The Street Lawyer | John Grisham

The Street Lawyer | John Grisham | Ideals lost and regained

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The Street Lawyer

	The Street Lawyer John Grisham Delta, 2005 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 1054 reviews view larger image
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Michael was in a hurry. He was scrambling up the ladder at Drake & Sweeney, a giant D.C. law firm with eight hundred lawyers. The money was good and getting better; a partnership was three years away. He was a rising star with no time to waste, no time to stop, no time to toss a few coins into the cups of panhandlers. No time for a conscience.

But a violent encounter with a homeless man stopped him cold. Michael survived; his assailant did not. Who was this man? Michael did some digging, and learned that he was a mentally ill veteran who'd been in and out of shelters for many years. Then Michael dug a little deeper, and found a dirty secret, and the secret involved Drake & Sweeney.

The fast track derailed; the ladder collapsed. Michael bolted the firm and took a top-secret file with him. He landed in the streets, an advocate for the homeless, a street lawyer.

And a thief.

From the Hardcover edition.

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John Grisham

This was the first book I read by this author. I loved it. IT was so emotional! I could empathize for him. I felt like I was there in the room during the hostage part! When the guy's brain were on his face, I was disgusted along with him!!!! I could imagine it all happening! It was because this first book that I read was so good that I read (am reading) all his other books. HE HAS SO MANY!!! I won't go into what I felt along with the rest of the book because that would be a spoiler and that's not fair, and cause I don't remember exactly what happened at the very ending. I remeber up until about thirty pages before the ending, then it's all blank. If someone would tell me wht happened I would really appreciate it!!!!

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Ideals lost and regained

Michael Brock had grand ideals of serving humanity when he entered law school. When he graduated and joined a leadinng Washington, D.C., law firm, the realities set in. Success was measured by billable hours, and the competition to be one of the few who advanced to partner was intense. Practicing trust law meant few contacts with actual people except other attorneys. The practice of law was an jealous mistress. There was little time for anything else, and the divorce rate was high.

Invasion of the law offices by a homeless man with a gun, and the taking of hostages, redirects Brock's life. He discovers a law clinic for the impoverished, and gets a first had view of street people, shelters, and soup kitchens. Someone he tries to befriend meets a tragic death.

The novel is well researched and well written, and gives a good picture of the downside of modern society. There are people at the top who live well, and people at the bottom who are starving. They don't have bread? Let them eat cake. For some people, the lower classes are invisible, but they do have legal rights.

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Just a step away

Many people that I know live from paycheck to paycheck. Housing prices are out of sight. Gasoline prices for commuting have gone past $4 a gallon. Grain prices are high and food prices are up. This is an era of downsizing and outsourcing. Job security may be tenuous. Everyone except the president seems to know that the country is in a recession and that things will get worse before they get better. Someone, observing the homeless, said that he was only a short step away from joining them. This novel provides a chilling picture of life on the streets. You too could end up living in your car.

Michael Brock came from an established family with enough money to pay for the best universities. He is a hard working associate of a major Washington, D.C., law firm, with hopes of becoming a highly paid partner, so hard working that he and his wife hardly see each other. Like many workaholics, his marriage is going on the rocks. The practive of law is an unforgiving mistress. Then a homeless man with a grievance enters the law office and takes hostages. Events bring about a radical change in Michael's life.

There is a big difference between working for a legal clinic, doing pro bono work for the poor, and working a major law firm handling antitrust cases. There is no billing of clients by the hour - in fact an hours time may involve several clients with problems. There is more to life than money.

Michael finds himself wrapped up in a case involving his former law firm. But he also finds a new life involving new people, and perhaps he finds a new confidence in himself.

Much of the novel is in narrative form, as told by Michael. Some readers, as reflected in the reviews, think the author is preaching a personal social agenda (with some criticism of politicans, idle rich, and such), but so have many other writers (John Steinbeck and Victor Hugo to name a couple). It does make you pause to consider the people who are less fortunate.

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A Lawyer Develops a Heart for the Homeless

This is an arresting novel about a corporate lawyer who is taken hostage by a desperate homeless mannamed Devon Hardy. He survives physically, but is forever changed internally. Michael Brock develops a heart for the homeless, while also discovering that it was his firm that wrongfully evicted this man along with 16 others.

Michael deceitfully steals a file containing the evidence for this wrongful eviction. Soon enough, his former employee becomes his enemy.

John Grisham is certainly out to prick the conscience of his readers, and he does a good job of doing so. No doubt, some will find the book a bit preachy, but you will develop an appreciation of the plight of the homeless, and hopefully, you will want to help out any way you can.

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