When Daniel Strunk signed his contract in the spring of 2021 to join the plaintiffs firm Keller Lenkner as an associate in Washington, D.C., he had an unusual request.

“There’s one thing I need to discuss with you,” he recalls telling the managing partner during the recruitment process. “Of course, he thinks it’s compensation or whatever clause in the agreement. When I told him, I’m going to be on this reality TV show and I’ll be leaving for seven weeks, I remember he said: ‘That’s one I’ve never heard before!’”