Check out Joel Klein. Perhaps he owns the number of the BEAST and he is "The Antichrist." You might discover that Bill Gates and the rest of us are in THE HALL OF TORTURED SOULS.
Technology News
Fri, 8 May 1998, 4:24am EDT
BN 5/7 Klein Is Man on the Spot in Government Antitrust Enforcement
Washington, May 7 (Bloomberg) -- As a boy growing up in New
York City, Joel Klein dreamed of playing the outfield and hitting
home runs for the Yankees. By the time he graduated high school,
he knew his career was headed in a different direction.
''If you've ever seen him play baseball, you know why he
isn't'' a major leaguer, said H. Bartow Farr, a Washington lawyer
and Klein's friend for more than 20 years.
At 51, Klein has become one of the most prominent lawyers in
America -- the Justice Department's antitrust chief with
responsibility for guiding the government's policy in a high-
stakes area. His decisions could affect corporate profits and
losses, to the benefit or detriment of consumers and investors,
for years to come.
The momentous decision now facing Klein is whether to slap
Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, with a lawsuit
that could change the face of the high-tech industry. He's
already sued Microsoft once. And, in 18 months at the helm of the
antitrust division, he has put the brakes on consolidation in the
defense industry by challenging Lockheed Martin Corp.'s proposed
acquisition of Northrop Grumman Corp.
Some corporate leaders and antitrust experts complain he's
overzealous, finding antitrust violations where none exist.
Klein shrugs off the criticism. ''Antitrust enforcement is
important to the economy. I don't think it's something that one
is ideological about,'' he said in a recent interview.
Pragmatist
His pragmatism is giving the willies to Microsoft Chairman
Bill Gates, the richest man in the world. As the deadline loomed
for a new Justice Department suit against Microsoft, Gates
hurried to Washington late Tuesday to meet with Klein after a
news conference in New York intended to rally public support
against a lawsuit.
Klein's friends and associates insist the antitrust chief
will not be swayed by rhetoric or flamboyant displays of force.
''Joel is very good at seeing through what in Washington is
thought of as 'spin,' '' said Farr.
Perhaps it was his upbringing in New York City, a place
known for its in-your-face style. The son of a postman who never
finished high school, Klein grew up in a family that, while short
on luxuries, clung to the notion of the American dream.
''Whenever I didn't have school and sometimes even if I did,
I would go meet (my father) and he'd take me down to the federal
courthouse in Manhattan and we'd just watch cases,'' Klein said
in a voice that still betrays his New York roots.
Klein graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in
1971 and headed to Washington, where he became a law clerk to
retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell.
Powell, a soft-spoken courtly Southern gentleman, admired
the brash, bearded Klein as someone whose ''outspoken style would
be a perfect counterpoint,'' said the 1979 book ''The Brethren''
by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong. ''Klein's raised voice and
wild gesticulations became part of chambers life,'' the book
said.
Now clean-shaven and bald, Klein has mellowed. These days,
he can be as reserved as his former boss, even when he's giving
private lawyers the bad news that their clients are about to be
sued.
A Good Listener
''His style is to listen, cut the meeting short and say I'm
not persuaded,'' said Larry Fullerton, former deputy assistant
attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's merger
section. Still, traces of the old Joel Klein surface when he's
arguing a case in the courtroom, his favorite arena.
He fondly recalls the days he'd argue as many as five
Supreme Court cases a year while a founding partner at the firm
Onek, Klein & Farr.
''The thing I like (about arguing in court) is it forces you
to really think through a problem,'' he says. ''You have to
really understand the various parts and how they fit together . .
. and that requires you to think at a level of abstraction.''
During the weeks preceding critical decisions, he'll meet
frequently with Justice Department attorneys and division leaders
to fine-tune arguments and examine the policy implications of a
move, say current and former Justice Department employees.
''He's demanding and goes back to the staff, asking 'have
you thought about this and checked this out?' It sometimes takes
a long time to make decisions,'' said Fullerton, who left the
antitrust division in January.
Though critics now accuse him of being a zealot, Klein's
U.S. Senate confirmation was held up by legislators who
questioned whether he'd be weak in enforcing antitrust policies.
After making a controversial call to permit Bell Atlantic
Corp.'s purchase of fellow Baby Bell Nynex Corp., Klein was
criticized by senators for misinterpreting the landmark 1996
Telecommunications Act.
South Carolina Sen. Ernest Hollings, a Democrat, called him
an antitrust enforcer ''who rolls over and plays dead.'' Hollings
later recanted.
Political Savvy
While considered a non-partisan centrist on most policy
issues, Klein has close ties to the Democratic Party. In 1993,
President Bill Clinton turned to him to handle Whitewater issues
after Vince Foster's suicide. Admirers say it's noteworthy that
he left this job after two years without being subpoenaed by
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr.
When he has free time these days, the 5-foot 6-inch Klein
plays tennis with his 14-year old daughter and reads biographies
and ''policy-wonk things on the new economy.'' And he doesn't
lose sleep -- on average about six hours a night -- over his
upcoming decision on Microsoft.
''When you're looking at something like Microsoft, where in
our view there is significant monopoly power, that is the kind of
thing that will concern antitrust enforcement,'' he said. ''There
may not be comparable situations at every point in history.''
The government is expected to sue the company. Klein didn't
tip his hand. But he said his case-by-case approach weighs the
cost to taxpayers of protracted litigation, and he said he looks
for out-of-court settlements wherever possible.
He also hasn't given up his impossible dream of athletic
glory. ''My Walter Mitty fantasy today is to be a point guard for
the New York Knicks,'' he said.
--Anne Marie Squeo in Washington at 202-624-1862 /jhr
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