The Litigators

The Litigators by John Grisham

I’ve read just about every book that John Grisham has ever written, and every time I reach the conclusion of one of his books, I always ask myself the same question:

Why would anybody ever want to be a lawyer?

Although Grisham has definitely payed his bills writing legal thrillers, you can’t help but wonder just what it is about the law that fascinates him.  Perhaps it’s the darker side of the profession - he was once a practicing lawyer, so I guess he just enjoys the morbid aspects of it.  If you’ve read a lot of Grisham’s books, you can’t help but feel as though you’re wandering in familiar territory whenever you read one of his newer releases.  I guess there’s only so much you can write about crooked lawyers, sleazy tort attorneys, long hours in the law office and the occasional “good” guy that gets fed up with the system and has some sort of moral epiphany and then tries to change the world.  

Such is the character of David Zinc.  Zinc is a young bond attorney in his early thirties with a beautiful wife and no children.  They don’t have time for children.  No one in this fictitious Chicago firm does.  They work too many hours, don’t have time to eat, and are discouraged from even looking out the window (how can you bill a client for an hour if you’re wasting time looking out the window?)  So one day, David snaps.  He then goes on a late morning drinking binge, and then finds himself at the doorstep of Finley & Figg - a classic bottom of the barrel law office where the two attorneys deal with the lowest of the low on Chicago’s south side, and literally fantasize about the sound of an ambulance.  David isn’t needed here.  Heck, the two sleazeball lawyers couldn’t even afford him, even if they wanted him.  But he makes a cozy enough arrangement, agreeing he doesn’t need to be paid much, and that he’ll bring in his own business.

Of these two nutcase litigators, Wally Figg is the more dynamic of the two.  Dynamic in  that he’s always looking for the big break, the next big class action lawsuit, the next dangerous drug where he can bring about a damaging case, instantly win millions and retire from this gruesome profession for good.  He sort of takes David under his wing, and the action begins.  They get a “lead” about a cholesterol drug called Kraayox that has a bit of an unsavory reputation, and so the fun begins.

So Grisham takes us on a wild ride into the territories of David fighting Goliath.  Goliath in this case, probably in any case, is a large pharmaceutical company that regularly keeps a cupboard filled with high priced lawyers of their own to handle such distractions, as they do happen quite a bit.  So we watch the process unfold.  This is where Grisham’s true gift as an author really lies.  It’s not the subject matter that resonates so well with his readers, but his story telling ability.  Grisham knows how to keep the reader engaged and to keep them turning pages well after bed time.  There have been many times where I have been dissatisfied with an ending of a Grisham book, but I’m rarely disappointed while the ride is still in motion.  Although, as I mentioned, he doesn’t paint the legal profession very kindly, you always enjoy all of the plot twists and turns and the majority of characters that come alive through the pages.  Grisham even manages to make you laugh quite a bit, and this book seemed to be one of the more humorous ones in his catalog.

So needless to say, this book isn’t that much different from everything else the man has written in the last quarter of a century (yes, it’s been about that long), but if you’ve enjoyed the majority of Grisham’s novels, this one is right up there with the rest in terms of enjoyability.  Odds are, you won’t remember much about the story a few years after you’re done with the book, but it’s a nice journey all the same.