Original Jurisdiction

One question I frequently receive, as a lawyer turned writer, is whether I miss the practice of law. My honest answer is no. In my current job, I feel I get some of the best aspects of a legal career, such as the intellectual stimulation and challenge, without the worst ones, such as billable hours (or, for those lawyers who don’t bill time, the stress of being in a client-focused business).

But what if I had stayed in the practice of law? And what if I had remained at the firm where I started my post-clerkship legal career, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz? And while I’m taking an imaginary trip down the road not taken, what if I had gone into corporate or transactional work, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), instead of litigation?

If you changed a few other things about me—e.g., if you raised my IQ and ability to tolerate stress, while lowering my laziness—maybe I’d have a legal career like that of David Lam. We have a number of things in common. After graduating from fancy colleges, we went straight through to Yale Law School, where we overlapped. Following clerkships for prominent federal appellate judges, we started our careers at Wachtell Lipton, where we were sometimes confused with each other (based on our similar names and certain demographic similarities).

I left WLRK after a few years, while David Lam stayed—and went on to a spectacular legal career. He’s now one of the country’s top M&A lawyers, according to The American Lawyer, Chambers, Lawdragon, and many other authorities. He’s also co-chair of the M&A practice at Wachtell Lipton, viewed by many as the nation’s #1 firm for mergers and acquisitions.

Wachtell Lipton partners don’t give many interviews or speak to the media that often. So I was delighted and grateful when David agreed to join me on the Original Jurisdiction podcast. And I think you’ll enjoy our conversation, covering David’s high-powered legal career, the state of the current M&A market, some secrets of success for Wachtell Lipton as a firm, and more.

Show Notes:

* David K. Lam bio, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz

* David Lam profile, Chambers and Partners

* Dealmakers of the Year: The Spinmeister—David Lam, by The American Lawyer

Prefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.

Sponsored by:

NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

Few lawyers in America have handled more headline-making cases than Marc Agnifilo of Agnifilo Intrater. A former prosecutor in both the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey—where he and I met and became friends, around 20 years ago—Marc has defended a number of famous (some might say infamous) figures. His clients over the years have included so-called “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli, former NXIUM cult leader Keith Raniere, and Luigi Mangione, who faces state and federal charges in connection with the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Earlier this month, Marc and his colleagues won acquittals for Sean “Diddy” Combs on federal racketeering and sex-trafficking charges—the most serious charges that Combs faced, which could have landed him in prison for life had he been convicted. Last week, I interviewed Marc about the trial and shared some highlights in these pages; now, I’m pleased to provide the complete podcast.

Thanks to Marc for taking the time to speak with me, so thoughtfully and openly, about an interesting and momentous case—as well as his remarkable career as one of the nation’s leading trial lawyers.

Show Notes:

* Marc Agnifilo bio, Agnifilo Intrater

* How Diddy’s Likable Defense Lawyer Helped Save His Unlikable Client (gift link), by Corinne Ramey and James Fanelli for The Wall Street Journal

* The husband-wife legal team working on two of today’s biggest criminal cases, by Eric Levenson for CNN

Prefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.

Sponsored by:

NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded its latest Term. And over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has continued to duke it out with its adversaries in the federal courts.

To tackle these topics, as well as their intersection—in terms of how well the courts, including but not limited to the Supreme Court, are handling Trump-related cases—I interviewed Professor Pamela Karlan, a longtime faculty member at Stanford Law School. She’s perfectly situated to address these subjects, for at least three reasons.

First, Professor Karlan is a leading scholar of constitutional law. Second, she’s a former SCOTUS clerk and seasoned advocate at One First Street, with ten arguments to her name. Third, she has high-level experience at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), having served (twice) as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ.

I’ve had some wonderful guests to discuss the role of the courts today, including Judges Vince Chhabria (N.D. Cal.) and Ana Reyes (D.D.C.)—but as sitting judges, they couldn’t discuss certain subjects, and they had to be somewhat circumspect. Professor Karlan, in contrast, isn’t afraid to “go there”—and whether or not you agree with her opinions, I think you’ll share my appreciation for her insight and candor.

Show Notes:

* Pamela S. Karlan bio, Stanford Law School

* Pamela S. Karlan bio, Wikipedia

* The McCorkle Lecture (Professor Pamela Karlan), UVA Law School

Prefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.

