On The Merits

Big Law associates often feel they have little control over their pay or their time. But Steptoe & Johnson's new compensation model will allow associates to choose a 1800-, 2000-, or 2200-billable-hour track with a corresponding pay scale. On this episode of On the Merits, Kate Reder Sheikh, partner at Major, Lindsey & Africa, shares how a tiered compensation plan could benefit both associates and law firms—and what the risks are. She also gives the latest industry updates on return-to-office issues and lateral moves for 2025. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Elon Musk's six-year saga defending his $56 billion Tesla Inc. pay package in the Delaware Chancery Court has captivated the state's tight-knit legal community and the wider world of Musk watchers, including his more than 200 million online followers. In January 2024, the court's chief judge struck down the pay package, prompting a months-long social media barrage—and a host of novel legal stunts—from the tech titan. In December, the judge rejected the compensation deal again, handing $345 million to the shareholder attorneys who led the case. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, senior correspondent Jennifer Kay and reporter Roy Strom discuss the long-running courtroom drama, the lead trial lawyer who took aim at the pay package, and the judge who has repeatedly stood up to the world's richest man. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690

The year 2024 saw tons of firms looking for merger opportunities and the lightning-fast growth that they provided. Although there's still plenty of room for new mergers, the legal industry is constantly looking for other ways to be competitive as big companies like KPMG are looking to enter the legal services market. This edition of On the Merits was hosted for the first time by Tom Taylor, chief of staff of the newsroom. Reporters Meghan Tribe and Justin Henry, who cover the business of law, and Chris Opfer, who oversees that coverage, joined him to discuss the most significant issues and challenges facing the legal industry in 2025. And as the second inauguration of Donald Trump approaches, the team will discuss how firms could deal with Trump's "unscripted style" and the opportunities for Big Law during his second term. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

New attorneys often leave law school with a lot of ideas about how the legal system works, but they typically don’t know much about the business of being a lawyer. How do law firms make money? How do they govern themselves? And what trends are shaping the law firms where they will work? On this episode of On the Merits, Bloomberg Law’s Roy Strom spoke with Kevin Burke, a former chairman at Hinshaw & Culbertson who’s now teaching law students the answers to these and other questions about the industry they soon will join. Burke's course at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law focuses on the nuts and bolts of law firm financials, operations, and marketing. His students also explore the future of legal practice. Burke tells Roy that students today are more interested than ever to understand the workplaces where they will make their careers. They're also surprisingly optimistic about what artificial intelligence might mean for their work lives. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.