Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

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Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP logo.svg
Headquarters55 Hudson Yards
New York City, United States
No. of offices15
No. of attorneys176
Major practice areasLitigation
Key people David Boies (Chairman), Jonathan D. Schiller, & Donald L. Flexner
Date foundedMay 1997
FounderDavid Boies, Jonathan D. Schiller
Company type Limited liability partnership
Website www.bsfllp.com
Outside the D.C. offices of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Boies Schiller Flexner LLP DC office David Lat.jpg
Outside the D.C. offices of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP.

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP is an American law firm based in New York City. The firm was founded in 1997 by David Boies and Jonathan D. Schiller, who were joined in 1999 by Donald L. Flexner, a former partner with Crowell & Moring.

Contents

The firm has become known for its involvement in high-profile litigation, having represented the Department of Justice in the antitrust lawsuit United States v. Microsoft , as well as Vice President Gore in the Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore. More recently, Boies successfully challenged the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8 in Perry v. Brown, and represented the National Football League in the antitrust litigation initiated by the players' union. [1] The firm has drawn controversy [2] for its aggressive tactics during representation of Harvey Weinstein amidst sexual abuse allegations [3] [4] and the now-defunct blood testing startup Theranos. [5] [6]

Notable clients

Among other high-profile clients, Boies Schiller has long represented film producer Harvey Weinstein, against whom sexual abuse allegations were levied in October 2017. The New Yorker reported in November 2017 that Boies Schiller had, on Weinstein's behalf, directed private intelligence companies, including Black Cube, [7] to spy on and orchestrate smear campaigns against alleged victims of Weinstein's and on reporters who were investigating Weinstein's actions. [8] [9] The New York Times , which was at the same time a target of the reported espionage and a client of Boies Schiller's, considered this "intolerable conduct". [10] The New York Times announced a few days later it had "terminated its relationship" with Boies' firm. [11]

Boies Schiller, and specifically David Boies himself, notably represented Theranos 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 investigative reporter John Carreyrou, 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 writer Roger Parloff. According to Carreyrou, the firm agreed to be paid in Theranos stock, and Boies himself served on the Theranos board of directors, [12] raising questions about conflicts of interest. [5] Boies Schiller ended its representation of Theranos in November 2016 due to disagreements about legal strategy. [13] Former Theranos general counsel Heather King was hired back by Boies Schiller after having served as the general counsel at Theranos. [14] 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. [15]

The firm also represents Amazon in corporate matters, and Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos personally retained attorneys from Boies Schiller as part of his crisis-management team in the wake of Bezos's claims of extortion by AMI. [9]

The firm represented former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince in a defamation suit against The Intercept in 2020. [16]

Political contributions

According to OpenSecrets, 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. [17] Since 2000, Boies Schiller employees have contributed almost $8.2 million to federal campaigns. [18]

Notable lawyers and alumni

The firm's original headquarters in Armonk, New York Boies Schiller and Flexner.jpg
The firm's original headquarters in Armonk, New York

See also

Related Research Articles

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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 advises multinational corporations on regulatory, litigation, corporate, and investigations matters. As of 2022, Crowell & Moring is ranked among the top 100 law firms in the United States in The American Lawyer's "AmLaw 100" list, based on gross revenue.

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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 and private investors, resulting in a $9 billion valuation at its peak in 2013 and 2014. The company claimed that it had devised blood tests that required very small amounts of blood and that could be performed rapidly and accurately, all using compact automated devices that the company had developed. These claims were proven to be false.

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Elizabeth Anne Holmes is an American biotechnology entrepreneur who was convicted of fraud in connection with her blood-testing company, Theranos. The company's valuation soared after it claimed to have revolutionized blood testing by developing methods that needed only very small volumes of blood, such as from a fingerprick. In 2015, Forbes had named Holmes the youngest and wealthiest self-made female billionaire in the United States on the basis of a $9-billion valuation of her company. In the following year, as revelations of fraud about Theranos's claims began to surface, Forbes revised its estimate of Holmes's net worth to zero, and Fortune named her in its feature article on "The World's 19 Most Disappointing Leaders".

