COURTING JUSTICE: Lawyer's Casebook from The Yankees v. Major League Baseball to Gore v. Bush

In this crisp, energetic memoir, the ubiquitous, high-profile Boies reconstructs his role in some of the iconic legal battles of recent years. The narrative begins in 1997, with the titular Yankees suit. An antitrust expert, Boies protected a $95-million licensing deal with Adidas from a revenue-sharing plan instituted by the baseball league. Then, with a lawyer's knack for presenting complex subjects clearly, Boies effectively untangles the legal and technical issues involved in the Microsoft antitrust case. Hired to represent the Justice Department, he renders in gloating detail Bill Gates's disastrous and inexplicable stonewalling deposition. A ruling in 2000 declared Microsoft a monopolist, but Boies was dissatisfied with the settlement later negotiated by the Justice Department. In the 2000 post-election litigation, in which he represented Al Gore, Boies presents himself as constrained by co-lawyers and political considerations that forced him to drop a promising effort to challenge absentee ballots. Carefully but candidly, Boies expresses disappointment with what he considers an unprincipled Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore . Boies, a recreational gambler and a natural-born strategist, rarely has to account for a loss. He tries to remain modest, but he obviously enjoys recollecting his bold gambits and wilting opponents. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (Oct. 13)