The Street Lawyer By John Grisham

The Street Lawyer:
By John Grisham

The Street Lawyer, a work of crime fiction by John Grisham, follows a lawyer named Michael Brock who goes to war against his own company to defend the homeless .It happens because Michael Brock was taken as hostage under gun point by a homeless man in his office of Drake & Sweeny , a very powerful law firm in Washington D.C. The homeless man introduced himself as 'Mister' to his hostages and  demanded information about eviction that took his shelter away from him, after few moments later mister was killed by a sniper .

The story’s protagonist then emerges: Michael Brock, a victim of the hostage situation, perceives a grain of truth in the seemingly insane man’s line of questioning and decides to set out to extend his search about the eviction mister was talking about.

 After Brock start his investigation, he encounters Mordecai Green, a lawyer and pro-bono homeless advocate. In exchange for information, Green asks Brock to spend a night at the homeless shelter serving its guests that was really a mind freaking night for him to see homeless people struggling in same city where he stays with a luxury sedan and good apartment. Green works with a tight-knit and brilliant staff, including Abraham, an idealistic legal prodigy, and a  woman named Sophia who executes all their general operations and paperwork. The members of the team share a passion to help the most desperate members of Washington D.C. society.

 After kicking out a family of homeless young parents and their children, the entire family died.  The building had previously been used to provide reduced rent housing for the city’s recently homeless population. Due to the legal complexity of their housing situation, the residents were treated as if they were not entitled to their full rights, which allowed the law firm to force their eviction. Brock realizes that the tenants should have been legally deemed tenants instead of squatters, and were therefore entitled to the full eviction and appeal process. They illegally threw its residents onto the streets in the middle of winter. Brock tries to borrow and copy a file as evidence but is soon suspected of unwarranted in the business.

After this truth front of him, Brock quits to take a low-paying job at the 14th Street clinic. Simultaneously, he cuts ties with his professional life and divorced to his wife, ending their relationship on good terms. He soon becomes emotionally involved with the case of a woman named Ruby, a drug addict who lost custody of her son. He also falls in love with a young woman named Megan who works for homeless advocacy. Meanwhile, Drake & Sweeney impose a host of malpractice allegations against Brock, also accusing him of the theft of their file. The clinic launches a countersuit against the firm and its senior staff. Ultimately, they reach a deal wherein Brock agrees to have his legal license suspended briefly; in return, the firm pays the clinic a large sum of money and fires the veteran lawyer who ignored the legal rights of the family that died.

The head of Drake & Sweeney’s learns about his lawyer’s bad act and offers up the entire legal team to do pro bono work for the clinic, advocating for the rights of the homeless. At the book’s conclusion, Brock is finally able to take a short vacation with Ruby and Megan, where they reflect on their lives. His work for the poor has allowed him to reconceive himself and his value system. This book make us to learn the right and need of homeless people. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