The Street Lawyer
Encyclopedia
The Street Lawyer is a legal thriller
novel by John Grisham
. It was released in the United States on 1 January 1998, published by Bantam Books
, and on 30 March 1998 in the UK, published by Century.
He finds his way to the 14th Street Legal Clinic, where he meets Mordecai Green, an advocate for the homeless, who asks him to help one night at a homeless shelter. As Brock's investigation deepens, he finds that his own employer was complicit in an illegal eviction, which eventually resulted in the death of a young homeless family. He takes a confidential file, intending to copy it, but is quickly suspected of its theft.
Shocked by what he has found, Brock leaves his firm to take a poorly-paid position with the 14th Street Legal Clinic, which works to protect the rights of the homeless. This leads to his wife divorcing him. He admits one of his clients, Ruby, to a therapy class for drug-addicted women, and in the process meets Megan, the book's love interest.
As Drake & Sweeney comes after Brock with theft and malpractice allegations, the Clinic launches a lawsuit against the law firm and its business partners. Terrified of the certain bad publicity, the matter is settled by mediation and the clinic receives a large payout to be shared with the victims of the eviction.
Drake & Sweeney's head partner, deeply troubled by the events, offers to make pro bono staff available to assist the work of the Clinic in fighting for the rights of homeless people. The book ends with Brock taking a short vacation with Megan and Ruby, and them reflecting on their lives.
wrote in the Sunday Telegraph
that "no one does it better than Grisham"
and that the book is "as unputdownable as ever". Mat Coward wrote in his review in The Independent
that the novel is "fluent and fascinating" and mentioned "Few writers have so much to say, the skills to make reading what they say an irresistible pleasure - and the clout to be able to be able to say it to an audience of millions".
Michiko Kakutani
of the New York Times gave the novel a negative review, stating "Grisham is too busy charging ahead to bother fleshing out any of these developments" and describing the novel as "a brand-name novel with an unlikable hero, a slapdash plot and some truly awful prose." It reached #1 on the New York Times bestsellers chart, maintaining the position for several weeks.
filmed, for a proposed small screen adaptation of the novel. Produced by Touchstone Television
, the show
was to star Eddie Cibrian
as Brock, KaDee Strickland
, Mario Van Peebles
and Hal Holbrook
. Paris Barclay
directed the pilot, which was scripted by Brian Koppelman
and David Levien
. For reasons that were never made public, the show was never given a full season pick-up.
Legal thriller
The legal thriller is a sub-genre of thriller and crime fiction in which the major characters are lawyers and their employees. The system of justice itself is always a major part of these works, at times almost functioning as one of the characters...
novel by John Grisham
John Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
. It was released in the United States on 1 January 1998, published by Bantam Books
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
, and on 30 March 1998 in the UK, published by Century.
Plot
A homeless man calling himself "Mister" enters the offices of the Washington DC law firm Drake & Sweeney and takes many of the lawyers hostage. Although he is eventually shot by a police sniper and the hostages freed, one of the hostages, an antitrust lawyer named Michael Brock, is concerned by what he has learned and feels compelled to investigate further.He finds his way to the 14th Street Legal Clinic, where he meets Mordecai Green, an advocate for the homeless, who asks him to help one night at a homeless shelter. As Brock's investigation deepens, he finds that his own employer was complicit in an illegal eviction, which eventually resulted in the death of a young homeless family. He takes a confidential file, intending to copy it, but is quickly suspected of its theft.
Shocked by what he has found, Brock leaves his firm to take a poorly-paid position with the 14th Street Legal Clinic, which works to protect the rights of the homeless. This leads to his wife divorcing him. He admits one of his clients, Ruby, to a therapy class for drug-addicted women, and in the process meets Megan, the book's love interest.
As Drake & Sweeney comes after Brock with theft and malpractice allegations, the Clinic launches a lawsuit against the law firm and its business partners. Terrified of the certain bad publicity, the matter is settled by mediation and the clinic receives a large payout to be shared with the victims of the eviction.
Drake & Sweeney's head partner, deeply troubled by the events, offers to make pro bono staff available to assist the work of the Clinic in fighting for the rights of homeless people. The book ends with Brock taking a short vacation with Megan and Ruby, and them reflecting on their lives.
Characters
- Michael Brock - the protagonist; a wealthy lawyer at Drake & Sweeney.
