One of the "country's premiere law firm's, Cravath,
Swaine & Moore, suffered a rare loss of one of its top
partners, David Boies, who quit over what the firm called a
conflict of interest involving his representation" of the
Yankees, according to Paul Barrett of the WALL STREET
JOURNAL. Boies resigned after Cravath "concluded" that his
filing of an antitrust lawsuit on behalf of Yankees Owner
George Steinbrenner and adidas against MLB and its teams
"conflicted" with the firm's "longtime relationship" with
Time Warner, owner of the Braves. Boies: "I do not believe
it was a technical conflict." Boies adds that Cravath had
begun representing the Yankees 18 months ago, before Time
Warner merged with Turner Broadcasting. But he says that
"he understood his law firm's desire not to alienate ... a
major client" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/15). In N.Y., Jan
Hoffman writes "with his loyalties divided between his law
firm of 30 years and a client who was bringing an impudent,
exciting antitrust case, Mr. Boies sided with his client."
Boies is "known as a brilliant generalist who prefers to go
his own way. He is a master of antitrust law." Boies:
"This was a significant step for the Yankees to take.
Having been on board when we went into it, I didn't think I
wanted to get out of it before we emerged from it." Boies
said he had not discussed a financial arrangement with
Steinbrenner (N.Y. TIMES, 5/15).
SERVED UP? MLB officials took Boies' resignation "as a
sign that Steinbrenner is serious about the lawsuit over
marketing rights" (Jon Heyman, NEWSDAY, 5/15). Boies and
adidas attorney Jonathan Schiller of Kaye, Scholer, Fierman,
Hays & Handler said that MLB will be served with the lawsuit
by the end of the week, according to USA TODAY's Hal Bodley.
If that happens, the Yankees and adidas "are expected to
seek an injunction so they can continue to sell apparel that
contains the logos of both organizations." The suit does
not ask for monetary damages. Boies: "Some owners are
trying to take some of the Yankees' money for their teams.
Every member of the Executive Council has an interest in the
outcome" (USA TODAY, 5/15). Acting Commissioner Bud Selig
declined comment on Boies' remarks: "It's not worth
commenting about" (DETROIT NEWS/AP, 5/15).
BOSS TO STAY: In N.Y., POST gossip columnist Neal
Travis writes that Steinbrenner "has pretty well committed
to keeping the Yankees in the Bronx -- and will make his
decision public in plenty of time to help Mayor Giuliani's
re-election bid later this year" (N.Y. POST, 5/15).
