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Rating:  -
This is the best book written about a lawsuit and is a terrific teaching tool. The author had unparalleled access to the lawyers, mostly the plaintiffs' lawyer who, somewhat questionably from an ethics standpoint, allowed a journalist to witness client meetings and strategy sessions. While some of the reviewers criticize Harr for pro-plaintiff bias because of this, Harr simply played the hand he was dealt. The defense lawyers were not about to grant that level of access. In addition, Harr does, after the trial, become close to the lead defense lawyer, the curmudgeonly Facher. This allows him to relate a useful defense perspective.
The book takes the reader from the environmental contamination of the 1950s - 1970s, through pre-litigation investigation in the early 1980s, through extensive pretrial proceedings, and then all the way throught the 1986 jury trial. Thereafter, Harr tells the post-trial story, including settlement, appeal, and government initiated proceedings that ultimately resolve the environmental clean-up issue. In short, one can experience nearly every aspect of a civil action in a highly readable narrative.
Harr is a sensitive observer who can key on strengths of the civil justice system that includes the ability to bring the powerful to account before a jury of ordinary citizens (the apotheosis of democracy, as the plaintiffs' lawyers' consulting Harvard professor says -- the law is America's "civil religion"). And he is terrific at highlighting the essential weaknesses and failings of the system. This, Harr captures in two unforgettable quotes. The first is from Schlictmann, the plaintiff's lawyer, who rues how hard it is "to do good and do well" at the same time. That, in a nutshell, captures the skewing effect that the profit motive and money have on the civil litigation process. And then there is this priceless quote from Facher, the defense lawyer: "The truth? The truth is at the bottom of a bottomless pit." The liberal discovery rules and the right of cross examination are supposed to be tools uniquely well-suited for ferreting out the truth. But the ruinous expense and confusion of the process; the foibles of the attorneys, judges, and witnesses; and the profit motive of the attorneys all combine to wreak havoc and to leave one wondering if the truth really does emerge from this process.
In the end, I take a more optimistic point of view than a number of the other reviewers. The families get compensated for the toxic tort caused by the environmenal contamination (at a minimum the families suffered from solvent poisoning that caused provable damage even if it is a stretch to prove that leukemia was caused by TCE to a reasonable medical certainty); the government finally gets off its butt, helped by the work done by Schlictimann, and forces the defendants to clean up the mess; and other companies get the message from this case and from the CERCLA legislation passed in 1980 that environmental clean up and better environmental policies are now a cost of doing business. So the system works to a large degree, though it does a poor job, or no job at all, in alleviating the pain and alienation experienced by the harmed families and community.
Perhaps the best quality of the book is its compelling portrayal of Schlictmann and Facher -- both of whom are attractive and admirable in some ways while at the same time being quite flawed and tragic. The book is about human nature as much as it is about the civil justice system, and is the kind of nonfiction novel that would have made Truman Capote and Norman Mailer proud.
This is a truly great book.
Rating: -
I read this book in a couple of days when I picked it up at random and it inspired me. The novel's main character Jay Schlictman was a man driven at all costs and willing to risk everything to bring justice into the world. The tale of a small New England community's struggle against the negligence of Corporate America and a few individuals is sobering. It makes one want to drink bottled water.
This book was a real page turner and it also laid bare some of the short comings of the justice system in this country with regards to corporate litigation. Schlictman becomes a Robin Hood type character, out to avenge the poor from the gluttony of greed and neglect. He also displays a reckless abandon and conviction which is wound up into the idealism of youth. In the end he nearly losses everything including his sanity-the way the story moves along is incredible and the reader feels the frustration.
I liked the book ten times better than the movie. I still get turned off by Travolta sometimes, remembering him dancing around underneath the mirror ball in a white suite with a spoon around his neck in the late 70's; maybe they should have called Richard Gere or better yet, Denzell Washington.
This is a page turner so, beware, if you pick this one up you may not want to put it down.
Rating: -
We ride the roller coaster that attorney Jan Schlictmann is on in pursuit of justice for the families of Woburn Massachsetts who sue a megacorporation because they developed leukimia from unknowingly living in an area contaminated by toxic pollution.
I particularly liked this book because it is the best account of what it is like to be civil trial attorney handling large cases. The book has deservedly one numerous accolades. Not only is the book a page turner, but is gives those thinking of entering law school a look into the often very messy business of being a lawyer. Can a case really last years and years and years? Is the truth really that hard to discover for your client? Do lawyers really have to do go through all of this? A must read for anyone thinking about law school. Even if you have no connection to the law, you will find this book is one of the best you will ever read.
