On The Merits

David Horton, a law professor at the University of California, Davis and the mind behind the term 'infinite arbitration,' dives deep into the troubling world of arbitration clauses. He discusses the recent Disney case, where a widower faced forced arbitration amidst a wrongful death suit. Horton reveals how these clauses, embedded in online agreements, can strip consumers of their rights. He also outlines the Supreme Court's role in perpetuating these practices and speculates on future legal challenges to their enforceability.

Vice President Kamala Harris enjoyed a huge cash infusion to her campaign shortly after it launched this summer, and one of the groups behind this influx were attorneys donating to the Democratic candidate.Attorneys gave more than $8 million to the Harris campaign in just the first 10 days of its existence, according to data analyzed by Bloomberg Law reporters Tatyana Monnay and K. Sophie Will. This is the latest example of the legal profession moving more toward the Democratic column with every passing election cycle.However, despite this fundraising advantage, the Democrats are still waging an uphill fight for control of the House and the Senate in this year's congressional elections. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Government's Greg Giroux explains why an unfavorable Senate map for Democrats may be more than robust fundraising can overcome. Also, Monnay talks about why lawyers are fans of the vice president and why attorneys who back former President Donald Trump are staying low-key.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Mahira Dayal, a Bloomberg Law reporter, delves into the latest third quarter M&A data revealing a surge in deals, despite looming election uncertainties. She highlights Kirkland & Ellis's dominance in deal-making while noting shifts in other firms' rankings. Mahira discusses the favorable financing climate spurred by recent interest rate cuts and the implications of heightened regulatory scrutiny on transactions. The conversation wraps up with a cautiously optimistic outlook for the legal market amid potential challenges ahead.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself far more often than his eight other colleagues in recent years, and that's because, unlike his colleagues, he holds a significant amount of stock in public companies.But what's more notable are the times Alito failed to recuse himself even though he had a conflict of interest.On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg News reporter Emily Birnbaum talks about why, even with a new code of ethics, there are still few, if any, consequences to mistakes like these at the Supreme Court. She also talks about what she found combing through Alito's most recent financial disclosure documents.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Electric vehicles are far from a new phenomenon, but the sparseness of public, non-Tesla charging stations along the highway can still make taking a road trip in other types of EVs somewhat harrowing.Bloomberg Government reporters Kellie Lunney and Lillianna Byington discovered this first hand when they went on a road trip to test out the country's federally funded EV infrastructure and almost got stranded on the side of the road.On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Kellie and Lillianna join us to talk about the federal program meant to boost that infrastructure and why its rollout has been slow. They also talk about the impact this is having on EV drivers and the EV market as a whole.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

This summer, Bloomberg Law released its fourth DEI Framework, recognizing 57 US-based law firms that meet or exceed standards for diversity, equity, and inclusion. But, in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling that ended race-conscious admission programs at colleges and universities, how are these firms managing their initiatives without facing complaints from DEI opponents like conservative activist Edward Blum? Last year, Blum, along with his team, the American Alliance for Equal Rights, successfully challenged firms and their DEI hiring practices. Are these firms leaving the door open to more litigation?In today's episode of our podcast On The Merits, we talk with Bloomberg Law's Molly Huie, lead data analysis and survey reporter about the DEI Framework findings, as well as Bloomberg Law's DEI reporter, Tatyana Monnay, about how law offices continue to promote DEI in spite of the backlash.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

In the past, environmental lawyers had a reputation as being extremely overworked and underpaid, but now things are looking up for attorneys working on green issues.The Inflation Reduction Act included numerous complicated tax breaks and other incentives for clean energy, all of which need to be parsed by skilled attorneys. Additionally, with the demise of Chevron deference, nearly every environmental rule and regulation is now under a more intense judicial microscope.All of this means environmental lawyers are in higher demand, even within Big Law, and today we hear from an aspiring lawyer on our podcast, On The Merits. Emily Dwight, a second-year student at Vermont Law and Graduate School, talks with Bloomberg Law reporter Jennifer Hijazi about how the career path for environmental law has changed and why she's setting her sights not on nonprofit advocacy groups but on 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.

OpenAI is fending off half a dozen copyright lawsuits that allege the tech company illegally used copyrighted materials to train its flagship product, ChatGPT. The company's defense in these suits, which have the potential to shape the future of AI, is raising some eyebrows in the world of IP law.OpenAI says the authors, news outlets, and other copyright holders who filed these suits engaged in "prompt hacking"—that, to get ChatGPT to spit out their books or articles, they had to manipulate the software by submitting thousands of prompts. And, to prove this, OpenAI's attorneys want the plaintiffs to turn over all the material they used to generate evidence for their suits, a request the plaintiffs say is excessively broad.On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Law reporter Annelise Gilbert explains the strategy behind OpenAI's use of this defense and why the company may be trying to win not just in federal court but also in the court of public opinion. She also talks about what AI might look like if OpenAI loses these cases.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Thomas V. Girardi was once a widely admired lawyer. He assisted in the making of the film "Erin Brockovich," and, many years later, was featured with his wife Erika Jayne on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."Now, Girardi is a convicted felon. He was charged with withholding funds his clients had won, and, last week, was convicted on four counts of wire fraud. Bloomberg Law reporter Maia Spoto, who covered the trial from start to finish, joins our podcast, On The Merits, to talk about Girardi's stunning downfall and what's next for the lawyers he worked with at his now disgraced firm Girardi Keese.Spoto says jurors in the trial didn't buy the argument that Girardi was unfit to stand trial due to his cognitive decline. And, Spoto says, federal law enforcers have now started investigating other Girardi Keese attorneys amid allegations that they may have mishandled the firm's clients as it was imploding.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The state of Texas is creating an entirely new corporate law court in an attempt to lure big firms away from Delaware, the current incorporation capital of the world. However, just days before its official opening, there's trouble with the new court's rollout.It's been difficult for the state to find basic physical office space for the Texas business court to operate in. But beyond that, there are also questions about why its judges are serving only short, two-year terms and why, unlike in Delaware, trials will be heard by juries and not by judges with more corporate law expertise.Bloomberg News' Madlin Mekelburg and Bloomberg Law's Ryan Autullo just wrote a story about this trouble and they join this episode of our podcast, On The Merits. The reporters talk about why standing up this new court is a pet project of Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) and why one of the first litigants to try it out may be Elon Musk.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.