On The Merits

After the Bernie Madoff scandal, the SEC created a whistleblower program that encouraged people to provide information by promising them a cut of the recovered funds. At first, the agency was inundated with tips. But now, the number of people reporting financial fraud is dwindling. The guests on this week's episode of our weekly podcast, On The Merits, say they know why. One problem: it's unclear...

Elections are typically decided at the ballot box. But in the past few years, the judicial system has been getting more and more involved. Spending on election-related litigation has ballooned during this time, according to George Washington University law professor Spencer Overton. This is one of many indications that political fights aren't ending when the results are announced but are instead m...

If you're an attorney who lived through the dark days of the Great Recession, you could be forgiven for having flashbacks after reading a recent story by Bloomberg Law's Roy Strom and Meghan Tribe. They reported that several heavy hitters in Big Law, including Cooley LLP and Kirkland & Ellis, have laid off attorneys in recent months. Other firms are expected to follow suit next year. But they also...

It's common for attorneys to do pro bono work monitoring elections. But this year feels different to many of the lawyers who are volunteering. That's one of the takeaways from a recent story by Bloomberg Law's Sam Skolnik about the urgency lawyers feel about today's midterm elections. However, that urgency is not showing up in campaign finance data. Bloomberg Law columnist Roy Strom dug into the n...

One thing we have learned over the years about Elon Musk is that the tech billionaire likes to surround himself with people who have personality traits similar to his own: confidence, boldness, and a total lack of fear when it comes to mass communication. So it shouldn't be surprising that Musk, who famously has little patience for attorneys, is gravitating toward lawyers who possess these traits...

The crypto world is known for, among other things, exotic legal structures and an extreme level of anonymity. But both of those attributes can make it a challenging place for plaintiffs' attorneys. The constitution requires plaintiffs to prove they've served their defendants with a notice of their lawsuit. Failure to do so properly can tank an otherwise promising case. But process serving is trick...

Judge James Ho said his new policy of refusing to hire clerks who attended Yale University was about combating cancel culture. But it may also be a sign that the Trump appointee is angling for a promotion. Of course, since Ho is currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, that means there's only one final rung to climb on the judicial career ladder: the Supreme Court. On...

Since 2015, Jones Day has embraced Donald Trump more than any other firm within Big Law. Many of the firm's lawyers joined the administration in high profile positions across the government, helped pick candidates for federal judgeships and the Supreme Court, and some were even appointed as judges themselves. But with Trump now out of office and his reputation tarnished by the Jan. 6 riot, where d...

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed into law earlier today a measure that requires all companies in his state include salary ranges in their job listings. While only a handful of states have enacted these so-called pay transparency laws, the tide is turning and general counsels should work to get in front of these laws now says Rob Chesnut, a former in-house counsel at eBay and Airbnb and...

Law firms have a gender equity problem. Data has shown that women struggle to reach the upper levels of the profession, and that those who do had to work harder than their male counterparts. For example, two thirds of female attorneys say they've been perceived as less committed to their careers, compared with just two percent of male attorneys, according to a 2019 ABA survey. The reasons why aren...

Steven Dettelbach is the new head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Earlier this year he squeaked through the Senate confirmation process by a 48-46 vote. The narrowness of his confirmation vote is a reflection of the challenges Dettelbach faces in leading the controversial agency in a polarized political environment. And despite a rise in gun violence in recent years, th...

Dr. Anthony Fauci is leaving the National Institutes of Health, but he's been very clear that he's not retiring. The man who is arguably America's most famous physician announced in late August that his more than five decade career in government will be coming to an end. But, he says he will continue to work in the field of medical science—especially with the Covid-19 pandemic still lingering. On...

It's a near certainty that someone, somewhere will challenge President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan in court. What's uncertain is what will happen if Biden loses. As a legal justification for wiping out billions in student loans, the White House cited a post-9/11 law originally conceived as a way to help soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some administrative law experts question t...

The revolving door in Tesla's legal department is spinning as fast as ever. A few weeks ago, it appointed its seventh chief legal officer within just the past four years. Amid Tesla's many legal problems - from allegations of unfair labor practices to Tesla's auto-pilot issues - is the automaker's inability to hold onto a general counsel actually a problem? Or is this a non-issue for the electric...

It's been 10 years since the epic collapse of mega-law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf, and we've never heard from its former chairman, Steven Davis. Until now. Davis spoke at length with Andrew Satter and Josh Block, the directors of a new documentary, about how Dewey grew so big so fast—and why it fell so far. The documentary video on Davis and his firm comes out Aug. 3. But in this episode of our weekly l...

In the wake of the Bernie Madoff scandal in the late 2000s, the SEC set up a program to reward whistleblowers who uncover fraud against investors. Since then, the program has paid out more than $1.3 billion. But who's receiving this money? And what information are they providing to the agency? And why is a huge chunk of the money going to whistleblowers represented by attorneys who used to work at...

For months now, both the legal and financial worlds have had their eyes glued to billionaire Elon Musk's theatrical attempt to purchase (or not) the social media giant Twitter. Musk is now trying to back out of the $44 billion deal, claiming Twitter refused to provide him with vital information. Twitter is trying to force Musk to follow through on the purchase by taking him to court in Delaware, w...

The Supreme Court's landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling last month was the end of Roe v. Wade, but the beginning of a whole new era of turmoil over reproductive rights in corporate America. For example, big corporations and law firms are weighing whether they should offer to pay for their employees to travel to receive an abortion. And if they do, how to respond if Republi...

Last week Paul Clement, arguably the most experienced Supreme Court litigator ever, announced he was leaving Kirkland & Ellis, arguably the largest law firm ever. He cited "client loyalty" as his reason for packing his bags. Clement left after the mega-firm decided, in the wake of several mass shootings, that it would no longer work on gun rights issues. He said he disagreed with this decision and...

The actor Seth Green has reportedly paid a ransom for the return of his purloined NFT, and that's disappointing some intellectual property attorneys. For those not in the know: Green, who played Dr. Evil's son in the Austin Powers franchise, was planning to develop a TV show around an NFT he had purchased. But then a hacker stole the digital token from him. This raised all sorts of novel legal iss...

As the pandemic started to ease, big law leaders worked to fine-tune their remote work policies. Should lawyers be in the office two days a week? Three? Quinn Emanuel had another idea—never. The Los Angeles-based firm, led by its iconoclastic founder, John Quinn, embraced a work-from-anywhere policy. Quinn says it wasn't without its challenges, but that he's glad his namesake firm made this move....

On this special weekend edition of On The Merits, Bloomberg Law reporter Alex Ruoff reads his story about terminally ill patients fighting the DEA for the right to use psychedelic drugs. Click here to read the story in print.

Former President Donald Trump should face criminal charges for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to one federal judge. In an expansive and unusual ruling earlier this spring, David O. Carter, a Clinton-appointed judge from the Central District of California, gave federal prosecutors a blueprint for how they could indict the former president. But don't expect an indictment anytime soon...

Crypto prices are plummeting, but Big Law isn't rushing for the exits. Far from it. Many of the country's biggest law firms have thrown themselves head first into the cryptocurrency world, with some even establishing specialized crypto practice groups. Bloomberg Law reporter Sam Skolnik says the reasons are clear: a confusing regulatory environment combined with crypto companies now flush with eno...

Dr. Anthony Fauci is a household name, but that doesn't mean he gets everything he wants from Congress. As the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Fauci is heading to Capitol Hill to try to convince legislators to fund President Biden's $10 billion Covid-19 bill. Bloomberg Law health reporter Jeannie Baumann spoke to Dr. Fauci about what his agency needs the fund...