The Firm by John Grisham (Book Review)

I.                     Title of the Book: The Firm

(Adapted into movie and starred by Hollywood star Tom Cruise)

II.                   Author’s Name: John Grisham

III.                  Place and Date of Publication: United States/1993

IV.               Publisher: Random House (2^nd edition)

V.                 Book Description

The book is in a paperback.

VI.               Author’s Purpose

As I read some of his book collections, it seemed he loves to write legal thriller’s books. John Grisham has been known for his writings because every lawyer has a good story and lawyers have the very good ability to think analytically where he can twist the subplots of the whole story.

Personally, I don’t know why he wrote the story. But, as I see it, he wanted to expose some of the unlawful deeds of some firms. In time, these firms would feel the slap of shame if they’re practicing such actions.

VII.              Point of View

It is on the first- person point of view.

VIII.            Subject Matter

The Firm is a story about family, work, and dreams boiled by twists and turns, the Mafia secret society’s unlawful, illegal and furtive works, wrecked McDeere’s dreams.

IX.               Theme

Good, stable job, deception, and loyalty orbits in the whole story. One is after the other; the weak losses and the strong and clever remains.

X.                 Thesis

The Firm is a legal thriller. A young man, who is so dense as to not realize he's just joined a Mafia-front law firm, is still smart enough to outwit the Mob and the Feds. 

Mitchell Y. McDeere is a law student who graduated third in his class at Harvard Law School. Mitch is married to his college sweetheart, Abby. His brother Ray is serving a prison term, and his other brother, Rusty, died in Vietnam.

Mitch has offers from law firms in New York and Chicago but eventually decides to join Bendini, Lambert and Locke, a small tax law firm based in Memphis. The firm seduces him by offering him a large salary, a lease on a new BMW 3 series, a low interest mortgage on a house, as well as paying off his student loans. Soon after he joins, his new colleagues help him study and pass his bar exam. At the firm, the first priority is for the associate to pass the bar exam.

McDeere’s greed for security and wellness has ruined his life. He has bumped into big bad guys.

XI.               List of Characters

1.      Mitchell Y. McDeere

Mitchell is an ambitious law student who graduates with honors from Harvard. He is seduced by the firm, and is then notified that the firm is part of the Morolto crime family by the FBI. He is eventually caught by the firm, but escapes with $12 million (both the money the FBI paid him and the money he stole from the Moroltos) and survives. He retires to the beaches of the Caribbean with Abby and Ray.

2.      Abby McDeere

Abby is the wife of Mitch McDeere and a kindergarten teacher in a prominent school in Memphis. She is stressed by the long hours Mitch spends at the firm and eventually helped him escape
Wayne Tarrance: An organized crime specialist from New York and veteran FBI agent. He is not very cautious. He tries to help Mitch, but fails to protect him. Mitch and Tarrance are now bitter at each other.

3.      Ray McDeere

Ray is the brother of Mitch McDeere. He's a convicted felon who killed a man in a bar fight. He was dishonorably discharged from the army. He's a great linguist who learned several languages. He escapes with the help of the FBI and Mitch, and later aids Mitch in his escape.

4.      Eddie Lomax

Eddie is an ex-con and friend of Ray McDeere; a private investigator who now works for Mitch in investigating the five dead lawyers. He is later murdered by one of the Morolto gunmen.
Tammy Hempville: Secretary and lover of Eddie. She becomes frightened when Eddie is killed. She greatly aids Mitch in stealing the files and is rewarded with lots of money by Mitch.
Oliver Lambert: Originally an unsuspecting early joiner of the firm, later unwillingly drawn into the conspiracy. He's now a veteran and head of the firm.

5.      Nathan Locke

He grew up on the streets of Chicago and has served the Moroltos since the age of ten. He is a major figure in the Morolto crime family, described as "evil, eccentric, has startling black, laser eyes".

6.      Bill DeVasher

A former police detective, now a thug and security head of the firm. He is in charge of monitoring the firm's lawyers and carrying out the Moroltos' dirty work. He blackmails Mitch with pictures of him, yet is ignored.

7.      Tony "Two-Ton" Berkler

Tony is a thug with an impressive record of convictions, a loyal gangster to the Morolto family. He helps in the search for Mitch McDeere.

8.      Aaron "The Nordic" Simmer

A thug for the Morolto family. He has strong Nordic features and is nearly successful in catching Mitch several times. He is later strangled by Ray McDeere.

9.      Lou Lazarov

Lou is an under boss of the Morolto crime family. He is a close associate of Joey Morolto (the head of the Morolto crime family).

