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The Partners: Inside America's Most Powerful Law Firms
A lawyer and journalist dissects the personalities and power of the nation's elite corporate law firms and traces their roles in pivotal political and economic events, such as the rescue of the American hostages in Iran
395 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
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About the author
James B. Stewart
37 books329 followersJames Bennett Stewart is an American lawyer, journalist, and author.
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November 30, 2007Even 25 years after its publication, this book impresses me. Written by an editor at American Lawyer magazine (think: Steven Brill but more pro-lawyer and less sensationalistic), this book is broken into chapters, each of which is a vignette of major law firm handling a case for a wealthy client (usually corporate) with a major screw-up. The first chapter, about how lawyers for Citibank brokered the resolution of the hostage crisis in Iran during the end of the Carter administration, is in some ways the least impressive, even though it involves the transfer of billions of dollars in funds around the world.
Other chapters include the federal anti-trust lawsuit against IBM and how it changed (and in some ways ruined) the law firm that represented IBM, a private anti-trust lawsuit against Kodak where the firm representing Kodak ended being fired, a high-tech IPO that went sour, and others. Lots of interviews with the principal lawyers, and generally favorable reviews of the law firms that went the distance and then some in order to represent their clients and earn huge fees.
And yet, one can read between the lines that even though these lawyers thought of themselves as the top of the food chain, in the end they were simply highly paid drones who labored at the behest of their often irrational clients (as in: we're paying you huge sums of money to get us out of the trouble we got ourselves into, and never mind why). Tales of chauffered limousines and health club memberships only emphasize the essential nature of the work: long hours of drudgery in a gilded cage, for clients often indifferent to the nature of the work being performed. An example is how IBM, while paying millions of dollars to defend itself against the government's anti-trust case, generally assigned its poorest-performing employees to assist the highly-paid legal team in preparing the case. Actions speak louder than words, and nothing says "I don't view this as all that important to my business" than paying high fees to lawyers and assigning C-team employees to work with them.
One has to read a little bit between the lines to see this message, but this book nicely documents much of what was starting to go sour for the elite law firms 25 years ago, and why it sucks even more today to be an associate at an elite law firm: all the bad trends the book identifies have continued, making life even more miserable for the large paycheck than it was back then. The author tells a good story, even if he is a little too admiring of the firms he writes about.
Other chapters include the federal anti-trust lawsuit against IBM and how it changed (and in some ways ruined) the law firm that represented IBM, a private anti-trust lawsuit against Kodak where the firm representing Kodak ended being fired, a high-tech IPO that went sour, and others. Lots of interviews with the principal lawyers, and generally favorable reviews of the law firms that went the distance and then some in order to represent their clients and earn huge fees.
And yet, one can read between the lines that even though these lawyers thought of themselves as the top of the food chain, in the end they were simply highly paid drones who labored at the behest of their often irrational clients (as in: we're paying you huge sums of money to get us out of the trouble we got ourselves into, and never mind why). Tales of chauffered limousines and health club memberships only emphasize the essential nature of the work: long hours of drudgery in a gilded cage, for clients often indifferent to the nature of the work being performed. An example is how IBM, while paying millions of dollars to defend itself against the government's anti-trust case, generally assigned its poorest-performing employees to assist the highly-paid legal team in preparing the case. Actions speak louder than words, and nothing says "I don't view this as all that important to my business" than paying high fees to lawyers and assigning C-team employees to work with them.
One has to read a little bit between the lines to see this message, but this book nicely documents much of what was starting to go sour for the elite law firms 25 years ago, and why it sucks even more today to be an associate at an elite law firm: all the bad trends the book identifies have continued, making life even more miserable for the large paycheck than it was back then. The author tells a good story, even if he is a little too admiring of the firms he writes about.
February 3, 2022
This is a pretty interesting book, a real page turner about various intricacies of law. Towards the end, the topic kind of loses some steam, as Stewart's story taking becomes less focused. In part, the cases towards the end also become more diffuse, as many law firms become involved (rather than one or two).
If anything this book exemplifies the values, standards and practices of the legal profession as practiced at the highest echelon of the late 20th century America. For that, this book is an invaluable slice of American society of that time period, even if the kinds of problems and behaviors of the legal profession change.
If anything this book exemplifies the values, standards and practices of the legal profession as practiced at the highest echelon of the late 20th century America. For that, this book is an invaluable slice of American society of that time period, even if the kinds of problems and behaviors of the legal profession change.
December 19, 2025
A surprisingly gripping deep-dive into the personalities, politics, and power structures inside elite corporate law firms. Stewart makes it clear that these firms don’t just “practice law” they shape industries, influence governments, and steer outcomes in cases with massive real-world consequences.
What I liked is how it reads like investigative storytelling rather than a dry business book. Ambition, ego, money, and institutional culture all collide, and you come away understanding how “the best and brightest” environments can produce both brilliance and rot.
What I liked is how it reads like investigative storytelling rather than a dry business book. Ambition, ego, money, and institutional culture all collide, and you come away understanding how “the best and brightest” environments can produce both brilliance and rot.
March 16, 2024
Highly informative. Amazing to see how significantly the legal landscape in America has changed over the last few decades—the rise of private equity no doubt a contributing factor. Also insightful in helping to understand the cultural basis of many big law firms, especially Cravath. Not the most exciting, at times.
April 10, 2024
I only read a handful of these before putting it down, but Stewart recounts interesting cases that partners of major law firms handle for well-known and well-funded companies.
He's an excellent writer and can make even dry legal procedures seem interesting, but all I could think about was that these Partners are extremely smart people who were given a lot of opportunity in life, and now spend their time playing high-stakes games battling for control of valuable companies. Oh, and they always make a *lot* of money for their trouble.
He's an excellent writer and can make even dry legal procedures seem interesting, but all I could think about was that these Partners are extremely smart people who were given a lot of opportunity in life, and now spend their time playing high-stakes games battling for control of valuable companies. Oh, and they always make a *lot* of money for their trouble.
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