Lawyers, a judge and duplicity equals a juicy story.
584487
The story is very engaging from the start and the writing is clear and consistent. I really like the main protagonist along with many other people who enter the picture along the way. Good job to Diane Capri for a very good mystery novel.
546467
Dan Sorenson, NYC lawyer, has had a rough 18 months. He won a high-publicity case, his wife and daughter are killed in an auto accident, he quits his job with a prestigious firm, and then sinks himself into the bottle. Until he meets Nina. Nina has a high-profile case and she needs an experienced defense lawyer. The accused is Legally Dead, a rap artist, who is accused of killing his girlfriend Roxanne, another singing star. L.D. says hes not guilty. After some persuasion, Dan agrees to take the case. He and Nina form their own firm and the battle lines are drawn. Together they have to sift through the lives of L.D. and Roxanne and build a defense. With a rising star ADA as the prosecutor and a camera hungry judge this trial is going to be a bumpy ride.

I was intrigued by Dan Sorenson from the first page. His story is tragic but I couldn't help cheering him on. Nina is a beautiful young woman who just wants to pull him up out of his despair, while at the same time save a man she believes to be innocent from a life in prison. The dynamic between the two was very engaging. The courtroom drama was really well written and I liked how the author took the reader through Dans thought processes throughout the trial. He is constantly analyzing to determine his next move and how every word spoken will affect the jurys opinion. I think this really helped me to feel a part of the action and kept the story moving forward at a good clip. This is the second book Ive read from this author and its another winner for me.
425464
If you like courtroom drama. Take a fresh outta law school graduate. No work at the Big Prestigeous  attorney eating firms. A small firm gives a chance and SO as though actors in a good soap .... lives unfold and take hold of US the reader....what a great book.
557436
Dana Hargrove is a very capable Bureau Chief in the office of the Manhattan District attorney. Luckily, for her, usually she can focus on the law, and on the performance of the prosecutors she supervises, and leave the politics to those in the DA's executive office suite. The exception, of course, is whenever the DA feels heat from the "public" (i.e., the news media), and the need to manage the actions of people at her level. One such case is the murder of a high profile fashion designer, supposedly during a home invasion. Investigators on the scene are dubious of his wife's description of what happened, and soon charge her with murder.

In another story thread, a former prosecutor, now heading Justice Restored, works to free her brother and other so-called innocent victims of malicious prosecution. She blames Dana for her brother's wrongful incarceration, and is out to both free her brother, and expose Dana.

Dana and her husband, Evan, a private sector attorney, have two young children. Evan is in the middle of a class action lawsuit. Evan's mom, Brenda, watches the kids at the Hargrove's Manhattan apartment weekdays, returning to her Westchester County home on weekends. The parents are grateful, but worry a bit about Brenda's ability to manage her financial affairs.

Dana and Evan are planning a much needed vacation at the Jersey shore. That vacation is impacted when Justice Restored subpoenas Dana to testify about the conviction of one of their clients.

The author skillfully weaves all of these threads into a seamless, and very enjoyable tale of murder, the law, criminal justice, work, and family. Ms. Kemanis, a New York attorney with experience as a prosecutor, writes about what she knows best, and it shows.

Most highly recommended (5 stars).

Please note: I received a free copy of this eBook from the author, as part of the LibraryThing Member Givaways Program. In exchange, I promised to provide an honest review. I have no other connections with the author.
1334983
I enjoyed The Litigators. In fact, I stayed up far too late reading it, and paid the price the next day by feeling sluggish and exhausted!

The book revolves around David Zinc, a lawyer at a large New York law firm who is being worked to death by an unfeeling, unreasonable boss. David has a meltdown and leaves the office, never to return. He gets falling-down drunk at a downtown bar and ends up in front of a small, down-at-heel law firm - which he joins.

While the scenario of a top lawyer joining a seedy little firm stretches the imagination a little beyond belief, Grisham uses humour to get you past this. The sad-sack lawyers, hard-as-nails secretary and even the office dog (named AC for ambulance chaser) keep you interested and entertained.

One of the lawyers, Wally, participates in a class-action lawsuit, convinced he'll make millions from it by the big-name tort litigators who are running it. But the evidence on which the suit is based is faulty, and the "big boys" pull out. The test case happens to be one of Wally's clients and he and his firm are stuck presenting it, even though they have minimal court experience.

When Wally, his partner Oscar and David realize they have to go ahead with the high-profile, impossible test case - or get sued for millions by the defendant for bringing a frivolous lawsuit - they hit rock bottom. Grisham keeps you chuckling as he draws out the empathy for these fleabag lawyers. "Hey Iris, guess what? You owe half of $9 million," David imagines telling their client, a poverty-stricken widow, if they withdraw from the case and get sued by the other side.

The inexperienced lawyers argue the high-profile case against an impossible opponent, with an unsympathetic judge. "Thank God it's not me!" you think, your own problems paling in comparison.

