive impairment. Barker says most state bars are struggling to figure out how to help these attorneys gracefully exit the profession while protecting their clients.

Bloomberg Law columnist Vivia Chen recently wrote about a failed attempt to rank law schools based on diversity. She started her column by saying "old White men" need to get out of the way on issues like this.That line elicited some passionate responses from several Bloomberg Law readers. On this bonus weekend episode of our podcast, On The Merits, we talk to Vivia about the responses, and also hear from one of an "old White man" who wrote to her about the column.

Just accessing, let alone paying for, mental health care was difficult in the U.S. even before the pandemic. Now, especially for people suffering from "long Covid," the situation is dire.On this episode of our weekly legal news podcast, On The Merits, we speak with Bloomberg Law's Lydia Wheeler about her latest reporting that examines the financial and policy implications for Covid long haulers. She explains why the protracted version of the Covid-19 disease is causing a spike in demand for mental health care and what types of policy changes are on the horizon to help the U.S. meet demand.

The holders of H-1B visas, who work in tech, science, and other highly skilled occupations, can bring their children to the U.S. legally. However, as soon as those children turn 21, they lose their dependent status and risk deportation to a country they may have no recollection of ever having lived in.On this episode of On The Merits, Bloomberg Law's Genevieve Douglas talks about the difficult choices these so-called "legal Dreamers" have to make and the bill, which passed in the House, that could solve their problems.

The ADA requires employers to give disabled workers "reasonable accommodations" in the workplace. But, when it comes to disputes over work-from-home arrangements, employers almost always won with the argument that the job can't be performed remotely.That, as you might imagine, has changed.On this episode of our weekly legal news podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Law's Erin Mulvaney tells us about how the pandemic may have given employees the upper hand in suits over working from home. (2:50)Also, we hear from Bloomberg Law editor Rob Tricchinelli about how an aspiring condiment impresario was able to salvage a partial victory on appeal after losing big in his suit against a corporate ketchup giant. (13:10)

Federal appellate court judges rarely speak to the press. Fortunately for us, Judge Evan Wallach, a nine-year veteran of the U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, who recently announced he will be taking senior status at the end of May, granted an exclusive interview to Bloomberg Law's Perry Cooper.On this episode of On The Merits, Cooper talks about her surprise at how candid Wallach was during their interview, and also about the nakedly partisan reason Wallach gave for why he's taking senior status, a form of semi-retirement, now. (3:05)Also, Bloomberg Law editor Carmen Castro-Pagan tells us about another judge who, in dismissing what he saw as a frivolous lawsuit, leaned hard on the boxing metaphors. Really hard. (14:42)