Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Book Two: A Civil Action

This thing reads like a piece of pulp fiction. It doesn't help that I vaguely recall catching the movie version of it so that I'm constantly plagued with images of John Travolta as Jan Schlichtmann. What I learned from reading this? It sucks to have to be in front of a judge who dislikes you. It's even worse when said judge greatly admires the men of opposing counsel. Schlichtmann is consumed by this case - Woburn families and poisoned drinking water. Being a lawyer is clearly about who can present the best argument. Doesn't matter who has the best experts or what the evidence implies, it's how well you can spin that information to fit your idea of the facts. It's all about the spin.

As much as I want to be an agent for change and to do good works, I do not want to be consumed by it nor sacrifice myself for it.

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