The Litigators

"Just survive it"

The Litigators is one of the more recent Grisham novels.

I love reading the works of John Grisham. I got hooked with A Time to Kill and the main reason I read it is because I read in a magazine that Sharon Cuneta was reading it while they were shooting Madrasta (I know it's weird because I remember these facts!). Anyway, she said that she already read A Time to Kill but she decided to read it again because it has now a paperback version with Sandra Bullock on the cover - and I'm a fan of Sandra Bullock. I have to thank Sandra and Sharon then for introducing me to John Grisham.

Since I liked it very much, I tried to read the succeeding Grisham novels. I know I cried when I read The Client, hehe.

Anyway, I bought The Litigators just last Tuesday. I was eyeing it for a few months already but I was not in a hurry to read it. Every time we see it in the bookstore, Allan would then say that the next novels would be The Stenographers or The Process Servers (I know, corny!). Since I had some free time nowadays with no summer classes, I decided to buy it.

The Litigators is not really that much of a thriller. By reading a short overview of the novel at its back cover, I did not have any inkling of any twist or suspense action for that matter. As I progressed with the next chapters, I can't help but get hooked. I can't really say that there is a villain in this novel. It's like I want to root for Finley & Figg but I can't. But I just kept reading - I was hooked. And the only reason I can think of is because of David Zinc.

This novel is quite predictable but I just liked it. I can't really say that I can relate to David Zinc. I've worked long hours before, not related to law, but not quite the way David did with his previous job. I was happy when I decided to quit and study law. But I can't say that I felt so free like David because I didn't really feel I was a prisoner of my work. I always had a choice. I still had a life compared to what David previously experienced.

But I cheered for David. And even if I had a feeling how the novel would end, I still continued to engage myself reading it.

One thing that caught my attention is when they had to go trial against a big firm, and David was still new to the litigation and Finley & Figg did not have that much experience. Finley & Figg had breakdowns because of the pressure. And David was left by himself.

I can't imagine how nervous he was going to trial before a federal court and having no litigation experience yet.

I can remember my first few court appearances and how nervous I was. I guess I had to multiply it up to 20x just to have an idea how David felt - what a humongous pressure! And with my every now and then court appearance for the past two years, I still feel nervous!

So reading this novel was fun because I could somehow relate to it. I love these parts:

"Just survive it," he kept telling himself.

"You're only thirty-two years old. This will not be the end of your career."

-oOo-

"Just get through it," David repeated each time his stomach turned flips.

It's more or less the same stuff I say to myself before I go to court. I don't know until when I will get nervous whenever I appear in court. I hope in time I will be able to adjust to it. I am not really dreaming to be one of the best trial lawyers in Davao City. I just want to do good and not prejudice my client. If one would really ask me what is one of my dreams, it is to be one of the best law teachers in Davao City. (And that is another story!)

Anyway, back to The Litigators. I really had fun reading it - no major twists, no suspense action, but still a page turner for me.