- DeVon "Mister" Hardy - homeless man who takes hostages at Drake & Sweeney.
- Mordecai Green - a poverty lawyer.
- Claire Brock - wife of Michael Brock; aspiring neurosurgeon.
- Arthur Jacobs - senior partner at Drake & Sweeney.
- Barry Nuzzo - long-time associate lawyer with Drake & Sweeney.
- Braden Chance - a real estate lawyer at Drake & Sweeney, who covered-up the illegal eviction.
- Hector Palma - paralegal for Braden Chance, who helps Brock gain evidence for his case.
- Lontae Burton - a homeless woman with four children; Ontario, Alonzo, Dante, and Temeko. They all die of asphyxiation when snow blocks the exhaust pipe of their car. They were victims of the eviction, which indirectly resulted in their deaths.
- Abraham Lebow - a street lawyer; associate of Mordecai Green and Sofia Mendoza.
- Sofia Mendoza - a social worker; associate of Mordecai Green and Abraham Lebow.
- Tillman Gantry - former pimp, small-time hustler, and twice convicted felon, who owned the apartments where the illegal eviction took place.
- Ruby - a homeless woman addicted to crack. Brock tries to help her get over her addiction so she can see her son again.
- Megan - Brock's later love interest who works at the women's homeless shelter.
Reception
The novel received generally positive reviews. Charles SpencerCharles Spencer (journalist)
Charles Spencer is a British journalist. He has been the drama critic of The Daily Telegraph since 1991. In 2006, Compton Miller of The Independent wrote in a profile: "This convivial ex-alcoholic is best remembered for his description of Nicole Kidman's nude scene in The Blue Room as 'pure...
wrote in the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
that "no one does it better than Grisham"
and that the book is "as unputdownable as ever". Mat Coward wrote in his review in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
that the novel is "fluent and fascinating" and mentioned "Few writers have so much to say, the skills to make reading what they say an irresistible pleasure - and the clout to be able to be able to say it to an audience of millions".
Michiko Kakutani
Michiko Kakutani
is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times and is considered by many to be a leading literary critic in the United States.-Life and career:...
of the New York Times gave the novel a negative review, stating "Grisham is too busy charging ahead to bother fleshing out any of these developments" and describing the novel as "a brand-name novel with an unlikable hero, a slapdash plot and some truly awful prose." It reached #1 on the New York Times bestsellers chart, maintaining the position for several weeks.
Unsold television pilot
In 2003, plans were announced, and a television pilotTelevision pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
filmed, for a proposed small screen adaptation of the novel. Produced by Touchstone Television
Touchstone Television
ABC Studios is the television production division of Disney-ABC Television Group. ABC Studios was established as Touchstone Television in 1985 and given its current name in May 2007....
, the show
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
was to star Eddie Cibrian
Eddie Cibrian
Edward Carl "Eddie" Cibrian is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Cole Deschanel on Sunset Beach, Jesse Cardoza in CSI: Miami, Jimmy Doherty on Third Watch and Russell Varon in Invasion.-Early life and career:...
as Brock, KaDee Strickland
KaDee Strickland
Katherine Dee "KaDee" Strickland is an American actress currently known for her role as Charlotte King on the ABC drama Private Practice....
, Mario Van Peebles
Mario Van Peebles
Mario "Chip" Cain Van Peebles is an American director and actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films. He is son of filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles.-Life and career:...
and Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for...
. Paris Barclay
Paris Barclay
Paris K.C. Barclay is an American television director and producer. He has directed over 100 episodes of television to date, for series including NYPD Blue, ER, The West Wing, CSI, Lost, The Shield, House M.D., Law & Order, Monk, Numb3rs, City of Angels, Cold Case, and more recently The Mentalist,...
directed the pilot, which was scripted by Brian Koppelman
Brian Koppelman
Brian Koppelman is an American screenwriter, novelist, director, and producer. Best known as the co-writer of Ocean's Thirteen, and Rounders, Koppelman has also produced films such as The Illusionist and The Lucky Ones as well as directed films such as Solitary Man.His writing partner is David Levien...
and David Levien
David Levien
David Levien is an American screenwriter, novelist, director, and producer. Best known as the co-writer of Ocean's Thirteen, and Rounders Levien has also produced films such as The Illusionist and The Lucky Ones....
. For reasons that were never made public, the show was never given a full season pick-up.