John Grisham - The Rainmaker

I sense an air of panic over there, and I’m sure it’s not created by my presence. It’s standard procedure in insurance litigation for the defense firms to assign two lawyers to a case. They always come in pairs. Regardless of the case, the facts, the issues, the work to be done, you get two of them.

But five? Seems like overkill to me. There’s something going on over there. These guys are scared.

“Your request to remove to federal court is denied, Mr. Drummond. The case stays here,” Kipler says firmly, already signing his name. This is not well received across the aisle, though they try not to show it.

“Anything else?” Kipler asks.

“No, Your Honor.” Drummond gathers his papers, and leaves the podium. I watch out of the corner of my eye. As he steps to the defense table, he gazes for a quick second at the two executives, and I see the unmistakable look of fear in his eyes. Goose bumps cover my forearms and legs.

Kipler switches gears. “Now, the plaintiff has two remaining motions. The first is to fast-track this case, the second to expedite the deposition of Donny Ray Black. The two are sort of related, so, Mr. Baylor, why don’t we handle them together?”

I’m on my feet. “Sure, Your Honor.” As if I’m going to suggest otherwise.

“Can you wrap it up in ten minutes?”

In light of the carnage I’ve just witnessed, I immediately indulge another strategy. “Well, Your Honor, my briefs speak for themselves. I really have nothing new to add.”

Kipler gives me a warm smile, such a bright young lawyer, then he immediately attacks the defense. “Mr. Drummond, you have objected to the fast-tracking of this case. What’s the problem?”

There’s a flurry of activity around the defense table, and finally T. Pierce Morehouse rises slowly and adjusts his tie.

“Your Honor, if I may address this, we feel that this case will take some time to prepare for trial. Fast-tracking it will unduly burden both sides, in our opinion.” Morehouse is speaking slowly and choosing his words with caution.

“Nonsense,” Kipler says, glaring. “Sir?”

“I said nonsense. Let me ask you something, Mr. Morehouse. As a defense lawyer, have you ever agreed to the fast-tracking of a lawsuit?”

Morehouse flinches and shifts his weight. “Well, uh, sure, Your Honor.”

“Fine. Give me the case name and the court it was in.”

T. Pierce looks desperately at B. Dewey Clay Hill the Third, who in turn looks longingly at M. Alec Plunk Junior. Mr. Drummond refuses to look up, preferring instead to keep his eyes buried in some awfully important file.

“Well, Your Honor, I’ll have to get back with you on that one.”

“Call me this afternoon, by three, and if I haven’t heard from you by three, then I’ll call you. I’m really anxious to hear about this case you agreed to fast-track.”

T. Pierce slumps at the waist and exhales as if he’s been kicked in the gut. I can almost hear the Trent & Brent computers roaring at midnight as they search vainly for such a case. “Yes, Your Honor,” he says weakly.

“Fast-tracking is completely within my discretion, as you know. The plaintiff’s motion is hereby granted. The defendant’s answer is due in seven days. Discovery will commence then and end one hundred and twenty days from today.”

This gets them hopping over at the defense table. Papers are being slid and shoved from one lawyer to the next. Drummond and company whisper and frown at each other. The corporate boys huddle and hunker behind the bar. This is almost fun.

T. Pierce Morehouse squats with his rear hovering just centimeters above the leather seat, arms and elbows braced for the next motion.

“The last motion is to expedite the deposition of Donny Ray Black,” His Honor says, looking directly at the defense table. “Surely, you cannot be opposed to this,” he says. “Which one of you gentlemen would like to respond?”

Along with this motion, I included a two-page affidavit signed by Dr. Walter Kord, in which he states in plain terms that Donny Ray will not live much longer. Drummond’s response was a baffling collection of mishmash, the upshot of which seemed to be that he was simply too busy to be bothered.

T. Pierce slowly unfolds, opens his hands, spreads his arms, starts to say something, when Kipler wades in. “Don’t tell me you know more about his medical condition than his own doctor.”

“No sir,” T. Pierce says.

“And don’t tell me you guys are seriously opposed to this motion.”

It’s quite obvious how His Honor is about to rule, and so T. Pierce deftly moves to middle ground. “Just a matter of scheduling, Your Honor. We haven’t even filed our answer yet.”

“I know exactly what your answer’s gonna be, okay? No surprises there. And you’ve certainly had time to file everything else. Now, give me a date.” He suddenly looks at me. “Mr. Baylor?”

“Any day, Your Honor. Any time.” I say this with a smile. Ah, the advantages of having nothing else to do.

All five of the lawyers at the defense table are scrambling for their little black books as if it just might be possible to locate a date on which they can all be available.

“My trial calendar is full, Your Honor,” Drummond says without standing. The life of a very important lawyer revolves around only one thing: the trial calendar. Drummond is arrogantly telling Kipler and me that he simply will be too busy in the near future to bother with a deposition.

His four lackeys all frown, nod and rub their chins in unison because they too have trial calendars which, remarkably, are packed and unrelenting.

“Do you have a copy of Dr. Kord’s affidavit?” Kipler asks.

“I do,” Drummond replies.

“Have you read it?”

“I have.”

“Do you question its validity?”

“Well, I, uh—”

“A simple yes or no, Mr. Drummond. Do you question the validity of it?”

“No.”

“Then this young man is about to die. Do you agree that we need to record his testimony so that the jury may one day see and hear what he has to say?”

“Of course, Your Honor. It’s just that, well, right now, my trial calendar is—”

“How about next Thursday?” Kipler interrupts, and there’s dead silence across the aisle.

“Looks fine to me, Your Honor,” I say loudly. They ignore me.

“One week from today,” Kipler says, watching them with great suspicion. Drummond finds what he’s looking for in a file, and studies a document.

“I have a trial starting Monday in federal court, Your Honor. This is the pretrial order, if you’d like to see it. Estimated length is two weeks.”

“Where?”

“Here. Memphis.”

“Chances of settlement?”

“Slim.”

Kipler studies his schedule for a moment. “What about next Saturday?”

“Sounds fine to me,” I add again. Everyone ignores me.

“Saturday?”

“Yes, the twenty-ninth.”

Drummond looks at T. Pierce, and it’s obvious that the next excuse belongs to him. He rises slowly, holds his black appointment book as if it’s gold, says, “I’m sorry, Your Honor, I’m scheduled to be out of town that weekend.”

“What for?”

“A wedding.”

“Your wedding?”

“No. My sister’s.”

Strategically, it’s to their advantage to postpone the deposition until Donny Ray dies, thus preventing the jury from seeing his withered face and hearing his tortured voice. And there’s little doubt that, between the five of them, these guys can orchestrate enough excuses to stall until I die of old age.

Judge Kipler knows this. “The deposition is set for Saturday, the twenty-ninth,” he says. “Sorry if it inconveniences the defense, but God knows there are enough of you guys to handle it. One or two won’t be missed.” He closes a book, leans forward on his elbows, grins down at Great Benefit’s lawyers and says, “Now, what else?”