10. Joey Morolto (The Priest)

He is the boss of the Morolto crime family. He is the younger brother of Mickey Morolto, who has limited business with the crime family. Joey Morolto is the son of the Old Man Morolto (the first boss of the Morolto family)

XII.              Plot

Family is central to The Firm. The Firm revolves on how Mitchell Y. McDeere can make a living out of his profession since he is just a poor boy who strived hard to attain wellness in his family. When recruiting new lawyers, Bendini, Lambert and Locke takes great care in investigating the candidate's familial condition.

The firm seeks applicants who come from less than happy circumstances because they believe that history creates a hunger for success and union later in life—ideals that the firm upholds.

It also seeks young men who are married as they are determined to raise there new marital life. The firm leverages its benefits packages and entices couples looking forward to a particular way of life.

The firm selects according to cleverness as well, but intelligence alone would not yield an interview- qualifications are to meet their primary needs. Once a lawyer has been hired, he is strongly encouraged to buy a home and have children. 

Two of Mitch's colleagues die in a scuba diving accident in the Cayman Islands the week he starts at the firm. Mitch finds the deaths disturbing, but settles down, works hard towards his dream of becoming a successful employee of the firm. During a memorial service at the firm for the two deceased attorneys, Mitch notices plaques commemorating three other attorneys who died while working at the firm. Being curious, he hires a private investigator, Eddie Lomax, an ex-cell mate of his brother Ray, to investigate the deaths of the attorneys.

Lomax discovers that all five of the deceased attorneys died under questionable circumstances: two in the diving accident, and the other three in a car accident, a hunting accident and a suicide, respectively. Lomax cautions Mitch to be careful. Soon after Lomax reported to Mitch, the firm murdered him.

Just as he passes his bar exam, Wayne Tarrance, an FBI agent, confronts Mitch. Mitch little by little learns from the FBI that the firm is actually part of the white collar operations of the Morolto crime family of Chicago. For years, the Moroltos have enticed new lawyers from poor backgrounds into the firm with promises of wealth and security.

By the time a lawyer is aware of the firm's actual operations, he cannot leave. No lawyer has escaped the firm alive, as the recent deaths of his two colleagues show. Mitch learns that his house, office and car are monitored with high- tech devices responsible for his all moves. He and Abby are also routinely followed, making his meetings with the FBI dangerous

Desperate to find a way out and stay alive in the process, Mitch makes a deal with the FBI, in which he gets two million dollars and the release of his brother, if he collects enough evidence to prosecute the firm. Mitch tells Tarrance that he can obtain enough evidence to indict half the firm, but the information obtained through those indictments will prove the existence of an illegal conspiracy—giving the government the ammunition it needs to destroy the firm and the Morolto family. In order to do so, however, Mitch must disclose information about his clients, and thus end his career as a lawyer. Working with Lomax's secretary and lover, Tammy, Mitch begins to copy confidential documents and makes plans to deliver them to the FBI as planned.

Meanwhile, the firm becomes suspicious of Mitch, and with the assistance of "Alfred", a mole in the FBI, they discover Mitch's plan. After knowing that the firm learned about his plan, he steals approximately ten million dollars from various bank accounts belonging to the firm.

Mitch manages to escape to the Caribbean with the help of Barry Abanks, a scuba diving business owner whose son died in the incident where the firm killed two lawyers, while the FBI gets the evidence they need to bust the firm through the 10,000 documents Mitch and Abby copied from the firm, indicting them from everything of laundering money to mail fraud.

At the end, Mitch, Abby and Ray go into hiding and are in silence enjoying their newfound riches in the Caribbean region.

XIII.            Summary/ Commentary

This lawyer- book rolled out the irregularities and illegalities of many international tax firms. We may not agree but we dwell in changing world- greed for money will be central to the people’s lives.

McDeere is an innocent young man who aims to provide his family the needs, but out of his intelligence, he has been used to become an instrument (he’s never the first) of graft for international business men.

However, Mitchel’s wife’s curiosity has led to the discovery of unknown secrets of the firm. McDeere has maneuvered how to cope with the firm’s strategic plans.

XIV.          Significance of the Book

If the book is true today, it could be an open window to the decisions of some professionals, ensuring the legality of the tax firms. It teaches lessons on valuing family and balancing work, putting a priority list.

XV.           Personal Observations

Two thumbs up! Though my favorite is Sidney Sheldon, I love to read lawyer- books, citing concerns on investigations because my mind participates on the resolution of the case. But in this case, the “culprits” are boldly shown, just hidden to McDeere, successively. And knowing that they were run after by since strange things has been happening.

 McDeere’s role is so innocent- a worker with one goal, to live life fully with wealth. Not considering the hidden agenda of the firm. Nevertheless, I liked how he has live his life though he knew that his family is being monitored. He has been able to surpass, with much vigor, he outwitted the long before hunted illegal firm.

John Grisham is a might author, although there are just few usual twists in the story. He has captivated my full attention because I love the attack of the novel.