The Best Law Firm Biography Books of All Time

Years of archival research and hundreds of interviews substantiate an account of the powerful Wall Street law firm, it corporate and political connections, and its impact upon American society, business, and government.

Law school does a great job teaching you to think like a lawyer, but how ready do you feel to actually practice law in a law firm? Whether you’re working in a big law firm or a smaller firm environment, the tips in this book will help you prepare for work in the right way, and get your legal career off to a great start.

In this practical guide to law firm life and new lawyers’ handbook, a former Big law litigator turned career coach for lawyers teaches you:How to organize your home and financial life before you start work in a law firmPractical strategies to think long-term about your careerHow to prepare for and what to do during your first days, weeks, and months on the job as a junior associateTips for adjusting to full-time working lifeFAQs from junior associatesStrategies to conquer the billable hourCharacteristics of successful junior associatesDownfalls of struggling junior associatesMaking partner – is it for you, and how can you improve your chances?Leaving your law firm – figuring out when to go and what to do next.

This biography of F. Daniel Frost, whose life and work are most closely associated with the expansion of the Los Angeles law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher from the 1960s through the 1980s, is also a tale of the transformation of the American legal profession during that era. Macro histories offer one important window into this rich chapter of the profession’s history, and personal narratives of the most ambitious and high-profile leaders offer still another.

This book is written from Dan Frost’s viewpoint as an exceptionally influential private lawyer who shaped a major California firm throughout the second half of the last century. During this dynamic time in the saga of the profession, the rise of California’s law firms was a crucial component. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher today is a global entity, with offices and influence in every major economic hub in the world, but when Frost joined the firm it still was a small, essentially regional institution. He was a witness to, and became a central architect of, the firm’s dramatic evolution thereafter. The foundations of Frost’s success included his family, education, and public service background, as well as the historical, economic, and geographical context in which he lived. During this time, California’s major industries, universities, cultural centers, and sheer geographic expanse and natural beauty established her as the nation’s other coast—rivaling, and in some respects defeating, the venerable East Coast in influence, affluence, and dynamism. Frost’s career holds valuable lessons for legal historians, California historians, and lawyers of any era. His life also offers insights for his professional and personal descendants, as Frost respected and sought to preserve the firm’s history and became a student of western history, spending many years capturing the history of his pioneer ancestors. This account is aimed at illuminating Dan Frost’s role in the evolving firm and family history and will enable his professional and personal descendants to find themselves in the ongoing evolution of a pioneer law firm and a pioneer family. They may glimpse their own trajectory as they reflect on the life of this western lawyer, professional leader, entrepreneur, and philanthropist—a journey that continues today.