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Alaina Patterson's Reviews > The Firm
The Firm
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by
Alaina Patterson's review
bookshelves: 2009, i-own-this
Mar 08, 2009
bookshelves: 2009, i-own-this
Read 4 times. Last read March 6, 2009.
This is quick, because I can't imagine anyone who has never read a Grisham novel/watched a 'film' adaptation of a Grisham novel/read a book review of a Grisham novel/watched that episode of 3rd Rock From the Sun all those years ago where the family goes into Witness Protection for some reason and they're all reading different Grisham novels, and when they realize the plot is exactly the same, they switch books and continue reading and sure enough, the plot is exactly the same. And yes, I've just spent about ten minutes searching the interwebs for the clip that apparently only I can remember, because I have an inordinate amount of brain sludge in my cerebral cortex.
ANYHOODLE. For the four people in the world who may not have ever read a Grisham 'legal' novel (because sometime in the early Aughts he went and branched out), here are the requirements:
I. An idealistic lawyer � the fresher out of law school, the better; or,
II. A lawyer who has become disillusioned with the system, but will give it one last try.
He/She discovers:
A. The case he's currently working on has ties to the Mafia;
B. The case he's currently working on has ties to the KKK;
C. The case he's currently working on has ties to the highest of government; or
D. The case he's currently working on has ties to the evil health care industry.
With the help of:
1. His friends;
2. The FBI; or
3. No one, because he's an IDEALISTIC LAWYER,
He:
a. Is able to win his case;
b. Is able to turn the Mafia over to the FBI;
c. Is able to prove the conspiracy.
As his life is now in danger, he must:
i. Escape to the Caribbean or South America;
ii. Enter into the Witness Protection program;
iii. Face the reporters and live to fight another case;
iv. Retire from law.
Usually, he also manages to swindle the Mafia/Government/Whatever out of a tidy sum of:
*$10 million.
The Firm is I, A, 2, b, I, $10 million.
Enjoy.
ANYHOODLE. For the four people in the world who may not have ever read a Grisham 'legal' novel (because sometime in the early Aughts he went and branched out), here are the requirements:
I. An idealistic lawyer � the fresher out of law school, the better; or,
II. A lawyer who has become disillusioned with the system, but will give it one last try.
He/She discovers:
A. The case he's currently working on has ties to the Mafia;
B. The case he's currently working on has ties to the KKK;
C. The case he's currently working on has ties to the highest of government; or
D. The case he's currently working on has ties to the evil health care industry.
With the help of:
1. His friends;
2. The FBI; or
3. No one, because he's an IDEALISTIC LAWYER,
He:
a. Is able to win his case;
b. Is able to turn the Mafia over to the FBI;
c. Is able to prove the conspiracy.
As his life is now in danger, he must:
i. Escape to the Caribbean or South America;
ii. Enter into the Witness Protection program;
iii. Face the reporters and live to fight another case;
iv. Retire from law.
Usually, he also manages to swindle the Mafia/Government/Whatever out of a tidy sum of:
*$10 million.
The Firm is I, A, 2, b, I, $10 million.
Enjoy.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
Started Reading
March 6, 2009
–
Finished Reading
March 8, 2009
– Shelved
March 8, 2009
– Shelved as:
2009
March 8, 2009
– Shelved as:
i-own-this
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by
Lisa
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Oct 22, 2009 06:18PM
I just found your post because I was looking for that same 3rd Rock clip. You're not alone. ;)
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Don't forget that said lawyer must dye & cut his/her hair and nearly get caught using credit cards while on the run. Carry on. (Still, this is the best of the lot)
I think this is why Grisham's star faded rather quickly. I read four or five of his novels and found the same pattern you did. In his defense, however, if the theme is the seedy side of lawyering, a recurrence of the idealist against the bad guy is probably unavoidable. I just read "The Partner," and realized that its merely a restructuring of "The Firm," with the corrupt lawyers fronting a defense contractor rather than the mob. Mitch escaped Bendini with $10M, and in "The Partner," the good guy made off with $90M. Different numbers, different context, same story.
