The Street Lawyer: A Novel

Heartwarming story of a big time lawyer turning back to the root of why he pursued legal work to begin with. It gives many of us pause to think of an attorney in a new light. I hate most lawyers, but this story gives new hope to the thought that many lawyers seem to have justice in mind.

I've felt guilty, not leaving a review until now. I read a lot and Grisham is my new favorite author. He's not really new to me, but it has been awhile. I remember reading "The Firm" when it first came out and that book knocked my socks off, but these last three books that I have read are just...so right. "Sooley" broke my heart while giving me hope, too. The next book took me to our crappy justice system and death row; convictions based on a single lie, coupled with a coerced confession. Now, with this third book I am faced yet again with a shameful issue in America: that of poverty and homelessness. "The Street Lawyer" delivers a powerful punch. While fiction, I know that all of Grisham's books will tell a good story, filled with truth. We can all use a bit of truth.Highest recommendation

Yes,challenging, at first very much so.I found the first part of the book was very hard to hold my interest,but as I continued on the book gave slight hints of what might happen.The later parts of the book made up for the challenge of the front.

Michael Brock rethinks his life at Drake & Sweeny after a homeless man follows him up the elevator and follows him as he enters the offices. He calls himself Mister and hold several lawyers hostage in a conference room holding a grudge against the firm. After several hours, he orders food from a homeless shelter because everyone is hungry, after the food is delivered and the door is opened, a cop with a scope kills "Mister" and the blood splatters on Michael. The others in the room run for it, thinking that Michael has been hit, too. After he reads the Post (D.C.) he discovers his name and that he was homeless, and also that Mordecai Green, a lawyer and director of the 14th Street Legal Clinic. He drove to the clinic and talked with Mordecai thinking that Devon Hardy might have AIDs and he was splattered with his blood. They talked awhile and since there was a blizzard coming he was more worried about making sure all the homeless were somewhere safe in a shelter. Later, Michael, steals a file from Braden Chance, a real estate lawyer with the help of his paralegal, Then he is in a horrible car accident, with the file in the car when it was towed away. That's when the story twists and turns, and Michael turns down his huge salary of a hundred, and twenty thousand a year to thirty thousand as a street lawyer for the poor. His wife, Clare, knows she can't afford their exclusive, expensive home, so she divorces him, and the marriage was ending anyway. He is comfortable with his new lifestyle, and keeps the file, plus finds out that Chance has shredded the most important memo that the homeless were evicted from their makeshift apartments without a thirty day notice, and thrown out on the streets. Mordecai and Michael sue the firm and end up with five million plus, however, after returning the file, Michael license is suspended from practicing law for nine months, but the story continues....

An old Grisham novel still relevant, even more relevant today! This novel is educational - I hate to use the word “entertaining” due to its subject. It is certainly engrossing and meaningful.

John Grisham has definitely done his homework on the topic of homelessness and presents it in a complete and thorough fashion in The Street Lawyer. When it comes to the subject of homelessness, he presents the facts in a very clear, realistic manner. Unfortunately, the rest of his novel does not fare as well, which is why I have to give the work three stars as a valiant attempt at representing the homeless cause in a novel that totally lacks credibility.The first mistake is when a homeless man holds all the attorneys in Drake & Sweeney hostage using fake dynamite sticks. That is a ploy that would have been uncovered too easily to have lasted as long as it did. Then comes the premise that Michael Brock, an up-and-coming attorney in the firm who is about to receive a salary of millions a year, decides to give it all up to work at a starvation wage as a welfare lawyer in the office with Mordecai Green; as noble as that may sound, it is still stretching the imagination a bit too much to expect the reader to buy such a story. Then comes something else to cause the reader to have questions: as his wife files for divorce -- no big surprise considering what her husband has done -- he then moves into an apartment in Adams Morgan. On a salary of $30,000 a year, there is no way he could afford an apartment in Adams Morgan, nor is it likely that a landlord would agree to rent the apartment to him. It would be nice if it were possible to say, "As long as everybody's happy, that's all that matters," but the plot lacks basic credibility.It is impossible to ignore the book's strengths, which lie in the manner in which Grisham presents the realities of homelessness. He has done his homework well and with the people in the know in Washington, DC's network of service providers for the homeless. That makes it even more surprising that he did not choose to craft his own novel a bit more realistically after the real-life models that he saw with the providers he interviewed. For example, it would have made a lot more sense for Michael Brock to have devoted part of his time to pro bono work for the homeless as do many of the attorneys who work for the various organizations that assist the homeless instead of forfeiting his career entirely. It is surprising that he did not entertain this idea when writing the novel instead of going to extremes, which definitely harmed the final outcome of the novel.

A real page turner, with a story line that is based in reality. Even though we can predict a general idea of the story's end we read every word to that end.

Previous books were a bit more balanced than this work. Somewhat slanted, different and disappointing. Still think he is a good writer.

The author accidentally finds out that he is not really happy in his work and that making lots of money is not the answer to a useful life. Originally he wants to right a wrong but makes a major error and antigo -nises his superiors. He is about to lose his job in a rich firm but makes contact with pro bonus workers and suddenly finds his vocation to help homeless people until he finds the ability to assist the poor and to putthem on the right track for better life. This is demonstrated in a very lively manner with a lot of furtheraccidents and the involvement of other people whose aim in life is to improve the well being of street people.

I like a book to not only entertain me with plot but to inform me somewhat. The plot here is highly predictable right from the outset and the ending just as predictable but it wasn't a comfortable read. It was a thinly disguised left-wing political diatribe about the (mainly black) homeless problems in Washington DC and just left me feeling depressed. The wealthy (like millionaire author Grisham) are roundly castigated and our hero reduces himself to poverty to save the homeless. More medieval fairy tale than anything else.

I like JG's books but struggling with this one. The premise that a very well paid lawyer on the brink of partnership, would give it all up to help the homeless with their legal work, does not seem believable. He could be more effective pursuing his career, and using that talent to fund good works or a legal 'street practice'. I will continue as it may get better, knowing JG it may well do so.

This was the first book of Grisham's I ever read and it is nrilliant. He is you go to guy for legal thrillers, afte reading this I was hooked and read eight more of his books one after another.The film adaptions of his books are only a 50% measure of how good they are.If want to read legal thrillers Grisham's your guy.

Gripping start. Something happens quickly which made me want to read on.There characters and plot where simplified and condensed in time but for me, this was a plus. There were no twists and little attention was given to a dead witness.It’s not Grisham’s best book but overall, I liked it and would recommend.