Courting Justice: A Lawyer's Casebook, From the Yankees vs. MLB to Gore vs. Bush (Hardcover)

by David Boies (Author) "IT WAS SHORTLY AFTER NOON ON MAY 14, 1997, WHEN I stepped out of 825 Eighth Avenue in midtown Manhattan on my way to meet..." (more)
Key Phrases: interim lead counsel, local canvassing boards, sunshine standard, New York, Palm Beach, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
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.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Miramax (October 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786868384
• ISBN-13: 978-0786868384
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #583,023 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The View From The Top, October 25, 2004

By	Jim Baker "James" - See all my reviews

Most lawyers dream of leading that high-profile case that will bring them the riches and recognition they've worked so hard for--for super-lawyer David Boies, it's just another day at the office. Courting Justice reels readers into the life and view of America's top litigator, through a gripping account of the cases that have brought him fame, fortune and frustration after leaving the top law firm in the country in 1997 to start his own law firm. Boies' legal insights and strategies frame the issues presented in these cases in ways that make sense to both experts and laymen, and allow readers to undertand the powerful interests and high-stakes behind the seminal cases of our day.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars riveting, October 18, 2004

By	John Dennis "John" - See all my reviews

I found Courting Justice to be as much of a page turner as any John Grisham book I 've ever read. Boies' knowledge of the law coupled with his exciting storytelling make this book a must-read for everyone.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling reading, November 12, 2004

By	Schmerguls "schmerguls" (Sioux City, Ia USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Often you hear encomiums on a book to the effect that 'I wanted it not to end.' I have often thought such words were overdrawn, since I usually want to finish what I am reading so as to read something else. But NOT this book. I found the book page after page compelling reading, and could not help but be fascinated by the accounts of the high stakes litigation in which Boies was continually engaged. Even a case like the Microsoft anti-trust case, dealing with high tech issues not easy to comprehend, is very well-told and enlightening. This great book concludes with 120 pages on the behind the scene and on the scene account of Bush v. Gore, and tells that complex story clearly and with devastating clarity as to what happened. How Boies could so ably handle such momentous cases in as short a time as he sets out--1997 to 2000--is hard to believe but we know he did. Nor is the usual fault of lawyer books--puffing themselves--evident in this well-written volume. He lets his results do the illuminating of his ability. As the author says, each of the cases he discusses could be the subject of a book in itself and in a way one wishes that each were. This is a marvelous book, which was a sheer joy to read and savor.