Learning to work the system

A friend once told me that more John Grisham books are sold at bookshops in the international terminal at Heathrow than at all other London bookshops combined — and I didn’t even question my friend because the comment seemed completely plausible. John Grisham’s taut legal thrillers are ideal reading on long-haul international flights where the only diversion is an in-flight movie. For that reason, a Grisham book is almost irresistible at international terminals.

John Grisham has made quite a name for himself with 20 novels mostly set in and around the court rooms of America and the legal profession with names such as The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Rainmaker. After his second novel, The Firm, which made a big splash, Grisham hasn’t looked back despite a slightly repetitive central premise, of the little guy against the system, which pervades many of his books. In Grisham’s world, it is often David versus Goliath, with Goliath being the system and its corruption. Several of his books, like The Runaway Jury, have been runaway bestsellers. Even the book before this one — The Innocent Man, his first non-fiction outing about two men, wrongly convicted by an overzealous district attorney, who end up spending decades in prison — was a number one international bestseller.

 

Grisham, it would seem, has perfected the art of writing the bestseller. His method, on the face of it, is simple enough — to keep the story moving with a lot of action, plenty of conversation to keep the story light, and intimate details of the legal system showing a mastery of the subject to make the story completely believable.

His twenty-first novel, The Associate, burnishes his reputation further. It’s about Kyle McAvoy, formerly the Chief Editor of Yale Law Review. He is now employed by Scully and Pershing, the largest law firm in the world (40 branches; 2,000 lawyers) with more Fortune 500 clients than any other law firm, as a first-year associate for a salary of $200,000. The story is about why a reluctant Kyle, who would have preferred to work for a measly pay for immigrants in Virginia, is instead forced to take up this job and what the stakes really are. Scully and Pershing is involved in the biggest suit to be filed in history, relating to an $800 billion contract given by the Pentagon for the development of the B-10 Bomber. Interested parties have found out the one blemish in Kyle’s life — an incident from his student days — and try to use it to make him do their bidding. An incident involving him and three of his college buddies returns to haunt him.

The best parts of the book are when Grisham takes you to the innards of the largest law firm in the world and what drawing $200,000 involves — the endless hours of work, cut-throat competition, backbiting, pettiness and paranoia. And absolute horror stories, such as the reluctance of a partner to let an associate go and attend a friend’s funeral. The recreation of a large law firm and the conduct of the lawyers gone overboard are brilliantly executed. The hours are so endless that one is reminded of the little FE Smith who, when asked when he takes a holiday, replied, “In the gap between my question and answer of a witness.”

Also laid bare is what it takes to defend the biggest lawsuit — four million documents. Yes, four million documents are stored in a warehouse, all accessible by computer though a virtual library. A whole lot of partners and associates are assigned to the case. They will have to go through the documents — the scale is completely unbelievable. With the partners charging $800 an hour and junior associates with just a month’s standing $400, the fees are also staggering. The recreation of a firm preparing for a case is like an army preparing for battle and is truly amazing to read.

One has to hand it to Grisham — he keeps you on the edge of your seat (if you are on an international flight) throughout. And never mind if you are a whit dissatisfied by the resolution when the plane lands — you have had a thoroughly good time on the way.

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THE ASSOCIATE

John Grisham
Arrow Books
485 pages; Rs260