Here we are again, on our yearly pilgrimage to Grisham County, where lawyers are mostly crooked and morality is in short supply. It's 1999, and if there is a new Grisham it must be February - you can set your calender by this annual event. This is his tenth literary outing in as many years. Meet reclusive 80 year old Troy Phelan, nearing the end of his long and now lonely life, who has called together his three ex-wives and six children to his offices to witness the signing of his will. Phelan is one unhappy billionaire, being confined to a wheelchair and searching for a way to end it all. Are his family happy to be there? Sure, you would be too if there was 11 billion dollars (you heard right, $11b) to be distributed and there was a fair prospect of a decent inheritance. Do the numbers - if he left you only 1% of that vast sum, you'd be leaving his funeral with over $100m. in your pocket! Not a bad payday for a little fawning (we'd even consider grovelling and snivelling for that sort of money). As "us lawyers" are wont to say, where there's a will there's a family! Enter stage left a highly unlikely and hitherto unknown candidate for the inheritance who is, believe it or not, a missionary in Brazil! Now that is calculated to set a cat amongst the moochers and shakers. And so we welcome to this pandemonium Nate O'Reilly, a lawyer who perfectly fits the Grisham bill, that is, a gifted litigator who has a past and an array of personal problems (the usual drink and drugs stuff, failed attempts at rehab, broken marriages, not to mention a few problems with the tax department and and his partners in the firm). Without giving away too much, Nate heads off to the wilds of Brazil in search of Rachel Lane, Phelan's illegitimate daughter who might become the richest missionary in the history of humanitarianism. He is also in search of himself, happy to leave post-rehab seductions at home with his legal briefs (and therein lies the gist of this story). Can you see what's coming next? Of course Nate is exposed to some challenging questions, the dialogue turns inward, and the lawyer is forced to take a hard look at the vacuity of his life in the big city. For those who have had enough of the legal mumbo jumbo, this is a change of pace, more spiritual odyssey than courtroom drama (of course we love courtroom antics here at Law in the Lounge, but what the heck, we're lawyers). To his credit, Grisham has managed this task without his usual proselytising and sometime hectoring tone. Grisham gives us a wonderful travelogue through the Brazilian dark interior. He also exhibits a fair sense of humour in his dealings with Phelan's materialistic offspring. Oh yeah, we think with a nod and wink, they really mourn the death of their billionaire benefactor. And the characters are less cliched than some in his repertoire, with a less creaky plot. At times Grisham's intent is too obvious, particularly his bent to question the validity of the materialistic lifestyle and the pretensions of modern life. This was more on show in "The Street Lawyer", but at times it grates. The stereotypical dastardly lawyers, full of venom and manipulations. Obviously there are some truisms here, but real lawyers don't act in the ways that Grisham describes. Okay, okay, we're being defensive, and true, you have to allow for literary licence. Has Grisham found religion? Let's see if this theme continues to be developed. It is very difficult for any writer to properly convey life-changing experiences, especially those that have a spiritual dimension. It is difficult to read a Grisham nowadays without imagining the potential actors in the inevitable movie adaptation (Julia Roberts as Rachel? Michael Douglas as Josh?). In part this tale turns on the right of legitimate heirs to Phelan's billions, who fight to maintain their claim on a vast estate. In a posthumous letter, Phelan tells his lawyer to "use litigation if you have to, but I want my wishes carried out". In the will his children do not benefit to any extent they believed to be fair, and there is a warning that any "attempt to contest the will will nullify the gift". So what can relatives do if they are unhappy with their share of an estate? All Australian States have mechanisms by which disgruntled relatives can challenge the distribution of a will. Usually the grounds are:
In general, a person can give their money to whoever (or whatever) they want, which is probably as it should be. Okay, so it's a little strange when a multi-millionaire leaves their estate to the cat's home, or their beloved footy team (all bequests to the Essendon Football Club please). But there is a duty to provide for immediate family, and the law will sometimes uphold this obligation. Courts will generally ask whether the will maker adequately provided for their immediate family, but you can't go along and simply complain that "it wasn't fair". You have to show a legal obligation, recognisable under the law. If you want the real lowdown on challenging wills, have a look at our Wills topic for Victoria or New South Wales. You know that bank that John Grisham was laughing all the way to? – he bought it!! He’s the Bill Gates of legal fiction; the