Levy Mayer ( October 23 , 1858 – August 14 , 1922 ) was an American lawyer from Virginia . A child prodigy of law , Mayer graduated from Yale Law School before he could even legally practice the profession in his hometown of Chicago , Illinois . After several years organizing the Chicago Law Library , Mayer practiced with Adolf Kraus . Mayer became one of the most infamous lawyers in Chicago by defending large corporations against anti-trust litigation . Furthermore , he successfully defended the Iroqouis Theater and its manager in the aftermath of the Iroquois Theatre fire . At the time of his death , he was considered one of the richest lawyers in the United States . He is the namesake of Levy Mayer Hall at Northwestern University and his law firm is today known as Mayer Brown
Iroquois Theatre fire
Iroquois Theatre fire
Levy Mayer