Rating:  -
First, I don't think this book is for everyone. I think the difference between this book and those written by someone like John Grisham illustrates the reason. Although Grisham's books are also mediocre literature, the nuances of his books aren't lost on the average reader. The things that give Grisham's books there suspense are easy for nearly everyone to understand; a book like The Firm is a case in point. Conversely, the suspense and frustrations which are inherent in "A Civil Action" are the products of rules of civil procedure which the average reader simply won't understand. For those not voiced in such legal themes at least on an elementary level the source of the suspense must be taken at the author's word.
To be sure, the true story captured in this book is compelling; contamination of a city's water supply and the likeliness that the contamination caused a whole litany of health problems for that city's residents is a story that will do more than peak your interest. However, the guts of this book focuses mostly on the head lawyer for the victims. Jan Schlichtmann isn't exactly the type of character you find yourself rooting for (he's arrogant, greedy, and loves the spotlight). Further, this book focuses mostly on how Schlichtmann managed to screw up. The most emotion-invoking feature of the book is the ever present conflict between Schlichtmann and Judge Skinner. Again, this conflict is imbedded with underlying legal themes which makes the story not completely approachable.
I was torn between giving this book three or four stars. For the law students out there it will probable be an enjoyable read. However, I think this book deserves three stars in the end. As popular literature it is okay; nothing to write home about. Further, in keeping with the modern style, the author presents his readers with nothing virtuous to take home with them... no idea, or principle, or thought that will inspire the readers in the course of their lives. Perhaps I shouldn't expect as much, and particularly not from a piece of popular fiction such as this. Nevertheless, there are too many other good books out there. Take this one on a plane with you; if you don't finish it by the time your trip ends don't worry about it.
Rating:  -
ISBN 0679772677 - A true story, A Civil Action is the story of several families in Woburn, Massachusetts, who find their children - and themselves - suffering health problems apparently caused by the dumping of chemicals by two companies. The Riley Tannery (a subsidiary of Beatrice Foods) and W.R. Grace are accused of negligently, even knowingly, contaminating the groundwater in east Woburn by dumping toxins. Young children are the first and most obvious group to become sick, dying of leukemia in numbers that defy statistics. Their case is handed off from firm to firm until it finds a home in the heart of personal injury lawyer Jan Schilchtmann.
Told repeatedly that the case is bound to become a money-sucking wreck, Jan pours everything he's got into winning it, driving himself to bankruptcy and his law firm to the brink and beyond. As one of early the "ambulance chasers", Jan's used to settling most cases before they wind up in court, but he somehow manages to avoid every good opportunity to get out with his shirt still on. Facing off against high-priced lawyers who have very deep pockets behind them, he and his firm stand little chance of winning even a portion of what their clients want - and what they want is more apology than cash.
Author Harr followed Schlichtmann and his team for a good portion of the story, and I felt a bit sorry for the author. It seems glaringly obvious where the fault lies (which, quite honestly, could be because of the way Harr wrote it), and the outcome seems inevitable: Grace and Beatrice will end up forking over large amounts of cash to the families and have to admit wrongdoing. When it doesn't go that way, Harr's probably too far invested in the story to put it aside. I say this because the books seems to be building to the obvious conclusion... and then sort of peters out, ending with a whimper. A fascinating, and appalling, story that really does not make a good "story" - but is so well researched and told that it rises above the strangely incomplete ending.
Because it IS a true story, the reader should assume that there are two sides to most stories but several people come out looking like they deserve their own little corner of hell. Judge Skinner, for what seems like flagrant disinterest in the law OR common sense; Anne Anderson and the Zona family, for making it about money when they swore it wasn't and the sheer nerve of suing a guy who has taken on a case for them that no one else wanted to touch and lost everything in the process. There are others, and the case seems to be still alive in some ways, with reviewers posting strange diatribes about people who weren't even mentioned in the book (Ken Grant, for one).
Worth reading, but the suggestion that you should read it like a novel, which I've seen in other reviews, might leave you vaguely disappointed - this is real life, and the fairytale ending that a novel would have doesn't exist.
This copy includes a 1996 Afterword, which does help make up a little bit for the ending which, as I said, seems to just peter out.
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