Final Arguments: Greed, Politics, and the Collapse of Finley Kumble, America's Second-Largest Law Firm

Anyone interested in the transition of the legal profession, particularly the world of the large law firms, from a gentleman's society of real collegiality and cruel cliques to a bottom-line driven business should read this moving and well-written account of the Finley, Kumble saga. Kumble's model was only off by a degree or two, and unfortunately for him those degrees including intolerable business and legal ethics. But his vision of building a national law firm by acquisition, marketing and brass-knuckled practice has become the norm in the world of the "AmLaw 100." Eisler's treatment of her former boss, Steve Brill, is decently even-handed. He is, after all, the man who pulled the curtains back and affected the instution of the institutional law firms forever.

Anyone interested in the transition of the legal profession, particularly the world of the large law firms, from a gentleman's society of real collegiality and cruel cliques to a bottom-line driven business should read this moving and well-written account of the Finley, Kumble saga. Kumble's model was only off by a degree or two, and unfortunately for him those degrees including intolerable business and legal ethics. But his vision of building a national law firm by acquisition, marketing and brass-knuckled practice has become the norm in the world of the "AmLaw 100." Eisler's treatment of her former boss, Steve Brill, is decently even-handed. He is, after all, the man who pulled the curtains back and affected the instution of the institutional law firms forever.