Arms and the Harvard Men

The Graduates of the Harvard Law School Class of 1948 include Warren Buffett's right-hand man, Charlie Munger; Joe Flom, the brains behind mega law firm Skadden Arps; and Malcolm Wilkey, of the DC Circuit and Ambassador to Uruguay. The stories of other graduates are equally compelling. Murray Cohen, the equivalent of a managing partner of the first Jewish White Shoe law firm, was caught in the middle of a law firm fight involving the New York Museum of Modern Art. Paul Windels was the first assistant US attorney to crack down on New York boiler rooms and later represented the Rockefeller family in a will contest after a family member married her much younger hairdresser.Before Harvard, many of these men were part of what Tom Brokaw has called America's "Greatest Generation," when Pearl Harbor united Boston Brahmins and urban slum kids by instilling in them a fierce determination to fight for their country: in Europe, in the South Pacific, and even on the home front. They relied upon each other, and upon themselves, and were infused with a strong sense of service. The War Years prepared these future lawyers for Harvard and for their careers in the legal and business worlds.