Boies Schiller
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP is an American
law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...
based in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The firm was founded in 1997 by
David Boies David Boies ( ; born March 11, 1941) is an American lawyer and chairman of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Boies rose to national prominence for three major cases: leading the U.S. federal government's succes ...
and Jonathan D. Schiller, who were joined in 1999 by Donald L. Flexner, a former partner with
Crowell & Moring Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, Chicago, Denver, London, Brussels, Doha, and Shanghai. With approximately 600 lawyers, ...
. The firm has become known for its involvement in high-profile
litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...
, having represented the Department of Justice in the antitrust lawsuit ''
United States v. Microsoft ''United States of America v. Microsoft Corporation'', 253 F.3d 34 (D.C. Cir. 2001), was a landmark American antitrust law case at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The U.S. government accused Microsoft of ...
'', as well as Vice President Gore in the Supreme Court case ''
Bush v. Gore ''Bush v. Gore'', 531 U.S. 98 (2000), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000, that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W ...
.'' More recently, Boies successfully challenged the constitutionality of California's
Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage. It passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned by the ...
in ''
Perry v. Brown ''Hollingsworth v. Perry'' was a series of United States federal court cases that reinstated same-sex marriage in the state of California. The case began in 2009 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, which found that ...
,'' and represented the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
in the antitrust litigation initiated by the players' union. The firm has drawn controversy for its aggressive tactics during representation of
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (, ; born March 19, 1952) is an American film producer and convicted sex offender. In 1979, Weinstein and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent ...
amidst sexual abuse allegations and the now-defunct blood testing startup
Theranos Theranos Inc. () was an American privately held corporation that was touted as a breakthrough health technology company. Founded in 2003 by then 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos raised more than US$700 million from venture capitalists an ...
.


Notable clients

Among other high-profile clients, Boies Schiller has long represented film producer
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (, ; born March 19, 1952) is an American film producer and convicted sex offender. In 1979, Weinstein and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent ...
, against whom sexual abuse allegations were levied in October 2017. ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' reported in November 2017 that Boies Schiller had, on Weinstein's behalf, directed private intelligence companies, including
Black Cube Black Cube (BC Strategy Ltd) is a private intelligence agency based in London, Tel Aviv, and Madrid. The company was founded in 2010 by former Israeli intelligence officers Dan Zorella (in Hebrew: דן זורלא) and Avi Yanus (in Hebrew: א ...
, to spy on and orchestrate smear campaigns against alleged victims of Weinstein's and on reporters who were investigating Weinstein's actions. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', which was at the same time a target of the reported espionage and a client of Boies Schiller's, considered this "intolerable conduct". ''The New York Times'' announced a few days later it had "terminated its relationship" with Boies' firm. Boies Schiller, and specifically
David Boies David Boies ( ; born March 11, 1941) is an American lawyer and chairman of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Boies rose to national prominence for three major cases: leading the U.S. federal government's succes ...
himself, notably represented
Theranos Theranos Inc. () was an American privately held corporation that was touted as a breakthrough health technology company. Founded in 2003 by then 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos raised more than US$700 million from venture capitalists an ...
for several years, including against the fraud claims that toppled the blood-testing company. In '' Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup'' by ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' investigative reporter
John Carreyrou John Carreyrou () is a French-American investigative reporter at ''The New York Times''. Carreyrou worked for ''The Wall Street Journal'' for 20 years between 1999 and 2019 and has been based in Brussels, Paris, and New York City. He won the Pul ...
, the firm is described as protecting the startup using surveillance of witnesses and journalists, weaponized use of non-disclosure agreements and affidavits, intimidation tactics, and other heavy-handed practices. Boies Schiller is portrayed by Carreyrou as acting as an extension of Theranos, including the use of the law firm's New York offices for hosting promotional meetings such as a faked blood test administered to ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...
'' writer
Roger Parloff Roger Harris Parloff (born 1955) is an American journalist who formerly worked at ''Fortune'' and currently is a senior editor at ''Lawfare''. Education Parloff earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American literature and language from Harvard Un ...
. According to Carreyrou, the firm agreed to be paid in Theranos stock, and Boies himself served on the Theranos board of directors, raising questions about conflicts of interest. Boies Schiller ended its representation of Theranos in November 2016 due to disagreements about legal strategy. Former Theranos general counsel Heather King was hired back by Boies Schiller after having served as the general counsel at Theranos. King had previously been a lawyer at Boies Schiller during its representation of Theranos, and she, David Boies, and lawyer Michael Brille featured prominently in ''Bad Blood''. The firm also represents
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
in corporate matters, and Amazon founder and CEO
Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...
personally retained attorneys from Boies Schiller as part of his crisis-management team in the wake of Bezos's claims of extortion by
AMI AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI (Romanian singer), a Romanian singer and songwriter *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version *AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magaz ...
. The firm represented former Blackwater CEO
Erik Prince Erik Dean Prince (born June 6, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, author, and former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and the founder of the private military company Blackwater. He served as Blackwater's CEO until 2009 and as its chairman u ...
in a
defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
suit against
The Intercept ''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing nonprofit news organization that publishes articles and podcasts online. ''The Intercept'' has published in English since its founding in 2014, and in Portuguese since the 2016 launch of the Brazilia ...
in 2020.


