David Boies's memoir should be a bestseller for two simple reasons. First, his spectacular legal career, representing clients as diverse as Al Gore, George Steinbrenner, the U.S. Justice Department, and Calvin Klein, provides ample material for a compelling exploration of the practice of law in its most high-profile glory. And secondly, the book seems bound to sell well simply because most enterprises Boies gets himself involved with, from lawsuits to Las Vegas gambling, tend to pay off big. In Courting Justice, Boies traces the intricacies of numerous cases, such as Bush v. Gore in the hotly contested 2000 Florida recount, Steinbrenner's action against Major League Baseball, and the U.S. Government's antitrust litigation against Microsoft. At the same time he sheds light on the legal profession itself, exploring the politics of the profession and the power plays endemic to it. As though presenting his cases to a jury, Boies lays out the framework and issues of each case in a patient, step-by-step manner that illuminates the nature of the litigation and Boies's strategy while also supporting the narrative arc of the story he's trying to tell. As with many top lawyers, there is more than a dollop of ego and pride in Boies's accounts. Throughout Courting Justice Boies portrays himself as the voice of reason, possessed of a shrewd sagacity that his rivals and peers can only admire with slack-jawed amazement. Then again, when you look at the numerous legal triumphs and precedent-setting cases he was involved in, especially during the late 1990s, his arrogance is perhaps well earned. Regardless, it lends confidence to his outstanding ability to turn a phrase and tell a story, which, combined with the numerous stories he has to tell, makes David Boies's latest effort a success once again. --John Moe


From Publishers Weekly
In this crisp, energetic memoir, the ubiquitous, high-profile Boies reconstructs his role in some of the iconic legal battles of recent years. The narrative begins in 1997, with the titular Yankees suit. An antitrust expert, Boies protected a $95-million licensing deal with Adidas from a revenue-sharing plan instituted by the baseball league. Then, with a lawyer's knack for presenting complex subjects clearly, Boies effectively untangles the legal and technical issues involved in the Microsoft antitrust case. Hired to represent the Justice Department, he renders in gloating detail Bill Gates's disastrous and inexplicable stonewalling deposition. A ruling in 2000 declared Microsoft a monopolist, but Boies was dissatisfied with the settlement later negotiated by the Justice Department. In the 2000 post-election litigation, in which he represented Al Gore, Boies presents himself as constrained by co-lawyers and political considerations that forced him to drop a promising effort to challenge absentee ballots. Carefully but candidly, Boies expresses disappointment with what he considers an unprincipled Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore. Boies, a recreational gambler and a natural-born strategist, rarely has to account for a loss. He tries to remain modest, but he obviously enjoys recollecting his bold gambits and wilting opponents. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Sir Howard Stringer, chairman & CEO, Sony Corporation of America
"America's foremost legal eagle has landed and brought the secrets of his landmark cases with him."


Diane Sawyer, ABC News
"Forget the Colosseum and the lions. Boies has the daring of a gladiator..."


Walter Dellinger, professor at Duke Law School and partner at O'Melveny & Myers
"A vivid account of the perils and triumphs of some of the highest stakes litlgation of the past quarter century."


Jeanine Pirro, district attorney, Westchester County, New York
"...A brilliant mind at work. Boies gives us a rare look inside the most compelling cases of our time."


Mario M. Cuomo, former governor of New York and attorney
"I enjoyed the fascinating description of Boies's dynamic litigating skills at work."


