Cadwalader Loses Its Long Struggle to Stay Independent

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.

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Cadwalader Loses Its Long Struggle to Stay Independent is an episode from On The Merits by Bloomberg Industry Group.

This episode is 15:24 long.

This episode was published on Dec 23, 2025.

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