Character list
PART
ONE AND TWO
Joe Flom-
Short, slightly hunched, large head framed by long prominent ears, narrow
blue eyes hidden by oversized aviator-style glasses. Used to be very overweight but now
he’s slender. Works at a Law Firm in Manhattan called Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and
Flom. Grew up during the Great Depression in Brooklyn’s Borough Park. His parents
were desperately poor Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. His father sewed shoulder pads on womens
dresses He wanted to do Law since he was six years old. Attended an elite high school
calledTownsend Harris Public School. After school, he worked pushing a hand truck in the
garment district. Did two years of night school at City College in Upper Manhattan and worked
during the day. He served in the Army, then applied at Harvard Law. He ended up being one
of the very top students in his class at Harvard. During his second year, he went back to
Manhattan to do an interview at a big corporate law firm but he didn’t get the job because he
was Jewish. His professor told him about some guys who were starting a firm so he met with them
and decided to join the firm. At first it was named Marshall, Skadden, Leslie, Arps. Flom
started as an associate. In 1954, he took over Skaddens managing partner and the firm grew
fast and he hired hundreds of new people to the firm.
PART
THREE AND FOUR
Alexander Bickel-
One of Joe Flom’s classmates at Harvard Law. Also the son of a Eastern European Jewish immigrants who lived in the Bronx. He was a star at Law School. His career was cut short by cancer. If his career hadn’t been cut short by cancer, he could have probably
been the finest constitutional scholar of his generation. Like Flom, he tried to get a job in Manhattan during hiring season. His first stop was Mudge Rose on Wall Street, which was considered a “white-shoe” firm. Bickel got the interview there with the senior partner but they couldn’t offer him a job because of his “antecedents”. At the time of the interview, he was at the height of his reputation. He had argued a case in supreme court and written brilliant books. They turned him down because Wall Street wanted “Nordic” lawyers and that’s why Flom and Bickel couldn’t get jobs at “white-shoe” firms.
PART
FIVE AND SIX
Maurice Janklow-
Enrolled in Brooklyn Law School in 1919. He was the eldest son of Jewish immigrants from Romania and has seven brothers and sisters. He was considered the intellectual of the family and was the only one who went to college. He got his law degree
and set up a practice on Court Street in downtown Brooklyn. He was an elegant man who dressed in a homburg and Brooks Brothers suits. Intellectual and educated. He drove a big car. He was married to Lillian Levantin, who was the daughter of a prominent Talmudist. He moved to Queens. He and his partner took over a writing-paper business that gave every indication
of making a fortune. However his career didn’t take off the way he hoped. In his mind, he never made it beyond Court Street in Brooklyn.
PART
FIVE AND SIX
Mort Janklow-
the son of Maurice Janklow. Went to New York City public schools. Became a lawyer like his father. Built a law firm from scratch in the 1960s then put together one of the very first cable television franchises and sold it for a fortune to Cox Broadcasting.
Had an office on Park Avenue. He started a literary agency in the 70s and today it is one of the most prestigious in the world. He had his own plane. He fulfilled his fathers dream.
PART
SEVEN AND ELEVEN
Ted Friedman-
One of the top litigators in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. Was the inner-city child of the Bronx with struggling Jewish immigrants.Went to New York City public schools. Neither of his parents went to college. Grew up poor. His mother was a Russian
immigrant who had become a seamstress at age fifteen and had become a prominent garment union organizer. Planned to go to City College for a year and kept his grades up so he could get a scholarship but went to City College for a day and didn’t like it, so he hitchhiked to Ann Arbor, Michigan. In Ann Arbor, he got a job waiting tables at a fancy restaurant, then
worked at the Ford plant and worked the night shift at River Rouge. He became a lawyer,
which was working in construction. Did law school in the summer for a few years. He was willing to work hard and take responsibility for himself.
PART
EIGHT, NINE, TEN
Louis and Regina Borgenicht-
He was from Galacia, in what was then Poland. When he lived in Europe, he left the home of his parents at age 12 and became a salesclerk in a general store in the Polish town of Brzesko. Then moved on to working in piece goods. He could run his hands over a cloth and knew what kind of material it was. He moved to Hungary and met Regina, who was running a dressmaking business since she was 16. Together they opened a few piecegoods stores. In 1889 he boarded an ocean liner in Hamburg bound
for America with his wife. They knew Louis’s sister Sallie moved to New York ten years prior. Only had enough money to last a few weeks. Found a tiny apartment on Eldridge Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side for $8 a month. At first, Louis was overwhelmed with how busy New York was, but then he was invigorated. Louis persuaded his sister, who owned a fish store on Ludlow Street, to give him a consignment of herring on credit. He was making money selling the fish, but he and Regina could not see how it would lead to a constructive business so he decided to be a pushcart peddler. Regina had a second child and now he had four mouths
to feed. After five long days of walking around the Lower East Side, he realized he should sell clothes. He took out a small notebook and wrote down what people were wearing and what was for sale. He wanted to find a novel item that people weren’t selling in
stores. He saw a little girl wearing an apron that he’d never seen and so he bought the fabric and him and Regina sewed up the 40 child sized aprons by the next morning and they sold out in a day. He became a prosperous manufacturer of women’s and children’s clothes. They arrived in New York at the perfect time with the perfect skills. Their sons all went to Law School and no less than nine of their grandkids became doctors and lawyers.