Rupert Murdoch of thriller writers; the Stephen Spielberg of… well, you get the idea! By any standards, he has achieved a remarkable success, so much so that his publishers proclaim him the world’s best selling author. He was born in Arkansas (pronounced "Arkansaw"), the same state that Bill Clinton calls home. He got a degree in accounting (handy now that he has all that money to count!) and (tick, tick, tick…) yes, Law, from the fabled "Ole Miss" (a University in Mississippi). Now, most lawyers go on to practice in a pretty dull routine – surrounded by wills and land titles, they spend their days buried in more paper than a recycling centre. This might be good enough for your everyday hack, or even your ego-driven corporate type, but Grisham had different ideas. Like the actor that longs to direct, there is an author deep inside many trial lawyers. In some ways it goes with the territory – after all, most legal arguments are a fiction in themselves. You strut the stage of the court, pulling the threads of a plot together to make a persuasive story. Isn’t that what they say a novel is from the reader’s point of view – a willing suspension of disbelief? In other words, if you connect the dots, and make it seem real, the reader will go along for the ride. And as any trial lawyer will tell you, that’s pretty much the same thing you want from a judge and jury. Grisham was born in 1955, which makes all those baby-boomer lawyers with a mid life crisis all the more sick with envy! He worked as a criminal and personal injuries lawyer for 10 years, and as a sideline, got himself elected to the State House of Representatives to boot! But it was not law or politics that really challenged his overactive intellect – in 1984 he started to write his first novel, and three years later "A Time To Kill" was finished. By the time that first novel was published he was well into "The Firm". He could not have imagined how this enterprise would forever change his life, and would set the trend for the new wave of legal fiction. And if he saw himself as the alter ego of Mitch, the hero in "The Firm", who better to star in the film role than Tom Cruise? For this he can thank Bill Thompson, who also "discovered" Stephen King - how's that for a track record? "The Firm" went on to sell a ridiculous 15 million copies in the U.S. alone, and stayed on the bestseller lists for nearly a year. From there it was one roller-coaster success after another. Each new novel goes straight to the top of the best-seller list, to be closely followed by a hit movie. "The Pelican Brief" was published in 1992, "The Client" in 1993, "The Chamber" in 1994, "The Rainmaker" in 1995, "The Runaway Jury" in 1996, "The Partner" in 1997, "The Street Lawyer" in 1998. It seems like an annual event nowadays – if it’s February, there must be a new Grisham on the shelves! Often the paperback is released at the same time as the new hardcover – and they both occupy the number one spots on their respective best-seller lists. In 1998 Grisham produced his first original screenplay, the interesting "Gingerbread Man" directed by cinema luminary Robert Altman. In fact Grisham has seen some talented directors cast their eye over his stories, including Francis Ford Coppola ("The Rainmaker"). Grisham is married with two children, and divides his time between homes in Mississippi and Virginia. Apart from writing, his great passion is baseball. This is a vast improvement on his last effort, the slightly ridiculous and self-righteous "Street Lawyer" (anyone who had worked in an Australian community legal centre had to chuckle). And if you are looking for that "page-turner", this one fits the bill again. It's got all the typical ingredients in the Grisham blueprint, including lots of money, a washed-up lawyer, and a lamentable group of avaricious no-hopers. Let's face it, this is where Grisham's real talent lies, and even his most devoted readers would prefer a fast paced tale to a lecture on ethics. This is more adventure than legal intrigue, a tale of greed and suspense, and a surprisingly worthwhile examination of the true nature of selflessness and altruism. A billionaire who is unhappy with his lot; endless materialism put to the test; readers able to vent their alienation with the seriously rich and indolent; the contrast of the lawyers duelling for their clients' billions; Nate battling the elemental jungle, both physically and metaphorically; the simple life versus life in the material world (as George Harrison so aptly put it); and the hedonistic pursuit of the American Dream. In the end this is a story of redemption, well told and fast paced. And it's probably fair to see this as less a departure than an evolution in the writing of a mega-author - you can see the seeds of the quest motif as long ago as Mitch's travails in "The Firm". Perhaps Grisham has realised that court cases are essentially difficult to enliven, and this is a departure he has paid for in numerous more trenchant courtroom adventures. A good holiday read, and a worthy substitute for that Saturday night popcorn and video. Look forward to the millennial theme on the horizon.
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