Skadden: Power, Money, and the Rise of a Legal Empire [Paperback]

Lincoln Caplan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1994

In this unprecedented look at the culture of American lawyering, Lincoln Caplan shows us Skadden's origins in the white-shoe postwar legal world and its rise to preeminence in the era of Drexel Burnham Lambert - the firm's largest client in the eighties. Skadden is revealed as a place that prizes opportunists but which also created a $10 million program to support public-interest lawyers. In Caplan's probing and even-handed account, the story of Joe Flom's firm illuminates an era in America business and society.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For years Joseph Flom, the hard-hitting senior partner of the Manhattan firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, dominated the world's richest law firm with a roster of prestigious international clients. In this revealing in-depth study, written with Skadden's "sometimes" cooperation, Caplan ( An Open Adoption ) traces the history of change among postwar legal firms into big businesses often as money-and power-centered as their clients, specializing in corporate mergers, acquisitions and ruthless takeovers. Abetted by the relaxed enforcement of antitrust laws and by deregulation from the 1970s to 1990, Skadden's more than 1000 lawyers, organized on a corporate model, made merger or acquisition deals involving Dupont-Conoco, U.S. Steel-Marathon Oil, and GE-RCA, among others, which the American Bar Association criticized as serving the client's interest rather than the public's. Skadden, the author notes, has weathered the recession with fewer partners and new leadership. 30,000 first printing; author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

During the wheeling-and-dealing 1980s, the law of business became the business of law. Major players in the merger-and-acquisition boom of that decade, law firms reaped huge fees and became big business themselves. No firm more epitomized commercial corporatism or more exemplified deal making than Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom. Caplan, author of previous books on John W. Hinckley, Jr., and the insanity defense and on the solicitor general's office, provides a detailed look at the workings of the firm known popularly as Skadden. He focuses on Joe Flom, Skadden's senior and only surviving "name partner," but the law firm also provided Caplan with nearly five years of behind-the-scenes, daily access, and he portrays the troubles now facing Skadden since the main source of its fees dried up. The result is an almost overwhelming wealth of detail, although Caplan's inside insights are fascinating. It is as if we get not only one of L.A. Law's best episodes, but also a lot of what is usually left on the cutting-room floor. David Rouse --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (October 30, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374524246
• ISBN-13: 978-0374524241
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Lawyers & Judges

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lincoln Caplan is a phenomenal legal historian., December 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Skadden: Power, Money, and the Rise of a Legal Empire (Hardcover)

Mr. Caplan has gracefully provided readers with an exquisite portrait of the life and times of a twentieth century law firm. Compelling and balanced, the book joyfully tracks the highs and lows of a group of "young turks" who have defined what it means to be a lawyer in corporate America. I am grateful to Mr. Caplan for the time he put into this project, as it gives tremendous insight to law students as to how a law firm operates and what the culture of a law firm embodies. This book is worth reading, worth printing and well worth recommending. Caplan's Tenth Justice, his recording of the Office of Solicitor General is brilliant as well. Joe Flom and Sheila Birnbaum and the rest of the Skadden crew can rest easy as the bard who records their triumphs and tribulations does so with zest and intelligence.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Skadden - a work all those in big business should read, April 25, 2008

By 

Liber Sosius (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skadden: Power, Money, and the Rise of a Legal Empire (Paperback)

Ever wondered where the suit and tie brigade known as corporate lawyers originate their quirky self-image? Well look no further. Lincoln Caplan's "Skadden..." is undoubtedly a modern legal classic up there with Michael Stewarts "The Partners". Delving inside the history of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom LLP is congruent to understanding the changed corporate world. From Joe Flom's initial proxy battles and rivalry with Marty Lipton to multi-billion dollar, cross-border transactions to the evolution of the new breed of corporate law firm. Skadden's history is inseparable from that of Wall Street and business in the US since its post-World War II founding and as a consequence is a must for all those interested in business as well as those interested in a legal career. A great no holes barred look into the modern law firm.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must for legal libraries, August 8, 2005

By 

Z. Blume (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skadden: Power, Money, and the Rise of a Legal Empire (Paperback)

Skadden is an excellent history of both the rise of the modern law firms as well as one of those firms which epitomized that movement. Lincoln Caplan uses an indepth analysis of the practice, politics and people of Skadden Arps to analyze how and why law firms, which had traditionally been small parterships have since grown into businesses as large and competitive as many of the corporations they represent. The story is very well written and insightful and it is obvious that Caplan did extensive research both inside the firm and in legal libraries. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in legal history and it is a good insider's guide to people who do not have experience in a law firm, but are considering working in one or are simply curious what goes in them.