David Boies
David Boies is a remarkable man who has shaped American society with his actions. He is lawyer whose cases have greatly influenced the modern era, and he continues to have an impact. David Boies is known for his involvement in the Westmoreland vs. CBS case, the IBM cases, the case of the 2000 election, and, most famously, the antitrust case against Microsoft. Recently he has been the subject of some controversy due to his representation of the media mogul turned social pariah Harvey Weinstein. Boies is exceptionally intelligent, with a near photographic memory and the ability to flawlessly hold several conversations at once. He is undoubtedly one of if not the most prominent trial lawyer of this generation.
Boies was born in Marengo, Illinois to two teachers. He was raised in a farming community before moving to California, where he graduated from Fullerton Union High School. He married his high school sweetheart and considered settling down, but decided instead to enroll in college. He attended a small Baptist school before transferring to Northwestern University. At Northwestern, Boies shined. He was the top student by far, and this was where he got interested in law. By this time he was separated from his first wife, and he met his second wife while at the school. Unfortunately, this woman was married to a professor, and the ensuing scandal lead to his banishment from the school. He was fine, however, because he was able to transfer into Yale, his dream school, for a program in law and economics. He was hired right out of college by Cravath, a fairly prominent law firm at the time. It was at Cravath that Boise began his conquest of the litigation world. It was after his tenure at this firm, however, that he was asked by the U.S. Department of Justice to try their case against Microsoft and Bill Gates for violating the antitrust laws. Boies agreed, and so began his involvement in one of the most important cases for the new era of technology. This exchange was immortalized when the two clashed, and Gates’ deposition was a clear demonstration of his underestimation of Boies. In the end, Boies won, and Gates and Microsoft were humbled by the power of this lawyer. Boies later stated that he would not have minded representing Gates and Microsoft, as he takes cases based on interest, and to him Gates was certainly an interesting guy. Boies then went on to represent Al Gore in his case of the 2000 election, where unfortunately he lost when the Supreme Court ordered the recount to stop.
This man, David Boies, is a remarkable individual whose actions have molded the laws of recent history, not by changing them, but by upholding them in the pursuit of justice. He will go down in history as one of the greatest American trial lawyers of all time. While he will not join the U.S. Justice Department, his involvement with some of the most pivotal cases of recent history have enshrined him in this history of America’s government.
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