Go-getting lawyer David Boies has an account of his most significant cases, including breakthrough decisions in business, baseball and the political world. As a Justice Department attorney, he took on the famous Bill Gates in the well-known United States versus Microsoft case. He also won an antitrust court case for the New York Yankees and had Al Gore as client during the 2000 elections litigation.

Boies’ Courting Justice is a recount of war stories, an assessment of the system and its villains and heroes, an exposition of his methods, as well as a critique of the decisions won and lost. The book also tells the story of his life as a young man in small town Illinois, where he grew up to become a law student and a lawyer.

A distinguished trial attorney, Boies likewise talks about his high profile clients as he was in the media spotlight during such court cases. He traces the complexities of the cases he had to handle, including the Bush versus Gore case in the 2000 Florida vote recount, the United States Government’s antitrust litigation against Microsoft Corporation and Steinbrenner’s legal action against the Yankees. At the same time, he also explains what the legal profession is really all about, while discovering the politics of such line of work and the power plays prevalent to the profession. Boies, as if explaining to a jury about his cases, lays out the context and main concerns of each case in a detailed and patient way that clarifies the nature of the case as well as his methods, while keeping up the narrative angle of the account he is trying to convey.

What makes this book an excellent read is the manner in which Boies gives out the pointers on advocacy and how he sketches the higher reaches of the American bar. Every time he mentions something in bullet points or numbered lists, it is sure to catch the reader’s eye.

Courting Justice is one way to learn how to settle a $500 million decision or form a solid argument, some of the skills that are helpful not only for those who are thinking of going to law school, but also for those who simply want to know.