Meanwhile, Clay’s girlfriend, Rebecca, dumps him in favor of a corporate lawyer to please her rich family. Clay is deeply disappointed, but he’s too distracted by the complexities of the case to dwell on it. He focuses his energy on Tequila’s case—however, soon, he’s asked to resign as public defender, because it’s obvious he now knows too much. Clay decides to open his own law firm specializing in civil damages claims, or torts. He thinks this will impress Rebecca and allow him to sue the pharmaceutical company for huge sums of damages for his clients.

It really took me a while to get into this book. It started out pretty slow, but it was interesting. I kept reading, and I'm pretty disappointed with the novel. Clay's financial/legal hubris knows few bounds, and soon he's overextended, his future hanging on the results of one product liability trial. The tension is considerable throughout, and readers will like the gentle ending, but Grisham's aim here clearly is to educate as he entertains. He can be didactic ("'Nobody earns ten million dollars in six months, Clay,'" a friend warns. "'You might win it, steal it, or have it drop out of the sky, but nobody earns money like that. It's ridiculous and obscene'"), but readers will applaud Grisham's fierce moral stance (while perhaps wondering what sort of advance he got for this book) as they cling to his words every step along the way of this powerful and gripping morality tale. (On sale Feb. 4) Desperate for money, Clay turns to a mass tort against Hanna, a building supplies company which had produced batches of defective cement. The company's directors are willing to offer a fair compensation to disgruntled homeowners, but only if Clay agrees to cut his share of the compensations. Clay refuses to give up anything, resulting in Hanna's bankruptcy, the loss of thousands of jobs, and an economic disaster for the town where the company is based. When it becomes known that the collapse was caused by "a greedy lawyer," Clay is ambushed and beaten by some men from the town. Ever seen those ads on TV where the actor playing the lawyer looks at you straight in the eye and appeals to you," If you or a loved one, has taken this medication...etc. etc., call toll free, you may be entitled to some money…?"That said, I loved this story and the writing. It was so good to delve into a really great legal thriller. The very next day a mysterious man walked into Clay's office. "Forget about Tequila," he said. "The reason he did what he did was because the pharmaceutical company hadn't tested his Tarvan properly. So sue the company instead. Here's how you do it." Masterful - when Grisham gets in the courtroom he lets rip, drawing scenes so real they're not just alive, they're pulsating' - Mirror Meanwhile, after some attentive investigation by Clay into the murky drive behind his latest client's crimes, a dark stranger by the name Max Pace who represents a pharmaceutical company drops into Clay's life and offers him an opportunity to make riches. However, this would be by changing teams to settle potential lawsuits of families affected by both his client's crime and a slew of other criminals in the D.C. area who have been influenced to commit the crimes. Representing all these families early in a class-action lawsuit a.k.a. a mass tort, would stop cold the chance the lawsuits going to a courtroom trial and avoiding potential sky-high punitive penalties against the influencing organization responsible.

Just because the big corporations are terrified of juries who may, rightfully or wrongfully, award billions of dollars in damages to the plaintiffs. It’s smarter to settle for measly millions to be split among those who are among the pool of candidates. This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. ( March 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

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The biblical principles in this novel are obvious. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. The rich man went away sad when Jesus suggested he should give up his wealth. Another man stored up wealth in barns but was called a fool when God took his life and he wasn't prepared to meet his Maker. We are told not to love the world or anything in the world. There are numerous warnings about those who choose money over God. Even from a less religious perspective we know that absolute power corrupts absolutely.... But as he digs deeper, Clay stumbles upon a conspiracy too horrifying to believe. A pharmaceutical giant has been secretly and illegally testing a new drug on addicts - one that helps stop addiction, but which drives them to random acts of violence. Grisham continues to impress with his daring, venturing out of legal thrillers entirely for A Painted House A master at the art of deft characterisation and the skilful delivery of hair-raising crescendos' - Irish Independent