Born in New Jersey City, New Jersey on June 22, 1931, Martin Lipton is famous for inventing the “poison pill,” a strategy used to thwart attempts of hostile takeovers. This American lawyer completed his law studies at New York University School of Law in 1955. As a law student, Martin Lipton was the New York University Law Review’s Editor-in-Chief. Several years after graduating, Martin Lipton was hired to teach courses on Federal Regulation of Securities and Corporation Law at his alma mater. He held this Lecturer and Adjunct Professor position from 1958 to 1978.

In 1965, together with fellow attorneys Herbert Wachtell, Leonard Rosen, & George Katz, Lipton formed the firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The firm (and Lipton) specializes in mergers and acquisitions and over the years, has grown to become the world’s most profitable large law firm. The firm is also known in the field of corporate policy and strategy, which Lipton has lectured and written about.

It was in 1982, after he invented the Shareholders Rights Plan in the course of two hostile takeovers battles in Texas, that Martin Lipton rose to absolute prominence. More commonly known as the “poison pill,” it is considered an important innovation in the field of corporate law as it is able to effectively address “corporate raids” that became quite popular back in the 1980s. This strategy, often used in business and politics, was derived from the idea of the poison pills used by spies in several historical instances to elude enemy interrogation.

While serving on the Subcouncil on Corporate Governance and Financial Markets of the United States Competitiveness Policy Council, Martin Lipton came out with an article titled “A Modest Proposal for Improved Corporate Governance” which was co-written with co-subcouncil member Jay Lorsch. It became the model for basic governance principles in the 1990s.

Martin Lipton has been hailed as one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” by the National Law Journal. He has been a member of New York University’s Board of Trustees since 1976. He has been serving as the board’s chairman since 1998.

Martin Lipton finished his B.S. in Economics at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.