Why David Boies Left Cravath

I was representing the New York Yankees against Major League Baseball [in a dispute over sponsorship rights] in May 1997 when Time Warner (TWX)—then the largest client of my law firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore—acquired Turner Broadcasting. Turner owned the Atlanta Braves, and they didn't want their law firm representing the Yankees.

I had been at Cravath my entire career. At 56 I had a multimillion-dollar-per-year income, total job security, and the best lawyers in the country on my cases. I didn't want the firm to lose its most important client, but I didn't want to abandon Steinbrenner. The issue was raised by Time Warner (TWX) on a Friday. By the following Tuesday, I resigned. It was the only way I could be loyal to my firm and my client.