The pace keeps going at top speed, with many twists and turns to a satisfying end.

Although several of the female characters - the opposing lawyer and David's wife - seem one-dimensional and not very believable, this story wasn't meant to be believable. It's a fun romp through the world of high-stakes litigation.
640577
Many fanatics of legal thrillers, when they think of the genre per se, often consider plots involving everything from big-time lawyers defending scumbag clients to government officials falling into deadly conspiracies. Nevertheless, plots including those are not the case for Brad Meltzer's The Tenth Justice.
 In Meltzer's fire-crackling debut, enter Ben Addison, a young Yale Law grad working for one of the Supreme Court's most highly respected justices. The story begins with him starting his internship at the Court. Seeing his bright future ahead of him, little then does Ben know that it's about to get in for the worse.
 Trouble begins when he reveals the outcome of an upcoming Court decision to Rick Fagen, a claimed-to-be former Court clerk who Ben later discovers to be really nothing but a dirty, rotten con artist. With the decision in the palm of his hands, as well as Ben's brightly golden future held hostage, Rick makes millions by simply making a large investment on it. Therefore, Ben is left sweating big time, fearing that Rick will strike again.
 Refusing to take any chances, fearing that he'll lose his job, Ben asks for the help of his co-clerk, Lisa, and his housemates: Nathan, who works for the State Department; Ober, who's an assistant to a leading U.S. senator; and Eric, who works as a reporter for a Washington daily newspaper. Together, they offer Ben coveted insiders' access in attempt to stop Rick dead in his tracks. But no matter how hard they try, they nevertheless realize that Rick is always one step ahead of them. The question is how.
 Before Ben's housemates and Lisa could even catch Rick in one scene, he bribes Ben by offering him $3 million in exchange for info on yet another Court decision.
 And by how Rick's watching his every move, Ben knows for a fact that someone is working for him as his assistant. Outraged, Ben stops at nothing in finding out who's working for Rick and why. In fact, he suspects that person to be either Lisa or one of his housemates. With accusations of who's Rick's assistant flying left and right, Ben, Lisa, and his housemates are in a battle of fierce deceptions that could ultimately destroy their friendships among each other. And their lives, including their careers are at stake.
 By the time the reader finishes The Tenth Justice, he or she will be asking them-selves a few questions: Where does loyalty end? Where does greed begin? And how much can you really trust your friends?
 The Tenth Justice is a spectacular story with suspenseful twists and turns that really keeps the reader guessing from scene to scene.
 As for his writing style, Meltzer cleverly writes this book as a fast read, with so many events occurring in just a short number of pages. He indeed, unlike Grisham, avoids the usual clichd plots that many other legal authors write, everything from the ordinary courtroom dramas to those typical White House scandals.
 The book, nevertheless, has one major flaw. When the story approaches the end, plans as to how Rick was going to be caught, including the person working as Rick's as-sistant had been thrown out in the blue, therefore complicating the ending and leaving it with one hole after another.
 The Tenth Justice is highly recommendable as Brad Meltzer at his very best. It is now available in paperback from Time Warner Bookmarks.
501292
A fun and entertaining page-turner that really gives insight into what it's like to be a law clerk for a highly successful and ruthlessly ambitious judge. Filled with colorfully portrayed characters, snappy dialogue, and an ending that begs for a sequel, this is one of the best novels I've read in a long time about the legal "industry".
690981
An exciting and imaginative tale of a daring crime by the most unlikely of criminals, a federal district court judge and an interesting cast of accomplices.  Fast-paced.  Well written.  Dialogue is natural, descriptions very readable.

But perhaps one of the most interesting facets of the book, at least to those of us that are lawyers, especially lawyers who try cases in front of this district-court-judge/author, James Zagel, is the insight it gives into the workings of the judicial mind.
4266080
You'll enjoy the legal excitement of this read. Hard to believe a will contest could be this much fun from a legal maneuvering perspective. But, in the end, the story is much more than that. You'll be glad you read it.
2253387
The story started out with a gruesome murder, leading to a great courtroom drama, which grabbed my attention from start to finish. There is a finagling of funding for a research project at a genetic center, jealousy, and a claim of sexual harassment. The characters are complicated, sometimes amusing, cocky, and habitually evasive. The page-turning plot escalates to a shocking and problematic ending. The story was a very enjoyable read.
4698164
An extremely fast-paced story of legal mystery full of fun with a lot of surprises in store for the reader.

Attorney Mary Magruder Katz of Miami is the child of a Southern Baptist mother and her father is the son of the owners of Katz Kosher Market in Miami Beach and Mary is also the Attorney of record for a trio of cases that would flatten most people but, Mary soldiers on and gets the work done.