Political contributions

According to
OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector an ...
, Boies Schiller was one of the law firms with the most employee contributions to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.92 million, 90% to Democrats. Since 2000, Boies Schiller employees have contributed almost $8.2 million to federal campaigns.


Notable lawyers and alumni

*
David Boies David Boies ( ; born March 11, 1941) is an American lawyer and chairman of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Boies rose to national prominence for three major cases: leading the U.S. federal government's succes ...
, chairman of the firm, is a former partner. * Jonathan D. Schiller, managing partner of the firm, was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University from 2013 to 2018. *
Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York since 2009 ...
, U.S. Senator from New York, is a former partner. *
Tanya Chutkan Tanya Sue Chutkan (born July 5, 1962) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She was the presiding judge over the criminal trial of then-for ...
, a United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, is a former partner of the firm's Washington, D.C. office. *
Susan Estrich Susan Estrich (born December 16, 1952) is an American lawyer, professor, author, political operative, and political commentator. She is known for serving as the campaign manager for Michael Dukakis in 1988 (being the first woman to manage the pre ...
, a partner, was the first female president of the ''
Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...
''. *
Hampton Dellinger Hampton Yeats Dellinger (born April 30, 1967) is an American lawyer who served as United States Office of Special Counsel, Special Counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel until fired by President Donald Trump. Initially dismissed on Februa ...
, a partner, was formerly
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
's Deputy Attorney General. * Ann O'Leary, the chief of staff to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
Governor
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...
and former co-executive director of the Clinton-Kaine Transition Team, is a former partner. * Stephen N. Zack, a partner, was president of the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
from 2010 to 2011. *
Elizabeth Wurtzel Elizabeth Lee Wurtzel (July 31, 1967 – January 7, 2020) was an American writer, journalist, and lawyer known for the confessional memoir '' Prozac Nation'', which she published at the age of 27. Her work often focused on chronicling her person ...
, a
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
and
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
, is a former associate. *
Hunter Biden Robert Hunter Biden (born February4, 1970) is an American attorney and businessman. He is the second son of former president Joe Biden and his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden was a founding board member of BHR Partners, a Chine ...
, son of President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
, is a former counsel.


See also

*
SCO–Linux disputes In a series of legal disputes between SCO Group and Linux vendors and users, SCO alleged that its license agreements with IBM meant that source code IBM wrote and donated to be incorporated into Linux was added in violation of SCO's contractual ri ...
*
Dalvik (software) Dalvik is a discontinued process virtual machine (VM) in the Android operating system that executes applications written for Android. (Dalvik bytecode format is still used as a distribution format, but no longer at runtime in newer Android versi ...
* '' Canna Provisions v. Garland''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boies, Schiller and Flexner Law firms established in 1997 Law firms based in New York (state)