Sponsored by:

NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

I’ve been writing about the judiciary for more than 20 years, and in my opinion, the current time is the most difficult I’ve seen for serving as a federal judge. This is especially true in courts where a disproportionate number of cases challenging actions of the current administration have been filed, such as the U.S. District Courts for Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.) and the District of Columbia (D.D.C.).

Judges in these districts face heavy dockets, and high-profile cases involving the administration present special challenges. They often involve requests for urgent forms of relief, such as preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders, that must be heard on short timetables. Many of the cases present novel and knotty legal issues. And depending on how a judge rules, the judge could face strong criticism, from either the right or the left—and sometimes even more than that, such as impeachment efforts or even threats, whether to themselves or their families.

What is it like to be a judge at the eye of this storm, trying to calmly uphold values like the rule of law and judicial independence during tumultuous times? To find out, I interviewed Judge Ana Reyes, who was appointed to the D.D.C. by President Biden in 2023. Although she’s been on the bench for only two and a half years, Judge Reyes has already handled a number of headline-making cases—and while we could not and did not discuss any specific matters still pending before her, she spoke honestly and directly about many fascinating subjects, including her overall approach to judging, the rule of law and judicial independence, how she treats the lawyers appearing before her, media coverage of the judiciary, and more.

Thanks to Judge Reyes for a great conversation—and thanks to her and her fellow judges for the crucial work that they do. While observers of the courts, myself included, might disagree with specific rulings, I suspect I’m not alone in believing that on the whole, the federal judiciary is holding up well during an unusually stressful time.

Show Notes:

* Judge Ana C. Reyes bio, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

* Judge Ana C. Reyes bio, Wikipedia

* A D.C. lawyer learned English as a child from a teacher who tutored her each day. She found her to say thank you, by Sydney Page for The Washington Post

Prefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.

Sponsored by:

NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

How can law firm partners get better at business development, given how important it’s become to their work? That’s the subject of “The Activator Advantage: What Today’s Rainmakers Do Differently,” published by the Harvard Business Review Press. Orrick chairman Mitch Zuklie described the book as “groundbreaking for our rising stars, helping them understand what our most successful partners do.”

Last month, I interviewed Dr. Matthew Dixon, the book’s lead author and a co-founder of DCM Insights, a growth consultancy for professional-services firms. Although not a lawyer by training (he holds a Ph.D in political economy), Dixon has spent countless hours with lawyers over the years, advising them and other providers of professional services on how to excel at business development.

To write “The Activator Advantage,” Dixon and his co-authors conducted what they called the “Rainmaker Genome Project.” They surveyed almost 3,000 individuals at more than 40 professional-services firms—with lawyers, at 39% of respondents, constituting the largest cohort in the study—to understand their approaches to business development.

Here's what they learned—along with practical advice for how to apply their research findings to your own efforts at business development.

Welcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.

June is my favorite month—because it marks the start of my favorite season, contains my birthday (now a national holiday), and happens to be LGBTQ Pride Month. In recognition of the occasion, I wanted to interview a leading LGBTQ lawyer, ideally someone working on a matter in the news.

A recent guest on my podcast, noted technology litigator Neel Chatterjee, gave me a great idea. In discussing a pro bono matter that he was proud of, representing a gay couple that wanted to work with an adoption agency that refused to work with same-sex couples, he talked about the privilege of working with “one of the best lawyers I’ve ever worked with in my life”: Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (now the National Center for LGBTQ Rights—on Monday, NCLR announced its name change).

Shannon was an excellent guest for another reason: he’s working on a headline-making case. He represents the plaintiffs in Talbott v. United States, a challenge to the Trump administration’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military. And despite some reasons for concern, including the fact that the Supreme Court granted emergency relief to the Trump administration in a different (but distinguishable) case involving the ban, Shannon believes that when the courts take a closer look at the issue, they will be persuaded by his clients’ case.

Thanks to Shannon for his insight and candor, as well as his many years of tireless work in support of LGBTQ rights and equality.

Show Notes:

* Shannon Minter bio, National Center for LGBTQ Rights

* Shannon Minter bio, Wikipedia

* Shannon Minter interview, by Mason Funk for OUTWORDS

Prefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.

Sponsored by:

NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

Welcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.

Is it just me, or are crises popping up all over the place? Major corporations, top law firms, and leading universities—among many other institutions—seem to be lurching from one crisis to another. And they need help—often from lawyers and law firms.