Case No. 1: Elizabeth Maxwell, a Criminal Court Judge, needs Mary to help her find out why the State of Florida Attorney's office is starting an investigation of her cases involving drug dealers in the Miami Court system.  Case No. 2: A friend of Mary's boyfriend's family, Luis Corona of Argentina has been arrested on a flight from Argentina to the United States and suspected of terrorist activities and Carlos, her boyfriend, has asked Mary to look into it and see what can be done for him and, last but not least Case No. 3: Mary's boyfriend, who has a construction company that builds condos gets into a legal mess and is being sued by potential owners of the condos for not having the condos built on time.

Three cases for Mary to work on and each one of them a real problem.  It is the hurricane season in South Florida and Mary is caught in a downpour more than once.  She and her paralegal Catherine, with the help of her friends at court and her boyfriend Carlos, who is really not much of a help in a crisis, try to settle all of these cases before the Judge is disbarred and Luis is hauled off to Guantanamo and Carlos loses his business.  Also, Mary has a wonderful dog named Uncle Sam because she found him on the 4th of July and he has saved her bacon more than once.

This is the second case load for Mary as the author has a previous book "Fatal February."  I loved this book so much I sat and read it in one sitting.  Take my advice and take a deep breath before beginning as it is so fast that it's hard to catch your breath as the stories unfold.  Most legal thrillers that I have read can bog down in the courtroom but not this one.  You definitely have to stay awake throughout so you don't miss any of the action.  This is a great read and I highly recommend it to all legal/mystery fans.

Mary Lignor, reviewer for [...]

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1155980
Even though I don't read much fiction these days, I did enjoy this "legal thriller." The author uses a sort of free-form writing style that moves along quickly between dialogues of characters and  thoughts of the protagonist.  The courtroom drama between judge, plaintiff, and defendant counsels is illustrative of courtroom rules and lawyerly strategies.  Of course, as with any good murder mystery, the reader can impute motive to just about every character in the book and even wonder if the defendant might actually be guilty.
4127389
a very good legal novel from paul levine. jack lassiter is a likable character. his client dr roger salisbury, accused of mal practice, has to be freed or convicted of murder. really interesting dilemma. the supporting characters are well defined. particularly interesting is dr charlie riggs, ex coroner. the legal  plot and well presented court case makes the book one of the best i have read. the dry humor makes still  more  contribution to the fun
4167605
The various characters were real and engaging. The sense of the nervousness a fledgling attorney would have in this courtroom situation was well-conveyed.
3348141
This is the story of a new lawyer on his first felony case. It is well told and compelling. And he tells a social justice story well.
1177609
The main character in this book is a young woman who has a law degree and marries a very successful college professor who is innovative and empathetic with his students.  They have 3 children and their idyllic life together turns frenetic and cold over the years, resulting in a combative and chaotic divorce. The children are the focal point in their battles, resulting in catastrophe.  The legal and court details will hold your interest, and the unique circumstantial evidence used by the detectives makes for an exciting court case.
Kathryn Casey is at her best, writing and researching a powerful true crime story.
49510
Keith Schroeder is a thirty-five year old Lutheran minister in Topeka, Kansas. One day, Dana, Keith's wife, greets a stranger who walks into the church. The man identifies himself as Travis Boyette, age forty-four, a former prison inmate who is currently in a halfway house and is about to be released. Keith agrees to speak to Travis; the meeting will change their lives.

Meanwhile, in East Texas, a twenty-seven year old black man, Dont Drumm, twenty-seven, is awaiting execution for a murder that he allegedly committed in 1999. Under duress, Dont confessed to killing seventeen-year-old Nicole Yarber and dumping her corpse into the Red River. The body was never found. Although he later recanted, Drumm was convicted of abduction, rape, and murder. For the past nine years, he has steadfastly maintained his innocence. Dont's lawyer, the zealous Robbie Flak, has done everything in his power to get his client's conviction overturned, but time and appeals are running out. Drumm's execution is scheduled to take place in a few days.

"The Confession" is a mesmerizing story about the ways in which justice is meted out in places where the color of one's skin and the desire of politicians to be reelected may carry more weight than the facts of a case. Grisham keeps the narrative moving briskly by moving back and forth between Keith and Travis (who become allies of sorts) and Dont, his family, and their defense team. The suspense stems from the relentlessly ticking clock.

John Grisham is a savvy writer who knows how to spin an involving tale. His brisk dialogue, sardonic humor, and lively characters effortlessly hold our attention. Unfortunately, the book is a bit too long and, in addition, the author is heavy-handed in his depiction of certain cops, prosecutors, and judges as arrogant, corrupt, and self-serving, while Robbie and his colleagues are unfailingly altruistic. To his credit, however, Grisham effectively demonstrates that anyone may resort to violence under certain circumstances; that even "good citizens" can be misguided in their thinking; that criminals are often products of their severely dysfunctional families; that irresponsible reporters will stoop extremely low to garner headlines; and that our system of doling out punishment is far from perfect. "The Confession" will undoubtedly generate heated debate about the pros and cons of the death penalty.