Book ~ "The Litigators" (2012) - John Grisham

From Goodreads ~ The partners at Finley & Figg—all two of them—often refer to themselves as “a boutique law firm.” Boutique, as in chic, selective, and prosperous. They are, of course, none of these things. What they are is a two-bit operation always in search of their big break, ambulance chasers who’ve been in the trenches much too long making way too little. Their specialties, so to speak, are quickie divorces and DUIs, with the occasional jackpot of an actual car wreck thrown in. After twenty plus years together, Oscar Finley and Wally Figg bicker like an old married couple but somehow continue to scratch out a half-decent living from their seedy bungalow offices in southwest Chicago.

And then change comes their way. More accurately, it stumbles in. David Zinc, a young but already burned-out attorney, walks away from his fast-track career at a fancy downtown firm, goes on a serious bender, and finds himself literally at the doorstep of our boutique firm. Once David sobers up and comes to grips with the fact that he’s suddenly unemployed, any job—even one with Finley & Figg—looks okay to him.

With their new associate on board, F&F is ready to tackle a really big case, a case that could make the partners rich without requiring them to actually practice much law. An extremely popular drug, Krayoxx, the number one cholesterol reducer for the dangerously overweight, produced by Varrick Labs, a giant pharmaceutical company with annual sales of $25 billion, has recently come under fire after several patients taking it have suffered heart attacks. Wally smells money.

A little online research confirms Wally’s suspicions—a huge plaintiffs’ firm in Florida is putting together a class action suit against Varrick. All Finley & Figg has to do is find a handful of people who have had heart attacks while taking Krayoxx, convince them to become clients, join the class action, and ride along to fame and fortune. With any luck, they won’t even have to enter a courtroom!

It almost seems too good to be true. And it is.

I used to read a lot of Grisham's books but got away from them for a few years. I picked this one up because it's his latest.

There are three main characters (four if you count their receptionist, Rochelle) and I liked them. They are all so different with various goals. Oscar is nearing retirement and wants to spend his golden years without his wife, who is he hoping will die from the drug they are suing about (how's that for a conflict??). Wally is nearly fifty and is battling the bottle and is always looking for the latest get rich scheme. And David is in his mid-thirties and has no idea what his future will bring now that he's walked away from a high paying/high stress job with a law firm ... but he feels happy and free. Rochelle doesn't take any crap from anyone ... she turns away business from the struggling law firm if it means extra work for her.

I didn't really understand the mechanics of the how the courts work so let it go over my head.

You suspect you know how the drug case is going to go ... and you go along for ride on the train wreck you think is going to happen. I was cheering for them regardless.

I enjoyed the story and the writing style and would recommend this book.