The Formative Years and Early Career of Joe Flom

Key Insight

Joe Flom, a prominent partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, emerged from desperately poor beginnings in Brooklyn's Borough Park during the Depression. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, and his family frequently moved due to financial hardship. Despite this, Flom excelled academically, gaining admission to the elite Townsend Harris public high school, known for producing notable figures including three Nobel Prize winners, six Pulitzer Prize winners, and one Supreme Court Justice. He worked during the day, attended City College at night, and, after serving in the army, secured entry to Harvard Law School in the late 1940s without a college degree, attributing his acceptance to a persuasive letter.

At Harvard, Flom distinguished himself through exceptional legal judgment, earning a spot on the Law Review. However, during the 'hiring season' of his second year, he was among only two students unable to secure a job at the traditional New York corporate law firms, feeling uncomfortable and perceived as ungainly due to his background and appearance. This rejection led him to join a nascent firm with no existing clients, founded by Marshall Skadden, Leslie Arps, and John Slate. He accepted a starting salary of $3600 a year, initially taking on 'whatever came in the door' out of necessity.

In 1954, Flom became Skadden's managing partner, initiating a period of rapid expansion. The firm grew from a handful of lawyers to one hundred, then two hundred. Despite a partner's skepticism about continued growth, Flom ambitiously declared they would reach one thousand. Today, Skadden, Arps employs nearly two thousand attorneys across twenty-three global offices, generating over $1 billion annually, solidifying its position as one of the world's largest and most powerful law firms. For almost thirty years, Flom was the go-to attorney for Fortune 500 companies involved in takeovers or major corporate fixes.