The Money Lawyers: The No-Holds-Barred World of Today's Richest and Most Powerful Lawyers

by Joseph C. Goulden

"The Money Lawyers" vividly describes how lawyering has become a money-driven business, not just a profession. It explores the lucrative world of class-action litigation, where plaintiff lawyers - "The Class-Action Club" - garner billions of dollars in damages and fees through suits against manufacturers of items such as breast implants, asbestos, and diet pills. Also featured are the new super-lawyer David Boies of IBM/Florida vote fame; the Washington,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312205554
• ISBN13: 9780312205553
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Truman Talley Books
• Length: 428 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

The Money Lawyers.

This book vividly describes how lawyering has become a money-driven business, not just a profession. It explores the lucrative world of class-action litigation where plaintiff-lawyers- "The Class-Action Club"-garner billions of dollars in damages and fees through suits against manufacturers of items such as breast implants, asbestos, and diet pills. Also featured are the new superlawyer David Boies of IBM/Florida vote fame; the Washington DC., lawyer-lobbyist Tom Boggs; and the messy divorce of securities "strike-suits law" William Lerach of San Diego and Melvyn Weiss of New York. Additionally, the dark side of "white-shoe law" is detailed in an account of how a Wall Street firm cast out partners so that survivors could make more money, and the price the firm paid for its blatant loyalty

Very interesting and thought-provoking, but needs editing

I liked this book a lot. It covers a variety of lawyers and law firms to give the reader a representative view of various law practices with seemingly questionable morals or ethical practices. It runs the full gamut, from Plaintiffs lawyers dealing with diet pills and breast implants, to securities class-action litigation, to lobbying, to white shoe law firms and David Boies. All these different lawyers are used to show much of what is wrong with many of the major players in the legal system today. On another note, this book appears to have been very poorly edited. Typos abound, and transitions are done very poorly. Goulden jumps around between lawyers and topics, and does not stay very focused at times. The book also should have been a bit more comprehensive, e.g. discuss what's right with the legal system, problems with conservative jurists and lawyers, etc. But on the whole, I liked it.

Must reading for law students

Joseph Goulden's latest book should be required reading for every law student. It might make them stop and think: "What am I going to do when I get admitted to the bar? Become a 'money lawyer' or be able to look myself in the mirror every morning and look my kids in their eyes when I tuck them in?" Based on extensive research and hundreds of interviews, Goulden's portraits of America's most powerful "money lawyers" are not pretty. The billion-dollar industry of class action lawsuits is described in all its greed. A Hollywood film based on his fascinating account and detailed analysis of the silicone breast implants class action cases would make "A Civil Action" look like a kindergarten sand-box squabble. "The Money Lawyers" is an eye-opening book for anyone interested in the law, and especially for those concerned about the future of the American legal system. And in conclusion, Goulden, offers some sound suggestions on what to do about rampant abuses.