PART
ELEVEN
Louise Farkas-
a sociology graduate. In 1982, she went to visit a number of nursing home looking for people who had come to New York in the great wave of Jewish immigration at the turn of the last century. For each person she interviewed, she constructed a family tree showing a line of parents and children and grandchildren and in some cases great-grandchildren. She had Jewish Family trees that go on for pages. She came to the conclusion that Jewish doctors and lawyers became professionals BECAUSE of their humble origins. Louise’s family was a Jewish family from Romania who had a small grocery story in the Old Country and then came to New York and opened another grocery store on the Lower East Side of Manhattan
PART
TWELVE
Herbert Wachtell -
Part of the Black Rock firm, the rival of Joe Flom’s firm. Born in 1931 an grew up in the Amalgamated Clothing Workers union housing in the Bronx. Parents were Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine. His father was in the ladies’ undergarment business
with his brothers in SoHo. He went to New York University then to New York University Law School.
Martin Lipton-
Second partner of Herbert Wachtell in the Black Rock firm. Born in 1931.Father was a manager of a factory. He was a descendant of Jewish immigrants. Attended public school in Jersey City, then University of Pennsylvania, then New York University Law School.
Leonard Rosen- Third
partner of Herbert Wachtell in Black Rock firm. Born in 1930. Grew up poor in the Bronx near Yankee Stadium. His parents were Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine. His father worked at the Garment District in Manhattan. Went to New York
public schools in the 1940s then went to City College, then to New York University Law
School.
George Katz-
Fourth partner of Herbert Wachtell in Black Rock firm. Born in 1931. Grew up in a one bedroom apartment in the Bronx. His parents were the children of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. His father sold insurance. His grandfather, who lived a few blocks away, was a sewerin the garment trade and did piecework out of his house. He went to New York Public Schools, then went to City College, then to New York University Law School.
ONE AND TWO
Joe Flom-
Short, slightly hunched, large head framed by long prominent ears, narrow
blue eyes hidden by oversized aviator-style glasses. Used to be very overweight but now
he’s slender. Works at a Law Firm in Manhattan called Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and
Flom. Grew up during the Great Depression in Brooklyn’s Borough Park. His parents
were desperately poor Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. His father sewed shoulder pads on womens
dresses He wanted to do Law since he was six years old. Attended an elite high school
calledTownsend Harris Public School. After school, he worked pushing a hand truck in the
garment district. Did two years of night school at City College in Upper Manhattan and worked
during the day. He served in the Army, then applied at Harvard Law. He ended up being one
of the very top students in his class at Harvard. During his second year, he went back to
Manhattan to do an interview at a big corporate law firm but he didn’t get the job because he
was Jewish. His professor told him about some guys who were starting a firm so he met with them
and decided to join the firm. At first it was named Marshall, Skadden, Leslie, Arps. Flom
started as an associate. In 1954, he took over Skaddens managing partner and the firm grew
fast and he hired hundreds of new people to the firm.
PART
THREE AND FOUR
Alexander Bickel-
One of Joe Flom’s classmates at Harvard Law. Also the son of a Eastern European Jewish immigrants who lived in the Bronx. He was a star at Law School. His career was cut short by cancer. If his career hadn’t been cut short by cancer, he could have probably
been the finest constitutional scholar of his generation. Like Flom, he tried to get a job in Manhattan during hiring season. His first stop was Mudge Rose on Wall Street, which was considered a “white-shoe” firm. Bickel got the interview there with the senior partner but they couldn’t offer him a job because of his “antecedents”. At the time of the interview, he was at the height of his reputation. He had argued a case in supreme court and written brilliant books. They turned him down because Wall Street wanted “Nordic” lawyers and that’s why Flom and Bickel couldn’t get jobs at “white-shoe” firms.
PART
FIVE AND SIX
Maurice Janklow-
Enrolled in Brooklyn Law School in 1919. He was the eldest son of Jewish immigrants from Romania and has seven brothers and sisters. He was considered the intellectual of the family and was the only one who went to college. He got his law degree
and set up a practice on Court Street in downtown Brooklyn. He was an elegant man who dressed in a homburg and Brooks Brothers suits. Intellectual and educated. He drove a big car. He was married to Lillian Levantin, who was the daughter of a prominent Talmudist. He moved to Queens. He and his partner took over a writing-paper business that gave every indication
of making a fortune. However his career didn’t take off the way he hoped. In his mind, he never made it beyond Court Street in Brooklyn.
