John Grisham - The Litigators

“I’m catching on,” David said, watching every word. He and the Zell & Potter associate were both on their heels, absorbing but not believing.

“For what it’s worth,” Barkley said, in a whisper, “you’re almost a legend around Rogan these days. A guy with the balls to walk away, go find an easier job, now sitting on a pile of cases that are a gold mine. We’re still slaving away by the hour.”

David just nodded, hoping he would go away.

The courtroom deputy suddenly came to life and ordered everyone to stand. Judge Seawright swept in from behind the bench and ordered everyone to sit. “Good morning,” he said into his mike as he arranged his papers. “We have a lot of ground to cover in the next two hours, and, as always, brevity with words will be appreciated. I am monitoring discovery, and it appears as though things are proceeding on course. Mr. Alisandros, do you have any complaints about discovery?”

Jerry stood proudly because everyone was watching. He had long gray hair swept back over his ears and bunched around his neck. His skin was well tanned, and his custom-tailored suit hung perfectly on his lean frame. “No sir, Your Honor, not at this time. And I am delighted to be in your courtroom.”

“Welcome to Chicago. Ms. Karros, do you have any complaints with discovery?”

She stood, in her light gray silk and linen dress, V-neck, Empire waist, tight down the slender legs, long below the knee, with black platform pumps, and all eyes feasted upon her. David was looking forward to the trial just to watch the fashion show. Wally was drooling.

“Your Honor, we exchanged lists of experts this morning, so everything is in order,” she said, her voice rich, her diction perfect.

“Very well,” Seawright said. “That leads to the biggest issue of the day — that of where these cases will be tried. The plaintiffs have filed a motion to move all the cases, to join the multi-district litigation in federal court in Miami. The defendant objects, and not only prefers to keep the cases here in Chicago, but also to separate them, try them one at a time, beginning with the estate of one Percy Klopeck, now deceased. These issues have been thoroughly and exhaustively briefed. I’ve read every word. At this point, I’ll allow remarks by both sides, beginning with the attorneys for the plaintiffs.”

Jerry Alisandros walked with his notes to a small podium in the center of the courtroom, directly in front of and several feet below Judge Seawright. He carefully arranged his papers, cleared his throat, and began with the typical “If it pleases the court.”

For Wally, it was the most exciting moment in his career. To think he, a hustler from the Southwest Side, was sitting in federal court watching great lawyers do battle over cases he had found and filed, cases he was responsible for, cases he had created — it was almost too much to behold. As he suppressed a grin, he felt even better when he touched his midsection and slid a finger under his belt. Down fifteen pounds. Sober for 195 days. The lost weight and clear head were no doubt linked to the indescribable fun he and DeeAnna were having in bed. He was eating Viagra, driving a new convertible Jaguar (new to him but slightly used and financed over sixty months), and feeling twenty years younger. As he buzzed around Chicago with the top down, he dreamed endlessly of his Krayoxx money and the glorious life ahead. He and DeeAnna would travel and lie on beaches, and he would work only when necessary. He had already decided that he would specialize in mass torts, forget the humdrum of the street, the cheap divorces and drunk drivers, and go for the big money. He was certain he and Oscar would split. Frankly, after twenty years, it was time. Though he loved him like a brother, Oscar had no ambition, no vision, no real desire to step up his game. He and Oscar had already had a conversation about how to hide their Krayoxx money so his wife would see little of it. Oscar would go through a bad divorce, and Wally would be there to support him, but when it was over, the partners would split. It was sad but inevitable. Wally was going places; Oscar was too old to change.

Jerry Alisandros got off to a bad start when he tried to argue that Judge Seawright had no choice but to transfer the cases to Miami. “These cases were filed in Chicago, not Miami,” the judge reminded Alisandros. “No one made you file them here. I suppose you could’ve filed them anywhere you can find Varrick Labs, which I presume is in any of the fifty states. I’m having trouble understanding why a federal judge in Florida thinks he can order a federal judge in Illinois to transfer his cases down there. Can you help me here, Mr. Alisandros?”

Mr. Alisandros could not. He tried valiantly to suggest that nowadays in mass tort litigation it is customary to establish multi-district litigation and have only one judge preside over all the cases.

Customary, but not mandatory. Seawright seemed irritated that someone, anyone would suggest that he was required to move the cases. They were his!

——

David sat behind Wally in a row of chairs in front of the bar. He was enthralled by the drama of the courtroom, the pressure, the high stakes, but he was also worried because it was apparent Judge Seawright was against them on this issue. However, Alisandros had assured their team that winning these initial motions was not crucial. If Varrick Labs wanted to try a single test case in Chicago, and to do so quickly, then so be it. He had never run away from a trial in his career. Bring it on!

The judge, though, seemed hostile. Why was David worried? There would be no trial, right? All the lawyers on his side of the aisle believed secretly, fervently, that Varrick Labs would settle its Krayoxx mess long before the trials started. And if Barkley on the other side could be believed, the defense lawyers were also thinking settlement. Was it a rigged game? Was this how the mass tort business really worked? A bad drug gets discovered; the plaintiffs’ lawyers go into a frenzy rounding up the cases; lawsuits are filed; the big defense firms respond with an endless supply of expensive legal talent; both sides slug it out until the drugmaker gets tired of writing fat checks to its lawyers; then everything gets settled; the plaintiffs’ lawyers rake in huge fees, and their clients get far less than they expected. When the dust settles, the lawyers on both sides are richer; the company cleans up its balance sheet and develops a replacement drug.

Was this nothing more than good theater?

Just as Jerry Alisandros began to repeat himself, he sat down. The lawyers perked up as Nadine Karros stood and walked to the podium. She had a few notes but didn’t use them. Since it was obvious the judge agreed with her, she kept her arguments brief. She spoke in long eloquent sentences, as if they had been written down with plenty of forethought. Her words were clear, her voice carried nicely around the courtroom. Nothing was wasted — no extra verbiage, no useless gestures. The woman was meant for the stage. From several angles, she made the point that there was no case, no rule of procedure, no precedent anywhere that required a federal judge to transfer one of his cases to another federal judge.

After a few moments, David was wondering if he would actually get to watch Ms. Karros in action before a jury. Did she know, at that very moment, there would be no trial? Was she just going through the motions, at $2,000 an hour?

A month earlier Varrick Labs reported its quarterly earnings, which were down significantly. The company surprised analysts by writing off $5 billion for the projected costs of ongoing litigation, primarily Krayoxx. David was following this closely in financial publications and blogs. Opinion was split between those who thought Varrick Labs would hurry and clean up its mess through a massive settlement and those who thought the company might try to weather the storm through hardball litigation. The stock price ping-ponged between $35 and $40 per share, so the stockholders seemed reasonably calm.