{"podcast":{"title":"On The Merits","slug":"on-the-merits-2557762","podcast_index_feed_id":2557762,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/BL7273559964","website_url":"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/podcasts/on-the-merits","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/fb729090-1169-11ea-afa5-0f57b538bde2/image/352e95e75f9eb334924def3e6665b9ca.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Bloomberg Industry Group","episode_count":318,"summary":"On The Merits takes you behind the scenes of the legal world and the inner workings of law firms. This podcast offers in-depth analysis on the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the business of law and the legal industry overall. You'll gain insights into how the latest government actions, policies, and business developments are impacting the industry and hear from leading attorneys, legal scholars, industry experts, and our own team of journalists as they share their perspectives on the forces driving change.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-21T06:17:34.164714+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-the-merits-2557762"},"episode":{"title":"Cadwalader Loses Its Long Struggle to Stay Independent","slug":"cadwalader-loses-its-long-struggle-to-stay-independent","published_at":"2025-12-23T17:54:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-the-merits-2557762/cadwalader-loses-its-long-struggle-to-stay-independent","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-the-merits-2557762","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/BL6973478538.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/BL6973478538.mp3","summary":"New York's oldest law firm answered the outstanding question surrounding its ability to remain independent with a resounding no when it announced a merger with Hogan Lovells last week. As Bloomberg Law reporter Meghan Tribe tells it, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft had been in a gradual decline since the 2008 global financial crisis. It also failed to adapt to the new reality of the legal industry in which lateral hiring is not just commonplace but necessary for a firm's survival, she said. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Tribe gets into what transpired that forced the more than 200-year-old firm to put itself up for sale, and also what made Hogan leap at the chance to merge with Cadwalader. Additionally, Tribe talks about what the tie-up could mean for the pro bono deal Cadwalader struck with the Trump administration earlier this year. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.","meta_description":"New York's oldest law firm answered the outstanding question surrounding its ability to remain independent with a resounding no when it announced a merger…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":924,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/on-the-merits-2557762/episodes/cadwalader-loses-its-long-struggle-to-stay-independent/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-the-merits-2557762/cadwalader-loses-its-long-struggle-to-stay-independent.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}