Joseph H. Flom Biography

Joseph Harold "Joe" Flom (December 21, 1923 – February 23, 2011) was an American lawyer and pioneer of mergers and acquisitions, specializing in representing companies in takeover battles. By the 1980s, he had acquired a reputation of being "Mr. Takeover" (whereas Martin Lipton was known as "Mr. Defense"). Flom became a partner at what is now known as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in 1954, and helped transform it from a four-lawyer firm into one of the largest law firms in the United States. In 1999, The American Lawyer named him one of their "Lawyers of the Century".