Flom was a New York native and began his education by taking night classes at City College of New York, while working a day job as an office boy in a small law firm. During World War II he served in the US Army, and then got his law degree from Harvard University with the help of the GI Bill. The following year he was the first associate hired by the three founders of Skadden, and became a partner in 1954.
In the 70’s, Flom brought M&A into the mainstream of corporate law and served as lead counsel in numerous hostile takeovers.
Joseph Flom was the founding trustee of the Skadden Fellowship Foundation, whose mission is “to give Fellows the freedom to pursue public interest work.” In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the foundation.