The Money Lawyers: The No-Holds-Barred World of Today's Richest and Most Powerful Lawyers [Hardcover]

Joseph C. Goulden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 27, 2005

The Money Lawyers vividly describes how lawyering has become a money-driven business, not just a profession. It explores the lucrative world of class-action litigation, where plaintiff lawyers - "The Class-Action Club" - garner billions of dollars in damages and fees through suits against manufacturers of items such as breast implants, asbestos, and diet pills.

 

Also featured are the new super-lawyer David Boies of IBM/Florida vote fame; the Washington, D.C., lawyer-lobbyist Tom Boggs; and the mess divorce of securities "strike-suit law" William Lerach of San Diego and Melvyn Weiss of New York. Additionally, the dark side of "white-shoe law" is detailed in an account of how a Wall Street firm cast out partners so that survivors could make more money, and the price the firm paid for its blatant disloyalty.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's hard not to feel outraged at the politico-legal complex when reading Goulden's brief profiles of some of the country's highest-paid lawyers. As he tracks the exploits of such superstars as David Boies, who sued Microsoft as a special counsel to the Justice Department and defended Al Gore during the 2000 election, and Thomas Hale Boggs Jr., a Washington "superlobbyist" whose law firm has gotten rich from its involvement in many government deals, including NAFTA and accords that allowed for increased oil drilling. Boggs, he writes, "has come to epitomize the enormous power, the awesome power that money exerts on government." Goulden, a journalist best known for his 1972 bestseller, The Superlawyers, writes well and he's got great access to his subjects. He makes a strong case in pointing out other flaws in the legal system, particularly the proliferation of profitable (for lawyers) class-action lawsuits that he says are clogging the courts. But some have argued just as strongly that these cases protect the individuals against powerful businesses and government. Still, Goulden's portraits of "dollar-drive" lawyers are sharp and highlight the power of money to distort the legal system.
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Review

"Eye-opening and timely. Goulden gives us a close look at some of the nation's most powerful lawyers. Both friends and foes will learn a great deal."--Walter K. Olson, author of The Litigation Explosion and The Rule of Lawyers

 

"It's hard not to feel outraged at the politico-legal complex when reading Goulden's brief profiles of some of the country's highest-paid lawyers. As he tracks the exploits of such superstars as David Boies, who sued Microsoft as a special counsel to the Justice Department and defended Al Gore during the 2000 election, and Thomas Hale Boggs Jr., a Washington "superlobbyist" whose law firm has gotten rich from its involvement in many government deals, including NAFTA and accords that allowed for increased oil drilling. Boggs, he writes, "has come to epitomize the enormous power, the awesome power that money exerts on government." Goulden, a journalist best known for his 1972 bestseller, The Superlawyers, writes well and he's got great access to his subjects. He makes a strong case in pointing out other flaws in the legal system, particularly the proliferation of profitable (for lawyers) class-action lawsuits that he says are clogging the courts. But some have argued just as strongly that these cases protect the individuals against powerful businesses and government. Still, Goulden's portraits of "dollar-drive" lawyers are sharp and highlight the power of money to distort the legal system."--Publishers Weekly

 

"Journalist Goulden, the author of several books on public affairs and legal and historical topics, relies on published information and numerous interviews to crack open the world of big-time civil litigators. He profiles David Boies, of Westmoreland v. CBS, Bush v. Gore, and Microsoft antitrust fame, and consummate Washington lobbyist Thomas Hale Boggs, and offers detailed explications of several class-action lawsuits. Perhaps most interesting are his accounts of the inner workings and "divorces" of two high-profile law firms. Chapters that focus on individuals occasionally lean toward the gossipy and speculative. General readers interested in how law firms function and how lobbying firms influence government, as well as particular cases on breast implants, diet pills, and securities fraud, will find this book eyeopening. Goulden also offers some ideas for reining in big-money lawyers. Walter K. Olson's The Rule of Lawyers: How the New Litigation Elite Threatens America's Rule of Law tackles the same subject. Both books are recommended for public libraries."--Library Journal

 