So it was an opportune time for me to welcome to the podcast one of the nation’s leading experts on crisis management: Debra Wong Yang, a longtime partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she chairs the crisis-management practice. Before joining Gibson, Debra served as U.S. attorney for the Central District of California (aka Los Angeles), and before that, she spent five years as a California state-court judge. These experiences equipped her well to help clients navigate some very challenging situations—a number of which we cover in our conversation.

If you’re involved in leading an organization that could face a crisis in the future—which is pretty much every organization—you’ll benefit from hearing about Debra’s experiences in the trenches, as well as her advice on how to prepare for a possible crisis. My thanks to Deb for taking the time to share what she’s learned over her long and distinguished legal career.

Show Notes:

* Debra Wong Yang bio, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP

* Legends Limelight: Debra Wong Yang, by Katrina Dewey for Lawdragon

* The Choice, by Katharine Whittemore for Boston College Law School Magazine

Prefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.

Sponsored by:

NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

Welcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.

I’m very proud of the guests I’ve hosted on the Original Jurisdiction podcast, who are some of the most interesting and influential figures in the world of law. But I recently noticed a significant gap in their ranks: I’ve never hosted the general counsel or chief legal officer of a publicly traded company.

To remedy this, I went big: I interviewed Sandra Leung, who recently stepped down as executive vice president and general counsel of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), the biopharmaceutical giant that’s both a Fortune 100 and S&P 100 company. Sandy worked for BMS for almost 33 years, 18 of them as GC—so she’s an expert on the crucial role of in-house counsel, with lots of wise advice for GCs and CLOs. At the same time, as a former GC, she was willing to address hot-button topics that many sitting GCs might steer clear of—such as the Trump administration's executive orders targeting law firms, including how these orders should affect the thinking of GCs when considering which law firms to hire as outside counsel.

This interview is also timely because May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month—and Sandy, a past president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), is a longtime leader in the AANHPI community. In our conversation, we discussed why she has devoted so much of her time and energy over the years to advancing diversity—and why she believes it remains essential for organizations, despite the backlash against DEI.

Thanks to Sandy for her time, insight, and many years of service to the legal profession. And congratulations to her on a long and successful tenure as GC.

Show Notes:

* Sandra Leung bio, NAPABA

* Bristol Myers Squibb GC to Retire After 33 years With Drugmaker, by Chris O’Malley for Corporate Counsel/Law.com

* Bristol-Myers GC Sandra Leung To Retire After 33 Years, by Christine DeRosa for Law360

Prefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.

Sponsored by:

NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.

Welcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.

Welcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at [email protected]. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.

It isn’t easy being a criminal-defense attorney. Your clients are counting on you, often with their liberty on the line. You work your heart out for them. And in the end, at least once your client has been charged, the odds are high that they’ll end up convicted—whether through pleading guilty or losing at trial. In the federal system, fewer than one percent of defendants get acquitted.

But some defense lawyers manage to beat the odds, time and time again—like David Oscar Markus, founding partner of Markus/Moss PLLC. Over his almost three decades in practice, he has scored numerous trial victories. In 2023, he and his partner Margot Moss secured an acquittal for Andrew Gillum, the former mayor of Tallahassee and Florida gubernatorial candidate, after nearly three weeks of trial. (The jury acquitted Gillum of making false statements to the FBI; it hung on other counts, which the prosecution later dismissed.)

And just last month, David and his partner Lauren Krasnoff won an across-the-board acquittal for businessman Diego Sanchez, in a complex case involving allegations of a $65 million healthcare fraud. The trial lasted for almost a month—and in the end, the jury found Sanchez not guilty on all seven counts.

How did David pull off this challenging win? What does he view as the most important skill for a trial lawyer? When does he put his client on the stand? How does he handle the media in a high-profile case? David and I tackled all of these topics and more, in a wide-ranging and candid conversation.

Thanks to David for joining me, and kudos to him on his recent trial victory—far from his first, and definitely not his last.

Show Notes:

* David Oscar Markus bio, Markus/Moss PLLC

* Southern District of Florida Blog, by David Oscar Markus

* For the Defense, by David Oscar Markus

* Miami Jury Returns Defense Verdict in $36M Health Care Fraud Case, by Tommaso Baronio for Law.com

Prefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.

Sponsored by:

NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment at nexfirm dot com.