David Boies is a powerful and well connected attorney. In 2000, he represented Al Gore in the disputed election.. he was one of the attorney's who took on Big Tobacco and won... But in the last few years a case can be made that his impact on entrepreneurship has been less than a positive for the commonwealth.
Part 1: Theranos
When Elizabeth Holmes brought Boies' law firm on to be counsel for Theranos, she knew she was hiring a cut throat legal team that would stop at nothing to defend her company. When Tyler Schultz became a whistleblower, his grandfather, the legendary George Schultz invited Tyler over where attorneys tried to force a fake confession out of Tyler. The story of this is detailed in John Carreyou's Bad Blood: The Secrets and Lies of a Silicon Valley Startup, also in the podcast Bad Blood.
The impact of this has been negative for all medical device startups, particularly those work with diagnostic equipment and anything connected to blood.
Part 2: Prince Andrew
If you google Pitch at the Palace one of the first images you will see is me standing on stage with Mansour Al Kaabi and Faraj al Faraj. Here is the official press release: http://pitchatpalaceuae.com/en/media/details/article-16
Pitch at the Palace was a truly amazing experience for all who participated. How does this tie back to David Boies? Well, Prince Andrew had some sort of a relationship with a then 17 year old Virginia Guiffre. I have followed this closely and the best account I have read/seen was Australia's 60 minutes. link here: https://youtu.be/1jaFsij5a_A
If you watch the video you will see that Ms. Giuffre was represented by David Boies... and apparently represented very well to reach a settlement of an estimated 10-12 million British Pounds. (Approximately $13-16 million US.) And it means the Queen can enjoy her 70th anniversary celebration this spring without this controversy looming over the Palace.
Anyhow, I do not condone anything Prince Andrew has done. It's not surprising that most sponsors of the Pitch at the Palace have decided to back away, leaving its future very much in limbo.
And somehow one man's law firm has a consequential impact on the world of entrepreneurship.