PART
FIVE AND SIX
Mort Janklow-
the son of Maurice Janklow. Went to New York City public schools. Became a lawyer like his father. Built a law firm from scratch in the 1960s then put together one of the very first cable television franchises and sold it for a fortune to Cox Broadcasting.
Had an office on Park Avenue. He started a literary agency in the 70s and today it is one of the most prestigious in the world. He had his own plane. He fulfilled his fathers dream.
PART
SEVEN AND ELEVEN
Ted Friedman-
One of the top litigators in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. Was the inner-city child of the Bronx with struggling Jewish immigrants.Went to New York City public schools. Neither of his parents went to college. Grew up poor. His mother was a Russian
immigrant who had become a seamstress at age fifteen and had become a prominent garment union organizer. Planned to go to City College for a year and kept his grades up so he could get a scholarship but went to City College for a day and didn’t like it, so he hitchhiked to Ann Arbor, Michigan. In Ann Arbor, he got a job waiting tables at a fancy restaurant, then
worked at the Ford plant and worked the night shift at River Rouge. He became a lawyer,
which was working in construction. Did law school in the summer for a few years. He was willing to work hard and take responsibility for himself.
PART
EIGHT, NINE, TEN
Louis and Regina Borgenicht-
He was from Galacia, in what was then Poland. When he lived in Europe, he left the home of his parents at age 12 and became a salesclerk in a general store in the Polish town of Brzesko. Then moved on to working in piece goods. He could run his hands over a cloth and knew what kind of material it was. He moved to Hungary and met Regina, who was running a dressmaking business since she was 16. Together they opened a few piecegoods stores. In 1889 he boarded an ocean liner in Hamburg bound
for America with his wife. They knew Louis’s sister Sallie moved to New York ten years prior. Only had enough money to last a few weeks. Found a tiny apartment on Eldridge Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side for $8 a month. At first, Louis was overwhelmed with how busy New York was, but then he was invigorated. Louis persuaded his sister, who owned a fish store on Ludlow Street, to give him a consignment of herring on credit. He was making money selling the fish, but he and Regina could not see how it would lead to a constructive business so he decided to be a pushcart peddler. Regina had a second child and now he had four mouths
to feed. After five long days of walking around the Lower East Side, he realized he should sell clothes. He took out a small notebook and wrote down what people were wearing and what was for sale. He wanted to find a novel item that people weren’t selling in
stores. He saw a little girl wearing an apron that he’d never seen and so he bought the fabric and him and Regina sewed up the 40 child sized aprons by the next morning and they sold out in a day. He became a prosperous manufacturer of women’s and children’s clothes. They arrived in New York at the perfect time with the perfect skills. Their sons all went to Law School and no less than nine of their grandkids became doctors and lawyers.
PART
ELEVEN
Louise Farkas-
a sociology graduate. In 1982, she went to visit a number of nursing home looking for people who had come to New York in the great wave of Jewish immigration at the turn of the last century. For each person she interviewed, she constructed a family tree showing a line of parents and children and grandchildren and in some cases great-grandchildren. She had Jewish Family trees that go on for pages. She came to the conclusion that Jewish doctors and lawyers became professionals BECAUSE of their humble origins. Louise’s family was a Jewish family from Romania who had a small grocery story in the Old Country and then came to New York and opened another grocery store on the Lower East Side of Manhattan
PART
TWELVE
Herbert Wachtell -
Part of the Black Rock firm, the rival of Joe Flom’s firm. Born in 1931 an grew up in the Amalgamated Clothing Workers union housing in the Bronx. Parents were Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine. His father was in the ladies’ undergarment business
with his brothers in SoHo. He went to New York University then to New York University Law School.
Martin Lipton-
Second partner of Herbert Wachtell in the Black Rock firm. Born in 1931.Father was a manager of a factory. He was a descendant of Jewish immigrants. Attended public school in Jersey City, then University of Pennsylvania, then New York University Law School.
Leonard Rosen- Third
partner of Herbert Wachtell in Black Rock firm. Born in 1930. Grew up poor in the Bronx near Yankee Stadium. His parents were Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine. His father worked at the Garment District in Manhattan. Went to New York
public schools in the 1940s then went to City College, then to New York University Law
School.
George Katz-
Fourth partner of Herbert Wachtell in Black Rock firm. Born in 1931. Grew up in a one bedroom apartment in the Bronx. His parents were the children of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. His father sold insurance. His grandfather, who lived a few blocks away, was a sewerin the garment trade and did piecework out of his house. He went to New York Public Schools, then went to City College, then to New York University Law School.