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Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani is a Pakistani-born businessman, former president and chief operating officer of Theranos, which was a privately held health technology company founded by his then-girlfriend Elizabeth Holmes. He and Holmes fraudulently represented that they had devised a revolutionary blood test that required only small amounts of blood, such as from a fingerstick. Both Balwani and Holmes were convicted of fraud. The consequences of the fraud led to the collapse of Theranos and the loss of billions of dollars to investors.

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Channing Rex Robertson is a professor emeritus of chemical engineering at Stanford University. He held multiple significant roles at startup Theranos, founded by his student Elizabeth Holmes. Robertson took on major responsibilities at the company prior to its collapse, including becoming its first board member, engaging with venture capitalists, and recruiting biochemist Ian Gibbons. He retired from Stanford in 2012, becoming professor emeritus. Theranos named him the co-leader of their technology advisory board in 2017. He was called as a witness in United States v. Elizabeth A. Holmes, et al., which convicted Holmes and partner Sunny Balwani of criminal fraud. During his time working for Holmes, Robertson was paid US$500,000 per year by Theranos. Since his active role in the Theranos scandal, he went back to teach one course at Stanford.

Jonathan David Schiller is an American lawyer who is a co-founder and managing partner of the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. He also chaired the Board of Trustees of Columbia University from 2013 to 2018.

Sigrid McCawley is an American attorney who is known for representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein such as Virginia Giuffre and others in several civil cases against their abusers. McCawley is one of the co-managing partners of Boies Schiller Flexner, a firm where she has worked for more than 20 years. As part of the firm, she has represented clients in several notable cases including class action suits against Amway and Halliburton. Before joining Boies Schiller Flexner, McCawley practiced law in Washington, D.C., with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and clerked for U.S. District Judge Jose Gonzalez Jr. in the Southern District of Florida.

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References

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  2. Turner, Matt; Erb, Jordan Parker; Rosen, Phil (2022-01-23). "Behind the scenes at elite law firm Boies Schiller, which has shrunk by half after an attorney exodus". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  3. Rhode, Deborah L. (9 November 2017). "Opinion | David Boies's Egregious Involvement With Harvey Weinstein". The New York Times.
  4. Rubino, Kathryn. "David Boies Takes Responsibility For Enabling Harvey Weinstein". Above the Law.
  5. 1 2 Solomon, Steven Davidoff (2 February 2016). "David Boies's Dual Roles at Theranos Set Up Conflict". The New York Times.
  6. May 31, Ben Hancock; PM, Ben Hancock. "In New Theranos Book, Boies Schiller Doesn't Come Off So Great". The Recorder.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. Contract signed on July 11, 2017, by law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner L.L.P. with Black Cube to stop the publication of sexual-misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein, The New Yorker, November 2017.
  8. Farrow, Ronan (6 November 2017). "Harvey Weinstein's Army of Spies". The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  9. 1 2 Rutenberg, Jim; Weise, Karen; Rashbaum, William K. "Jeff Bezos' Extortion Claim Said to Be Under Review by Prosecutors". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  10. Rutenberg, Jim (7 November 2017). "Report Details Weinstein's Covert Attempt to Halt Publication of Accusations". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  11. Shapiro, Rebecca (8 November 2017). "New York Times Fires David Boies' Law Firm Over 'Reprehensible' Work For Weinstein" . Retrieved 12 March 2019 via Huff Post.
  12. McDermid, Riley (21 November 2016). "Litigator David Boies parts ways with Theranos after disagreement over legal strategy". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  13. Carreyrou, John (20 November 2016). "Theranos and David Boies Cut Legal Ties". The Wall Street Journal.
  14. "Bloomberg: Heather King". www.bloomberg.com. Bloomberg.
  15. Ho, Catherine (5 December 2014). "Boies Schiller maintains unusual corporate culture, including the way it pays associates". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  16. "Boies Schiller Representing Blackwater Founder Erik Prince in Defamation Suit Against The Intercept". New York Law Journal. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  17. "Lawyers & Lobbyists: Top Contributors to Federal Candidates, Parties, and Outside Groups". OpenSecrets .
  18. "Organizations: Boies, Schiller & Flexner". OpenSecrets .
  19. "Hampton Dellinger". Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  20. "Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize His Father's Campaign? | The New Yorker". The New Yorker . 2019-07-10. Archived from the original on 2019-07-10. Retrieved 2022-05-09.