Giving it all away [electronic resource] : the story of William W. Cook and his Michigan Law Quadrangle / Margaret A. Leary ; foreword by Evan H. Caminker.

Includes index.

The 1931 lawsuit -- 1858-82 : Hillsdale childhood, student days in Ann Arbor -- 1882-98 : the ambitious young New York lawyer, the brilliant writer on corporate law, the wooer and husband of Ida Olmstead, the indispensable employee of John Mackay -- 1898-1910 : divorcing Ida, thriving at the Mackay companies, losing a boss and mentor, becoming a man of property, establishing enduring friendships, making philanthropic plans for the University of Michigan -- 1910-19 : rapport with President Hutchins, less rapport with Dean Bates, meeting Myrtle White, making Michigan commitments, honoring a revered mother, moving into an elegant Manhattan town house, a possible case of heartbreak, continuing a distinguished legal career -- John T. Creighton : trustee or toad? -- 1920-27 : a bad diagnosis, researching a new book, the opening of the lawyers club, Dean Bates's endless missteps, the final break with blooming grove, law quad politics bedevil the wise-hearted men at Michigan, Clarence Cook Little arrives in Ann Arbor -- 1928-30 : agonizing over the fate of Port Chester, President Little's appalling lapse, an exasperated Regent Murfin picks up his pen, Cook takes command and resolves to finish the law quad, a funeral is held in Port Chester, Trustee Creighton makes mischief -- 1931-35 : a whole lot of litigation, Creighton obfuscates and delays, Regent Murfin continues as hero, Myrtle White miraculously reappears, Ida's suit settles, Hutchins Hall opens, dedication day for the law quadrangle, the Port Chester lawsuit ends in Michigan's favor -- The fate of everyone else.

Description based on print version record.