The Firm

In a review of John Grisham's The Firm, one critic stated that "the aphorism 'between a rock and a hard place' aptly describes the dilemma of a young attorney pressed by the FBI to reveal crime related secrets of his firm (Conaty, 150)." Grisham's (211) story pits new lawyer Mitchell McDeere, a Harvard Law School graduate against the Memphis law firm of Bendini, Lambert, and Locke which "encourages babiesà permits wives to workà. Hires no one with family moneyà. Demands loyalty to the firm." It is the lure of good money and an early retirement that protagonist Mitchell McDeere allows to lead him into conflict with his law firm and the Mafia clients that the firm represents. It will be argued herein that McDeere's transformation from an idealistic young lawyer to a criminal whose crimes negatively affect his firm and its own criminal clients was inevitable.

McDeere, as Grisham (12) demonstrates, tries to respond nonchalantly to the offer made by the firm of "eighty thousand, first year, plus bonuses." With startling suddenness, McDeere learn

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Approximate Word count = 745
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page)

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