Featured Reading Guide
John Grisham
When Mitchell McDeere qualified third in his class at Harvard, offers poured in from every law firm in America. The firm he chose was small, but-well respected. They were prepared to match, and then exceed Mitch’s wildest dreams: eighty thousand a year, a BMW and a low-interest mortgage. Now the house, the car and the job are his. Then the nightmares begin: the secret files, the bugs in the new bedroom, the mysterious deaths of colleagues, and the millions of dollars of mob money pouring through the office into the Cayman Islands, dollars that the FBI would do anything to trace. Now Mitch is…
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John Grisham is the author of eighteen bestselling novels. He lives with his family in Virginia and Mississippi.
topAbout the Book
When Mitchell McDeere qualified third in his class at Harvard, offers poured in from every law firm in America. The firm he chose was small, but-well respected. They were prepared to match, and then exceed Mitch’s wildest dreams: eighty thousand a year, a BMW and a low-interest mortgage. Now the house, the car and the job are his. Then the nightmares begin: the secret files, the bugs in the new bedroom, the mysterious deaths of colleagues, and the millions of dollars of mob money pouring through the office into the Cayman Islands, dollars that the FBI would do anything to trace. Now Mitch is in the place where dreams end and nightmares begin…
topJohn Grisham interview/review
‘How many partners in the firm?’
‘Twenty, active. We try to keep a ratio of one partner for each associate. That’s high for the industry, but we like it. Again, we do things differently.
‘All of our partners are multi-millionaires by the age of forty-five,’ Royce McKnight said.
‘All of them?’
‘Yes Sir. We don’t guarantee it but if you join our firm, put in ten hard years, make partner and put in ten more years, and you’re not a millionaire at the age of forty-five, you’ll be the first in twenty years.’
‘That’s an impressive statistic.’
‘It’s an impressive firm, Mitch.’ Oliver Lambert said, ‘and we’re very proud of it. We’re a close knit fraternity. We’re small and we take good care of each other. We don’t have the cutthroat competition the big firms are famous for. We’re very careful whom we hire, and out goal is for each new associate to become a partner as soon as possible. Toward that end we invest an enormous amount of time and money in ourselves, especially our new people. It is a rare, extremely rare occasion when a lawyer leaves our firm. It is simply unheard of. We go the extra mile to keep careers on track. We want our people happy. We think it is the most profitable way to operate.’
‘I have another impressive statistic,’ Mr. McKnight added. ‘Last year, for firms our size or larger, the average turnover rate among associates was twenty-eight percent. At Bendini, Lambert & Locke, it was zero. Year before, zero. It’s been a long time since a lawyer left our firm.’
(NB. To date John Grisham has not given an interview)
topStarting Points for Discussion
- Mitch McDeere begins as a slightly naiveand immature character. He is easily seduced by the firm and does not suspect that their offer may be too good to be true. How does Mitch develop as a character through the events of the novel?
- Mitch is driven by his desire to transcend his humble background to obtain wealth and success. What questions is John Grisham posing about this embodiment of the American Dream?
- The mob play a crucial role in The Firm – what do you think is the enduring appeal of the Mafia in American fiction?
- The American legal profession has become synonymous with corruption – why do so many stories of good versus evil feature lawyers?
- From corporate wives to hookers and feisty heroines, discuss the range of female characters in The Firm and the ways in which they are used to develop the plot.
- John Grisham has been a major worldwide publishing success story. What do you think are the essential ingredients of a successful thriller?
Other Books by John Grisham
A Painted House
The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday,…
A Time To Kill
When Carl Lee Hailey guns down the hoodlums who have raped his ten-year-old …
Bleachers
Neely Crenshaw was once star quarterback for Messina High School’s football…
Suggested Further Reading
- Dark Lady ~ Richard North Patterson
- Ravelling ~ Peter Smith Moore
- Fortune Teller ~ Donald James
- The Godfather ~ Mario Puzo
- The Burden of Proof ~ Scott Turow