Shark Tank: Greed, Politics, and the Collapse of Finley Kumble, One of America's Largest Law Firms [Hardcover]

Kim Isaac Eisler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1990

Portrays the rise and fall of one of the largest law frims in America.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author, an editor of Legal Times, here expands an expose written by his boss, owner Steven Brill, in the magazine. Eisler's account, using recreated dialogue, shows the behind-the-scenes influence on national politics and business of Finley Kumble, an aggressive law firm with offices in some 25 cities. The names of prominent attorneys on the firm's letterhead attracted celebrity clients such as Donald Trump, until debt, interoffice feuds and, charges Eisler, a disregard for ethics led to press exposure of internal corruption and questionable legal practices. Finley Kumble declared bankruptcy in 1988. A bewildering, large cast of characters and haphazard organization of material make the narrative hard to follow.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Until it all fell apart in 1988, Finley Kumble was the second largest law firm in the world, with offices throughout the United States and in London and a stellar line-up of partners including former U.S. senators Paul Laxalt and Russell Long. Eisler has spun a fascinating expose of the greed and quest for power that brought these attorneys together and then tore their firm apart. The book contains few courtroom scenes or attorneys pleading for justice for their clients; justice and the interest of clients was not a major concern at Finley Kumble. Readers instead will find a detailed account (preceded by a very helpful chronology of events) telling what went wrong with this firm and may even be thankful, at the book's end, for the firm's collapse. Recommended for public and legal libraries.
- Sally G. Waters, Stetson Law Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; First Edition edition (March 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312038305
• ISBN-13: 978-0312038304
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,572,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kim Eisler grew up in Lynchburg, Va., and graduated from George Washington University in 1974 with a BA in Political Science. Working his way through college as a copyboy at Time Magazine, Kim was on desk duty on the day of the Watergate break-in in 1973. When he suggested a story on the burglary, the New York office replied "passing on Watergate-too local." Thus was the way cleared for Woodward and Bernstein to become legends. After college Kim became a staff writer at the Delta Democrat Times working for legendary Southern editor Hodding Carter III. After uncovering a massive scandal regarding the operations of the Greenville-Lake Village Bridge, Kim moved his investigative reporting niche to The Tampa Tribune, eventually becoming the state capital bureau chief in Tallahassee. After five years with the Tribune, Kim took a job at the Los Angeles Daily Journal, the nation's most prestigious daily paper for the legal profession. After just a year, he was scooped up the American Lawyer Magazine, run by Steven Brill, later to be the founder of Court TV. It was American Lawyer that Kim established his credentials as the leading law firm reporter in the United States and that expertise landed him a contract as the author of Shark Tank, the story of how the country's largest law firm, Finley Kumble, crumbled as the law firm version of a Ponzi Scheme. Shark Tank's success led to the publication of The Last Liberal, a biography of influential Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Kim's third book was Revenge of the Pequots, the tale of how Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut was put together and changed the landscape of gambling in America. After several years writing magazine articles, Kim's newest book Masters of the Game, the story of how Williams & Connolly law firm elected a president, freed an assassin and won a world series, is scheduled for publication on June 22 by Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Press.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The bloody truth, December 4, 2003

By 

R. Coleman "roncoleman" (Passaic, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shark Tank: Greed, Politics and the Collapse of Finley Kumble, One of America's Largest Law Firms (Paperback)

Anyone interested in the transition of the legal profession, particularly the world of the large law firms, from a gentleman's society of real collegiality and cruel cliques to a bottom-line driven business should read this moving and well-written account of the Finley, Kumble saga. Kumble's model was only off by a degree or two, and unfortunately for him those degrees including intolerable business and legal ethics. But his vision of building a national law firm by acquisition, marketing and brass-knuckled practice has become the norm in the world of the "AmLaw 100." Eisler's treatment of her former boss, Steve Brill, is decently even-handed. He is, after all, the man who pulled the curtains back and affected the instution of the institutional law firms forever.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The bloody truth, December 4, 2003

By 

R. Coleman "roncoleman" (Passaic, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shark Tank: Greed, Politics, and the Collapse of Finley Kumble, One of America's Largest Law Firms (Hardcover)

Anyone interested in the transition of the legal profession, particularly the world of the large law firms, from a gentleman's society of real collegiality and cruel cliques to a bottom-line driven business should read this moving and well-written account of the Finley, Kumble saga. Kumble's model was only off by a degree or two, and unfortunately for him those degrees including intolerable business and legal ethics. But his vision of building a national law firm by acquisition, marketing and brass-knuckled practice has become the norm in the world of the "AmLaw 100." Eisler's treatment of her former boss, Steve Brill, is decently even-handed. He is, after all, the man who pulled the curtains back and affected the instution of the institutional law firms forever.