Questioning an Advisor to the Imperial CEO
Dealbook | Kickin' it with the CEO...

“Come on, you can say it. I’m a professional entrencher of management.”

So joked Martin Lipton, the co-founder of corporate America’s favorite law firm, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. I had called him to ask about his latest memo to his clients — but he knew the subtext before I got there.

And really, his joke wasn’t much of a joke.

Since making his name during the merger wars of the 1980s, Mr. Lipton has been the ultimate consigliere to Wall Street and Fortune 500 companies. If you’re a chief executive under siege, he is the lawyer to call.