Book Description
New York Yankees v. Major League Baseball; General Westmoreland v. CBS; FDIC v. Michael Milken; United States v. Microsoft; Bush v. Gore. In each of these landmark cases, one man, David Boies, has held center stage. Dubbed by the New York Times "the lawyer everyone wants," Boies has indeed been courted by government and major corporations alike, and by a host of the famous and powerful. His clients have included Calvin Klein; Don Imus; George Steinbrenner; and Garry Shandling, as well as companies such as DuPont; Altria; Lloyd's of London; and American Express. He has won record-breaking damages for consumers in cases against Sotheby's and Christie's and from major pharmaceutical companies worldwide, for price-fixing. His combination of legal know-how, meticulous preparation, and high-risk tactics at trial has earned him the sobriquet "the Michael Jordan of the courtroom." Written in the straightforward, sympathetic style that characterizes his courtroom presence, Courting Justice examines the varied clientele, behind-the-scenes dramas, and eleventh-hour strategies that have catapulted Boies to the top of the legal profession. His memoir ranges from his now-famous deposition of Bill Gates to the media-saturated battles of defending Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 Florida recount frenzy. when for days on end it was this one laconic nonpolitician who was asked to explain to the American people how their president was being decided. Through gripping accounts of some of his most notable cases, Boies brings to life not only his high-profile battles in and out of court but the details of his own life, from an unassuming boyhood in small-town Illinois and adolescence on the streets of Compton, to his brief career as a cardsharp (which helped hone his photographic memory), his lifelong fight with dyslexia and the lessons he learned in law schools—one of which he was asked to leave. Inspiring, revealing, and compulsively readable, Courting Justice is an insider's look at the American legal system, highlighting both its strengths and its weaknesses, the ways it can be abused and the ways in which, at its best, it defends our liberties.


About the Author
David Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller and Flexner, where three of his six children are now lawyers. He and his wife (and fellow lawyer) Mary live in Westchester, New York.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Legal watchers call him "the Michael Jordan of the courtroom";The New York Times Magazine tabs him as "the lawyer everyone wants." There's no doubt that David Boies is at the top of the legal game and at the center of the action. The founding partner of Boies, Schiller & Flexner has participated in numerous major cases of our time: United States v. Microsoft; Bush v. Gore; the New York Yankees v. Major League Baseball; CBS v. Gen. William Westmoreland; U.S. v. Michael Milken and Drexel Burnham; Plantiff-Appellees v. Napster. Written in the straightforward style that defines his courtroom presence, Courting Justice is the self-portrait of one of the most celebrated trial lawyers of our generation.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Courting Justice examines the varied clientele, behind-the-scenes dramas, and eleventh-hour strategies that have catapulted David Boies to the top of the legal profession. His memoir ranges from his now-famous deposition of Bill Gates to the media-saturated battles defending Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 Florida recount frenzy, when for days on end it was this one laconic nonpolitician who was asked to explain to the American people how their next president was being decided." "Through accounts of some of his most notable cases, Boies brings to life not only his high-profile battles in and out of court but the details of his own life, from an unassuming boyhood in small-town Illinois and adolescence on the streets of Compton, to his brief career as a cardsharp (which helped hone his photographic memory), and his lifelong fight with dyslexia and the lessons he learned in law schools - one of which he was asked to leave." Courting Justice is an insider's look at the American legal system, highlighting both its strengths and its weaknesses, the ways it can be abused and the ways in which, at its best, it defends our liberties.

FROM THE CRITICS

Emily Bazelon - The Washington Post

— the strength of Courting Justice lies in the skill with which Boies gives pointers on advocacy and sketches the upper reaches of the American bar. Whenever his prose breaks into numbered lists or bullet points, it's time to pay attention. This is the chance to learn how to negotiate a $500 million settlement, skewer a witness, or construct an ironclad argument -- skills worth having whether or not you've ever contemplated law school.

Publishers Weekly

In this crisp, energetic memoir, the ubiquitous, high-profile Boies reconstructs his role in some of the iconic legal battles of recent years. The narrative begins in 1997, with the titular Yankees suit. An antitrust expert, Boies protected a $95-million licensing deal with Adidas from a revenue-sharing plan instituted by the baseball league. Then, with a lawyer's knack for presenting complex subjects clearly, Boies effectively untangles the legal and technical issues involved in the Microsoft antitrust case. Hired to represent the Justice Department, he renders in gloating detail Bill Gates's disastrous and inexplicable stonewalling deposition. A ruling in 2000 declared Microsoft a monopolist, but Boies was dissatisfied with the settlement later negotiated by the Justice Department. In the 2000 post-election litigation, in which he represented Al Gore, Boies presents himself as constrained by co-lawyers and political considerations that forced him to drop a promising effort to challenge absentee ballots. Carefully but candidly, Boies expresses disappointment with what he considers an unprincipled Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore. Boies, a recreational gambler and a natural-born strategist, rarely has to account for a loss. He tries to remain modest, but he obviously enjoys recollecting his bold gambits and wilting opponents. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (Oct. 13) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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