As Big Law looks for ways to scale up, McDermott Will & Schulte says it's looking at outside investment in the firm—a move that could set off a paradigm shift in how law firms run their businesses.

If it does sell a part of itself to investors, McDermott would be by far the largest publicly known firm to take this step. Outside investment represents a new source of capital for law firms looking to expand, but does come with myriad risks and potential roadblocks.

On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Law's Jessie Kokrda Kamens and Justin Henry talk about why McDermott is doing this now, whether they can pull it off, and how they're going to get around the ethical rules prohibiting outside ownership of firms.

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