CHAPTER 5: THE THREE LESSONS OF JOE FLOMBy Kyle Uhlich

Patrick Robertson

Simon Un

STORY OF JOE FLOM

Poor boy

Dad worked in garment factory

Constantly moved

Got into Townsend Harris Public School Then Harvard Law School

One of the professors told about a job at a new law firm

Law firm started as only 4 people

Flom became successful and then there were more and more lawyers

LESSON ONE: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING JEWISH

Religion was a big problem in work aspect Many Jewish lawyers shut out of bigger

law firms

Rejection = good thing

“White shoe” didn’t want to touch on certain cases

Needed Joe Flom and other Jewish lawyers

There was a need for representation in cases

Jewish lawyers had experience made them successful

Proxy fights made Joe Flom famous

LESSON 2: DEMOGRAPHIC LUCK

Born in early 1930s = many benefits New York public schools were the best in the 1940s

1903-1911 = more chances for unlucky future

1912-1917 = more chances for lucky future Great Depression

WWI

Less babies born

LESSON 3: GARMENT INDUSTRY AND MEANINGFUL WORK

Family trees that started with Jewish garment workers successful doctors and workers

Garment working mentality

A lot is expected

Business experts profit money used for education

FURTHER QUESTIONING

I wondered why living in a certain specific place could affect your success so much.

Gladwell explains how Jewish lawyers’ parents occupation affects success.

He wanted us to realize that being poor and discriminated against was actually a good thing for Jewish lawyers born in the 1930’s.

FURTHER QUESTIONING

Wondered why white-shoe firms were trying to hunt down lawyers who were good at proxy fights

i.e Joe Flom.

Gladwell wants us to believe that lawyers who were considered useless to big firms rose to legitimacy after firms wanted to expand on business.

Gladwell wants us to explore how all stories of success have come from the world changing.

CONNECTIONS

Text-to-world

James Baldwin Born August, 1924 Harlem, New

York

Mother divorced father

Married preacher

Very poor

CONNECTIONS

How was he inspired? Emile Capouya met Beauford Delaney

Emile gave James Delaney’s address

Finally visited, and it changed him.

CONNECTIONS

How do Joe Flom and James Baldwin relate? Both born same year (1924)

Both suffered through poor early life

Both had random opportunity for inspiration