Upon Richard Nixon’s election, his now-former firm was perceived as having access to both the Oval Office and the U.S. Justice Department. The firm’s municipal bond practice, once headed by John Mitchell, exploded while several clients with matters involving the government turned to the Mudge firm for help. The firm also expanded its headcount and real estate.

It wasn’t all great news for Mudge, however. Several of its clients had proposed mergers vetoed by the DOJ while politicians and reporters raised questions about fairness whenever the firm got a favorable result in matters involving the government. Watergate deeply affected the firm, as the firm’s reputation suffered alongside its most famous alumnus.

The firm started bleeding lawyers and went into a period of decline. After a brief rebound in the late 1970s and 1980s, Mudge would dissolve in 1995—18 months after Nixon’s death.

Nixon in New York is the first book written by Victor Li, an assistant managing editor at the ABA Journal.

Read an excerpt from Nixon in New York in the May 2018 issue of the ABA Journal.