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  • Aspiring Environmental Lawyers Warming Up to Big Law

    Aspiring Environmental Lawyers Warming Up to Big Law
    2024/09/10
    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.
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    13 分
  • Can OpenAI Beat Lawsuits With Its 'Hacking' Defense?

    Can OpenAI Beat Lawsuits With Its 'Hacking' Defense?
    2024/09/06
    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.
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    14 分
  • How Tom Girardi Went From Celebrity Lawyer to Felon

    How Tom Girardi Went From Celebrity Lawyer to Felon
    2024/09/03
    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.
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    16 分
  • Why Texas Business Court Will Struggle to Top Delaware

    Why Texas Business Court Will Struggle to Top Delaware
    2024/08/29
    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.
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    19 分
  • Can You Truly Be a Partner If You Don't Have Equity?

    Can You Truly Be a Partner If You Don't Have Equity?
    2024/08/27
    The number of non-equity partners has ballooned in recent years, with some data estimating there will soon be more of them at law firms than full partners. But not all of these attorneys are happy with their job classification. There are several ongoing employment lawsuits against firms from non-equity partners who claim they get the worst of both worlds: none of the profit sharing that full partners enjoy, but also no benefits or tax withholding that's standard for most employees. The guest on today's episode of our podcast, On The Merits, says the non-equity partnership can benefit both lawyers and firms—if it's managed well. David Lat, author of the Original Jurisdiction newsletter and a Bloomberg Law columnist, talks about how firms can do make the non equity title work for everyone, and what types of attorneys can benefit. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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    17 分
  • Bankruptcy Judge Scandal Still Very Far From Resolved

    Bankruptcy Judge Scandal Still Very Far From Resolved
    2024/08/22
    Almost a year ago, the public first learned that David R. Jones, a now former federal judge, was in a secret, live-in romantic relationship with a partner at a bankruptcy firm that had lots of business in Jones' Houston court. Since then, Jones has stepped down from the bench, but the dust has definitely not settled. The federal bankruptcy monitor is trying to claw back millions in attorneys' fees that the firm, Jackson Walker, collected in cases overseen by Jones. And Jones himself is in more hot water after he sat down for an off-the-record interview with Jackson Walker—without approval from the judge investigating the whole matter. To untangle this messy situation, Bloomberg Law reporter James Nani joins our podcast, On The Merits, and talks about why Jones says he's done nothing wrong and whether Jackson Walker's reputation can come out of this intact. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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    17 分
  • Judges' Workload Getting Worse—But Is Help On the Way?

    Judges' Workload Getting Worse—But Is Help On the Way?
    2024/08/20
    It's difficult enough for Congress to fill vacant judgeships, let alone create new ones in courts that have seen their jurisdictions grow in size. That means federal judges are having to take on more and more cases. That, in turn, means the wait for a civil trial in some federal courts can stretch for years. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, reporters Suzanne Monyak and Tiana Headley talk about what's behind this backlog, and explain how a dispute over a North Carolina judicial nominee could make the problem even worse. They also talk about a potential solution: a bipartisan bill the Senate recently passed that would create more than 60 new judgeships in courts across the country, but would only allow future presidents to appoint judges to these seats. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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    17 分
  • Harris Likely Needs a Huge Win to Avoid a Senate Flip

    Harris Likely Needs a Huge Win to Avoid a Senate Flip
    2024/08/15
    Kamala Harris' nascent presidential campaign has the wind at its back right now. But her entry into the race doesn't change her party's daunting Senate map, in which Democrats are playing defense in states like Montana, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Government senior reporter Greg Giroux says it will be tough for Democrats to hold onto the Senate unless Harris scores a surprisingly large victory and some downballot candidates ride her coattails to victory. He also says Republicans have largely avoided the mistakes of two years ago, when several flawed candidates won primary races and went on to lose races that the GOP was initially projected to win. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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    17 分