Videos

Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) — Frank Aquila, partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, talks with Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia about the prospects for mergers and acquisitions activity in 2013. Aquila notes that while 2012 was something of a disappointment, we are off to a strong start in 2013 with several indications for a solid year for dealmakers.

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) — Robert Abrams, Chair of the Antitrust Group at Baker & Hostetler LLP, talks about his representation of a certified class of southeastern dairy farmers in the recently announced $158.6 million settlement of an ongoing antitrust class action brought by the farmers against major milk producers. Total recovery for the dairy farmers [...]

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) — That’s “It’s your Birthday!” by Monk Turner and Fascinoma. If New Jersey radio station WFMU and the Free Music Archive have their way, it will soon replace the most recognized song in the English language, “Happy Birthday to You.” And it’s all because of copyright law. The “Happy Birthday To You” [...]

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg Law) — Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia runs through the legal news for the week. A recent shooting at a courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware highlights a disturbing rise in violence in and around courts. Mary Jo White filed her financial disclosures and potential conflicts should she become the next chair for the SEC. [...]

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg Law) — Jack Crittenden, editor-in-chief of National Jurist, talks to Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia about his publication’s recently released law school rankings. The results of the survey generated controversy after listing the University of Alabama’s law school higher than that of Harvard.

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — Judges rarely reverse themselves. When U.S. District Jed Rakoff recanted a ruling he made previously in the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities Inc., the reversal was important because it allows the Madoff trustee to knock out billions of dollars in claims, as Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia and Bloomberg News [...]

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg Law) — In light of the tentative deal for American Airlines and US Airways to merge, Frank Aquila, a mergers-and-acquisitions partner at New York’s Sullivan & Cromwell, says US airline mergers have reached their “end game.” The next step will be whether governments “allow cross-border consolidations” of airlines. “That’s the next frontier,” [...]

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — Art Chung, puzzle guru and writer for NPR’s “Ask Me Another,” talks with Bloomberg Law’s Spencer Mazyck about his transition from practicing law at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP to writing for game shows like “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” “Cash Cash,” “Stump the Schwab,” and “The World Series of [...]

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) — Robert Batterman, senior member of the Sports Law Group at Proskauer Rose LLP, talks with Bloomberg Law’s Spencer Mazyck about his representation of the National Hockey League during recent negotiations with its players’ union to form a 10-year collective bargaining agreement, the longest in NHL history. The league and the National [...]

Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) — Law school applications appear to be headed for a 30-year low. Based on applications so far for Fall 2013, experts expect there will be about 54,000 applicants — that’s about half the number that applied in 2004. Reasons for the slide have been well documented: lousy job prospects, huge debt loads, [...]

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg Law) — Law firm consultant Kent Zimmermann from the Zeughauser Group expects more major law firm mergers in 2013, he tells Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia. Firms fear they won’t be able to grow organically fast enough to meet their strategic goals. Many of those looking at mergers are trying to build on [...]

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg Law) — Legal process outsourcers (LPOs) and other alternative legal service providers are beginning to take the bread-and-butter of large law firms — handling whole mergers and acquisitions, not just the due diligence aspects of deals, according to law firm consultant Kent Zimmermann of the Zeughauser Group. For smaller deals, clients are [...]

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg Law) — Law firm consultant Kent Zimmermann of the Zeughauser Group tells Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia that partner layoffs at America’s largest law firms are quietly picking up speed because of a lack of billable work coming in their doors. Legal process outsourcers (LPOs) and other alternative legal service providers are stealing [...]

Feb. 7. (Bloomberg Law) — Law firm profits at a selection of the nation’s largest firms increased by 4.3 percent in 2012, but “we do have some concerns about what drove the results,” Dan DiPietro, chairman of Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group tells Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia. At the 179 firms Citi surveyed (80 [...]

Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) — The dominance of Delaware and New York bankruptcy courts is secure for another two years, for reasons Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia and Bloomberg News bankruptcy columnist Bill Rochelle explain on their new video. GSC Group Inc. gives Bankruptcy Judge Shelley C. Chapman in New York an opportunity to decide whether law [...]

Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) — Loni Edwards, founder of Stitch Collective, talks with Bloomberg Law’s Spencer Mazyck about her transition from practicing law at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP to starting a fashion company that produces limited-run, luxury accessories designed by emerging talent. (Source: Bloomberg)

Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) — A proposal to allow law students to take the New York State bar exam after two years is getting serious consideration. The state’s chief judge is expressing interest, but no date for a decision by the state’s highest court has been set. While the idea has been around for decades, law [...]

Feb. 1 (Bloomberg Law) — Mary Jo White has spent decades as both a federal prosecutor and later as outside counsel for many financial institutions. If the Senate confirms her as SEC chair, will Wall Street be facing a lawyer sympathetic to their interests, or the hard-nosed prosecutor she once was? Rick Firestone, a partner [...]

Jan. 31 (Bloomberg Law) — Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia runs through the legal news for the week. US authorities are currently trying to get RBS to plead guilty to allegations it took part in the LIBOR rigging scandal. Also, another major law firm has decided to move back office personnel out of main office locations [...]

code> Jan. 31 (Bloomberg Law) — The SEC is considering a proposal by Robert Jackson, associate professor at Columbia Law School, that public companies be required to disclose their political spending. SEC staff members have said they plan to issue a proposed rule by April of this year. Jackson tells Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia that [...]