Lisagor, Nancy and Lipsius, Frank. A Law Unto Itself: The Untold Story of
the Law Firm Sullivan and Cromwell. New York: Paragon House, 1989. 360 pages.
After two years in the Princeton library, where the archives of John
Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles are stored, the authors knew about Sullivan
and Cromwell's ten-year record of cooperation with Hitler. Then they
approached the law firm for interviews, but soon a memo went out instructing
the lawyers not to cooperate. At that point the authors found a National
Archives microfilm detailing the Justice Department investigations of John
Foster Dulles's wartime collaboration. They were finally allowed to see a
representative of the firm, but he wouldn't answer any questions. A year
later Sullivan and Cromwell changed chairmen after some embarrassing press
concerning three important partners. Now they were willing to grant
interviews to present their side of the case.
But until then the firm didn't like publicity, and this book helps us
understand why. After 100 years of creating power and wealth by manipulating
the interface between government and business, and with a transnational
reach that considers World Wars a mere inconvenience, the story of Sullivan
and Cromwell makes it clear that there's one set of rules for the rest of
us, and no rules at all for the ruling class.
ISBN 1-55778-239-3
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