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reviews

The Partnership

Steven J. Harper
Steven J Harper (2010)
ISBN 9780984369102
Reviewed by Enid Grabiner for RebeccasReads (08/10)


In this fascinating legal fictional account, it is apparent that Steven J. Harper brings his legal expertise to the written page by depicting the stress and oftentimes unprincipled handling of cases involved in order to create more income.  That is the bottom line!  Proving the worth of a lawyer by his billable hours becomes the focus of every new attorney in the top law firms.  Long hours, double billing and cut throat competition are at the heart of every associate striving to ultimately become an equity partner.  There is hardly a lawyer in this book who demands the reader’s respect.  Lack of values and principles cause damage to everyone associated with the profession, especially the paying clients who prove only to be the vehicle to wealth of the “partners”.  Attorney merit seems to be based on the bottom line – cash!!

At the center of the story is the struggle between two partners in the prestigious Chicago firm of Michelman and Samson who are vying for the title of chairman of the Executive Committee the ultimate seat of respect and power.  Knight and Ratkin came up through the ranks together, first as friends and then as fierce competitors, each creating his own path of personal and professional damage along the way.  The temptation of this ultimate prize compromises Knight’s once strong pursuit of justice.  His conscience is a strong reminder that he is compromising his integrity.  Ratkin, on the other hand, is slick and manipulative with no moral barometer.

The handling of a case involving their largest client, Edelwise, is at the core of the novel and sets the scene of the dissolution of professional ethics.  Unprincipled legal moves to protect the company and its stock create a story of intrigue filled with twists and turns as Ratkin unscrupulously “works the system."

This was a fast reading tightly written moral tale, leaving the reader to put the lawyers on trial.  It is a sad commentary on the dissolution of professional ethics.