The legal colossus Finley, Kumbte was to

the pratice of law during the 1980s what

Drexel Burnham was to corporate finance

and Ronald Reagan was to political life. It

helped transform the way the world works.

In this lively and remarkably candid book,

Steven Kumble, the firm s founder and

architect of its astonishing success, breaks

his silence and tells the inside story of how

the second largest law firm in the world

floundered, broke apart and sank in a sea Of

acrimony, greed, betrayal and humiliation..

By the late 1980s, Finley, Kumble was one

of the most influential law firms in America.

It was also the most feared and hated. It was

home to some of the most highly paid, pro-

filed and powerful legal egos in the country.

It counted among its partners: Robert Wagner,

former mayor of New York City, Hugh Carey,

former Governor of New York State. and for-

mer senators Paul Laxalt (Nevada). Russell

Long (Louisiana) and Joe Tydings (Mary-

land). In less than twenty years it had grown

from an unknown firm of seven lawyers to a

powerhouse with 240 partners. 450 associ-

ates. 2.000 employees in offices in sixteen

cities generating more than $200 million in

annual revenues.