David Boies is one of the most powerful lawyers in America and best known recently for pursuing legal action against Prince Andrew over sexual assault allegations.
The chairman of law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner he became most famous for the cases where he lead the successful prosecution of Microsoft in United States v. Microsoft Corp., his unsuccessful representation of Al Gore in the case of Bush v. Gore, and for successful representation of the plaintiff in Hollingsworth v. Perry, which invalidated the Proposition 8 ban on same sex marrriages.
He also famously became involved in clients involved in tobacco litigation and in the case against Harvey Weinstein.
- Born – March 11, 1941 in Sycamore, Illinois
- Education – Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton, California. Boies attended the University of Redlands (1960-62) ,received a B.S. degree from Northwestern University (1964), a J.D. degree magna cum laude from Yale Law School (1966) and an LL.M. degree from New York University School of Law (1967); honorary LL.D. from the University of Redlands (2000).
- Law Firms – Cravath Swaine & Moore, making partner in 1973. Formed Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP in 1997 with Jonathan Schiller, now known as Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP. It is currently rated 23rd in “overall prestige” and 15th among New York law firms by Vault.com.
- Awards & Philanthropy – Nаmеd bу Тіmе mаgаzіnе lаwуеr оf thе Yеаr’ іn thе уеаr 2000. Не has а ѕtаtе сhаіr аt thе Rеdlаndѕ Unіvеrѕіtу. He funds a history professorship in honor of his father аt thе Unіvеrѕіtу оf Реnnѕуlvаnіа Arts & Sciences faculty. Не funds thе ‘Fеllоwѕhірѕ оf Маrу аnd Dаvіd Воіеѕ’ fоr thе Наrvаrd Кеnnеdу Ѕсhооl ѕtudеntѕ. Boies and his wife donated $5 million to Northern Westchester Hospital, in Mount Kisco, New York.
- Family – Mary Boies and children (see below)
- Home – Boies owns a home in Westchester County, New York, hawk and horse Vineyards in Northern California, an oceangoing yacht, and a large wine collection
Personal & Professional Life
David Boies has been described as having a photographic memory and is celebrated for his involvement in some of the seminal cases affecting US life and law.
He hаѕ bееn іn mаrrіаgе thrее tіmеѕ, first to Јudіth Dауnаrd and then 1959, mаrrіеd tо Саrуl Еlwеll, separating after four years’ marriage. Іn 1982, hе gоt mаrrіеd tо Маrу. Не hаѕ ѕіх сhіldrеn; Dаvіd Воіеѕ ІІІ, Маrу Rеgеnсу Воіеѕ, Сhrіѕtорhеr Воіеѕ, Саrуl Воіеѕ, Аlехаndеr Воіеѕ, аnd Јоnаthаn Воіеѕ.
He has not always succeeded in his cases, such as losing a case involving file-sharing company Napster which resulted in the bankruptcy of the company, however his other cases have seen the lawyer handle major cases like the successful prosecution of Microsoft in 2001. Often described as a brilliant trial lawyer, he has faced criticism also such as from former (now deceased) prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi who said Boies “wasn’t forceful or eloquent at all in making his points” in Bush v. Gore. “[A]lthough he seemed to have a very good grasp of the facts, he seemed completely incapable of drawing powerful, irresistible inferences from those facts that painted his opposition into a corner”.
In 2018 his longtime client Harvey Weinstein was branded a sexual predator and another client exposed as a fraud. The NY TImes fired him after learning that he had been personally involved in a campaign to allegedly smear Weinstein victims and to deceive Times reporters, denied by Boies.
The New Yorker broke the story “Harvey Weinstein’s Army of Spies”, which lead to the NY Times saying it had terminated its relationship with his firm.
“Bad Blood,” the best-selling Theranos exposé, the so-called ground-breaking mblood testing company, by the Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou, laid out in detail the aggressive efforts by Boies and his firm to intimidate company whistle-blowers.
Whilst Boies Schiller has suffered some departures in recent months, including the high profile departure of high profile litigator Natasha Harrison, the firm’s dispute resolution work has seen continued growth plans, with the most recent being an announcement for the opening of an office in Milan and with plans for additional offices in the EU which it sees as important in the post-Brexit world.
His aggressive pursuit of Prince Andrew over sexual harassment claims have been his representation of Virginia Roberts Giuffre achieve front page prominence, heightened by Boies’ own prominence as one of America’s star lawyers.
He told the NY TImes in a 2018 profile that he had no intention of retiring, saying “People retire so they can do what they love to do,” he said. “I already love what I do.”