"Longtime investigative reporter Goulden probes big-time legal practice today. Law is frequently a bellicose business whose practitioners are only too happy to enable clients to sue, according to Goulden (The Superlawyers, 1972, etc.), who displays a lot of disdain and a smidgen of grudging admiration for some brilliant members of the bar. He profiles litigator David Boies, who for a while bested Microsoft, and leading Washington lobbyists Tommy Boggs and Jim Patton, who practice what they call "public policy" law (read: potent lobbying). Goulden gives mixed reviews to class-action lawyers, taking them to task for breast-implant litigation (silicone was not proven guilty, he argues), but admitting they were right to go after the Fen-Phen diet-drug manufacturers. Lawyers attack each other too, the author reminds us, as evidenced by the split-up of vaunted practitioners Lerach and Weiss, or the internecine treachery that divided venerable white-shoe firm Cadwallader, Wickersham & Taft. Stories of regulators' malfeasance, attorneys' chicanery, paper-chasing, lawyer gossip, among others, are all crammed under the title's general rubric. Oddly, Goulden omits discussion of big-tobacco litigation, though he does point a finger at enough ethical problems to delight most lawyer stalkers. In conclusion, the author considers three or four fruitless solutions, only to suggest that perhaps folks should take more responsibility for themselves, "a change in national attitudes that I doubt will occur in my lifetime."A casebook of the missteps and misdeeds of superlawyers."--Kirkus Reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Truman Talley Books; First Edition edition (December 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312205554
• ISBN-13: 978-0312205553
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,417,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So, So - No Great Insights!, May 30, 2006

By 

Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Money Lawyers: The No-Holds-Barred World of Today's Richest and Most Powerful Lawyers (Hardcover)

Goulden points out that a 2003 Manhattan Institute study concluded that litigation settlements exceeded $200 billion/year, about 2% of GNP, and far more than any other country. (Eg. Dow Chemical sets aside $1 in 160 for litigation in the U.S., $1 in $40,000 in Europe.) Lawyers get about $40 billion of this.

Two questions immediately come to my mind: 1)Is this true? The current administration has made great claims on the costs of malpractice suits on medical costs - more objective sources, however, dispute those findings. 2)Do malpractice lawsuits serve a valuable need? Repeated studies have found enormous amounts of error in healthcare - neither laws nor economic incentives to-date have helped. In fact, economic incentives are a large part of the problem - the more errors, the more revenues and profits! However, rising malpractice costs persuaded anesthesiologists to substantially improve their practice - clearly a benefit.

Regardless, "The Money Lawyers" then goes on to cover several leaders in the field, starting with David Boies, of Microsoft and the 2000 Presidential election fame. His background, early cases (eg. defending CBS against General Westmoreland in a slander suit, defending IBM against monopoly charges), case selection logic, and questioning approach are summarized for readers.

Another titan covered is Thomas Hale Boggs - leading lawyer lobbyist - his firm representing 225 or so entities and collecting more in fees than any other lawyer lobbyist firm in '04. Particular strengths include free trade, Alaskan oil drilling, finding federal funding for eg. universities and Iraq reconstruction firms. Boggs' start was undoubtedly helped by being the son of the Democratic House majority leader, and he prides himself on having a bipartisan staff with expertise in a wide range of areas.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Money Lawyers., March 24, 2009

By 

Jusuf Hariman (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Money Lawyers: The No-Holds-Barred World of Today's Richest and Most Powerful Lawyers (Hardcover)

This book vividly describes how lawyering has become a money-driven business, not just a profession. It explores the lucrative world of class-action litigation where plaintiff-lawyers- "The Class-Action Club"-garner billions of dollars in damages and fees through suits against manufacturers of items such as breast implants, asbestos, and diet pills. Also featured are the new superlawyer David Boies of IBM/Florida vote fame; the Washington DC., lawyer-lobbyist Tom Boggs; and the messy divorce of securities "strike-suits law" William Lerach of San Diego and Melvyn Weiss of New York. Additionally, the dark side of "white-shoe law" is detailed in an account of how a Wall Street firm cast out partners so that survivors could make more money, and the price the firm paid for its blatant loyalty

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting and thought-provoking, but needs editing, August 14, 2006

By 

K G R "K G R" (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Money Lawyers: The No-Holds-Barred World of Today's Richest and Most Powerful Lawyers (Hardcover)

I liked this book a lot. It covers a variety of lawyers and law firms to give the reader a representative view of various law practices with seemingly questionable morals or ethical practices. It runs the full gamut, from Plaintiffs lawyers dealing with diet pills and breast implants, to securities class-action litigation, to lobbying, to white shoe law firms and David Boies. All these different lawyers are used to show much of what is wrong with many of the major players in the legal system today.
On another note, this book appears to have been very poorly edited. Typos abound, and transitions are done very poorly. Goulden jumps around between lawyers and topics, and does not stay very focused at times. The book also should have been a bit more comprehensive, e.g. discuss what's right with the legal system, problems with conservative jurists and lawyers, etc. But on the whole, I liked it.