David Boies, Managing Partner, Boies, Schiller & Flexner
David Boies, Managing Partner, Boies Schiller and Flexner
The cinema has long been enamored with the figure of the courtroom attorney, a barrister using his verbal powers to sway a judge or jury away from bias and preconception; but rarely has there been an actual figure with an abundance of charisma fit to make Hollywood stand back and take notice. Enter David Boies. From an associate position at the famous Cravath, Swaine & Moore to the establishment of his own firm, Boies, Schiller & Flexner; David Boies has cemented himself as one of the country's most brilliant litigators.
At first glance he looks like a less cynical Bill Murray: a ruddy face, receding brown hair and gentle eyes befitting the narrator of a Christmas story. His taste in clothing will not be winning him any accolades from Joan Rivers. However, if it is not revealed in his appearance, it certainly manifests itself in his eccentric decorum: David Boies is one of the greatest attorneys of his generation, the man the National Law Journal dubbed the "Michael Jordan of the courtroom."
It began in Illinois on March 11, 1941. David Boies, the eldest of five children born to two school teachers, was raised in the rural Midwest before the family moved to California. Half a century later, the boy from Sycamore would stand atop the legal profession.
Boies, now 63, has had a long and distinguished career that has lasted over three decades. Through the years he has represented some of the country's biggest corporations and the media's biggest newsmakers. His clients have included CBS, the New York Yankees, Don Imus, Napster, Calvin Klein, Texaco, Gary Shandling and Tyco. Those he has wrestled large sums of money from include auction staples Christie's and Sotheby's. Michael Milken felt the sting of Boies' singular talent when the attorney was able to get a $1 billion settlement from the financier.
However, two cases in recent memory will serve as the highlights of his resume for years to come. In 1999, Boies, working for the United States government, was the lawyer largely responsible for the defeat of Microsoft. The software giant was accused of monopolizing web browsers by including Internet Explorer along with Windows. Ironically, Boies had previously defended IBM against the Justice Department's monopoly charges. For his accomplishment, The National Law Journal named him the "Lawyer of the Year." Boies' fame spread beyond professional circles. That same year, Vanity Fair admitted him to the magazine's Hall of Fame, a testament to his pop-culture credence.
How does one top the largest antitrust case of the decade? Well, there's always the issue of who should be the leader of the free world. For an encore to his dazzling display in the Microsoft case, Boies took the helm of Al Gore's challenge for the 2000 presidential election. The media blitz glued Americans to their televisions for hours on end, quality time with CNN that few will be able to forget—-no matter how hard they try. Aside from Rorschach-tinged, butterfly ballot nightmares; David Boies at work may be the indelible image of the process. Despite numerous obstacles and a lower court's decision, Boies managed to secure a ruling from the Florida Supreme Court allowing for a recount. Gore was ultimately unsuccessful in the United States Supreme Court, where Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote:
"Given all these factors, and in light of the legislative intent identified by the Florida Supreme Court to bring Florida within the 'safe harbor' provision of 3 U. S. C. §5, the remedy prescribed by the Supreme Court of Florida cannot be deemed an 'appropriate' one as of December 8."
However, Boies' handling of the Vice President's dispute earned him further admiration. Time selected him as its "Lawyer of the Year" in 2000. Despite the rare occasion of his being on the short-side of a decision, Boies' stock increased more dramatically than those of his opponents in the case. As the political effects of the case are still reverberating, posterity may provide an even greater place for him in years to come.
Mr. Boies displays the kind of innate qualities other attorneys dream about. He possesses a ruthless work ethic, a memory that enables him to eschew reliance on notes, and a manner that is both natural and effective. Mr. Boies is able to carry his courtroom prowess over to the media stage. As anyone who watched him during the Florida maelstrom can attest to, he is able to be comfortable in front of the camera without pandering to it, a tendency many find hard to resist.
The Illinois native began his education at the University of Redlands and went on to earn a B.S. from Northwestern in 1964, a LL.B. magna cum laude from Yale in 1966, a LL.M. from NYU in 1967, and LL.D. from Redlands in 2000. His academic background is even more impressive when his dyslexia, which prevented him from reading in his early grade school years, is taken into account.
Mr. Boies is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and a trustee of St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Medical Center. He is the father of six and currently resides in Westchester, New York with his third wife Mary, an attorney in her own right.
Boies, Schiller & Flexner is one of the nations' burgeoning law firms. With offices across the country and headquarters in Armonk, NY, it is quickly becoming one of the hottest places for attorneys to work, due in no small part to the reputation of its founding partner.
Though he's traded in Wall Street for the suburbs, David Boies still takes cases that have heavy social ramifications as well as legal consequences. Be it the enigma of Internet technology or the fate of the government's political future, David Boies will certainly be the attorney at the forefront of any development.
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