Review of The Street Lawyer by John Grisham

Okay, first off, John Grisham hands down is one of the best authors EVER. Like this dude’s the epitome of legal bad-assery.  As many know it, his books are almost always related to some “law” theme and every single one of them is a masterpiece. I’ve read three so far- The Litigators, The Tort King and the latest one, The Street Lawyer. 

This book is a masterpiece!

 Grisham has a set framework for every of his novel (atleast so far in all that I’ve read), there is ALWAYS  some hot-shot/ some struggling lawyer who either suddenly becomes famous or leaves his high paying job to struggle and there is ALWAYS a relationship failure (law students, take note) and finally, there is ALWAYS a good prevails over the evil ending. But does it make his novels boring or predictable? The answer would be a resounding no.

Grisham is a master of words, a weaver of stories so intricate and complex; you’d scarcely believe the finesse with which he achieves it. I’ve been in awe of his writing ever since I picked up my first of his, The Litigators. Grisham knows the law and executes it flawlessly, and there is most certainly some moral lesson involved.

So the latest that I read, The Street Lawyer is one of its kind. It starts with a shooting (it’s the USA, what do you expect really?) in a law office where our protagonist is climbing the success ladder, soon to be a partner. He’s taken a hostage but fortunately, the rescue ops are a success and the perpetrator is shot down. But Michael (our protagonist) has developed some kind of PTSD, he goes in a search to find the identity of the guy and when he does, he finds out he was a homeless. This information is provided to him at a free legal clinic by a man named Mordecai (to whom this novel is actually a tribute).

From here starts his journey into the unknown, he leaves his job, his marriage is already falling apart and he figures he has nothing to lose. But before he leaves, he receives a mysterious note regarding some unlawful eviction his firm carried out to give effect to some contract and he ends up stealing a file from the Real Estate branch of his firm. 

What follows is roller coaster ride with Michael visiting shelters, helping the poor and everything. But it is the death of a family of four (a mother and three kids) that jolts him to the core and he takes up the cause of the homeless. So our once potential law firm Partner is now helping people get food stamps (!) while his wife files for divorce (pool ol’ lawyers).

Back to the stolen file, our protagonist lands into a lot of trouble for it- accidents, legal malpractice suit, prison where he gets beaten up, you name it! And what he finds out is *drum roll* S-C-A-N-D-A-L-O-U-S. Apparently, the Real Estate branch of the firm carried out an illegal eviction; the occupants were not “squatters” but actual tenants and *surprise surprise* the shooter and the family of four were also amongst the ones illegally evicted and his firm was involved in a hush-hush cover up of the “dirty act” lest they’d have lost the contract.

So Michael alongwith Mordecai file a suit against the firm which takes the newspapers by storm. What ensues is a constant tug of war between the two sides. Shots are fired and it gets downright mean (welcome to the legal world).  

But yes, it has a happy ending albeit not like you would expect it. But then again, he is John Grisham, he’s mad talented at what he does and he does it like a pro, never disappointing you.  There are certain very endearing incidents, like a homeless addict who’d come to their clinic just because Michael would offer her cookies and “crappy coffee”. You’d love every moment of reading it.

Grisham is the epitome of legal bad-assery!

Yet there is a hidden message underneath these gripping stories- you may win many wars in the courtroom but you’ll lose the battle of justice if your sole purpose is money while you’re practicing law. He doesn’t advocate sacrificing everything but striking a balance between the two. Maybe a little volunteer work here, maybe working a case of a poor person for free there. But as soon as you take up one extreme, you’ve lost direction and your world, professional and personal will fall apart.