Rest in peace Bruce Wasserstein

Bruce Wasserstein, American lawyer, investment banker and legal media mogul, died on Wednesday after having been admitted to the hospital with an irregular heartbeat. Wasserstein was the Chairman and CEO of Lazard, one of the world’s largest investment banks, and a former attorney at Cravath Swaine. He established American Lawyer Media, which owns and publishes The American Lawyer, The New York Law Journal and law.com, and sold it to Incisive Media in 2007 for $630 million..The stock markets have Peter Lynch, the bankers have J P Morgan, and legal publication industry has Bruce Wasserstein. Every industry must have its idols, and Wasserstein, the man who revolutionized the legal publishing industry, is ours. Wasserstein died on Wednesday after having been admitted to the hospital with an irregular heartbeat..A graduate of Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, with a dual degree at age 23, Wasserstein started his career as an attorney with New York powerhouse Cravath Swaine & Moore. He went on to become the co-head of mergers and acquisitions at investment bank First Boston (now Credit Suisse). He then set up his own banking boutique Wasserstein Perella & Co. which he sold to Germany-based Dresdner Bank for $1.4 million..He is well known for his aggressive takeover tactics and is credited with inventing the ‘Pac-man’ defense whereby a target company fights off a takeover by launching a bid to purchase the acquirer. He was the Chairman and CEO of banking house Lazard, which he forcibly took public in 2005 with an $855 million IPO. He advised on several major deals throughout his life, the last one being Philip Morris’ as-yet unsuccessful takeover bid for Cadbury, which may now be in trouble with the death of Wasserstein..Wasserstein had a lucrative sideline with the legal publishing industry. He established American Lawyer Media (ALM) after acquiring American Lawyer for $63 million and National Law Publishing for $200 million in 1997. ALM owns and publishes over 33 national and regional magazines, newspapers and websites targeting the legal community, including The American Lawyer, The New York Law Journal, Corporate Counsel, The National Law Journal and law.com. He sold ALM to UK-based Incisive Media Publications in 2007 for $630 million and donated $25 million of the proceeds to Harvard Law School, the second largest gift ever made to the school..In 2009, he tied for 190th place on the Forbes magazine list of the world’s 400 wealthiest individuals, with an estimated net worth of $2.3 billion. He is survived by his wife Angela Chao, his fourth wife, whom he married earlier this year.