The Anointed

“’The Best and the Brightest’ was a label applied during the Vietnam War to academics and certain others who came to Washington to work for the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, albeit with somewhat mixed results. They were Ivy League graduates who shared a similar global outlook and many of the same values. But an even more elite group were alumni of the three towering giants of the American legal establishment during the 20th century—Cravath, Davis Polk, and Sullivan & Cromwell. They were the precursors of today’s global US-based investment banks and now the Silicon Valley and Seattle tech giants in terms of their reach and impact on the US and global economy. This book chronicles the rise and continuing influence of these inner circle firms in business and government through periods of enormous social and professional change.”—John Colby, Senior Advisor with the Carlyle Group in Washington, and an alumnus of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, class of 1973

The Anointed shows evidence of a great deal of research, and the subject is fascinating... The authors’ central (if implicit) point is a good one. The old era was ruled by loyalty and social connections. The profit motive that replaced it may have been crass, but it imposed a welcome regime of merit.

The authors turn the evolution of law over the century into a lively history, with accounts of fighting the New Deal and in-house disagreements over working with Nazis. Those looking for a shrewd inside take on elite law firms will find this brings the goods.

The one hundred and eighty-two pages rigorously researched book is loaded with insightful references that give readers a complete picture of the rise of the White-Shoe New York law firms and their immense influence on society.