Filthy Rich Lawyers: Book One: The Education of Ryan Coleman by Brian Felgoise and David Tabatsky; Naples, Florida: Speaking Volumes © 2022; ISBN 9781645-407829; 260 pages; $17.95 on Amazon.
SAN DIEGO – There’s a story about an Army sergeant readying members of his platoon for a return to civilian life. “All right you guys,” he hollered. “You see that f***ing chair? That’s a chair, not a f***ing chair!”
Too bad that coauthors Brian Felgoise and David Tabatsky weren’t in that platoon. The mind-numbing amount of expletives-deleted in this book dim whatever appreciation the sex-and-money plot might generate among readers seriously interested in the abuses and corruption of the legal system.
If you like stories that might be told with great relish in high school locker rooms, then this one about class-action attorneys ripping off both corporate defendants and their own group of plaintiffs may have some appeal. One sub-plot is about a young attorney, who should know better, being seduced by two subalterns of a king of class action suits. They introduce him to the world of luxurious eating, transportation, call girls, and extreme partying to win his loyalty to their brand of lawyering. Another subplot involves a federal prosecutor who wants to take down the aforesaid lawyer king but is frustrated at several turns.
What you’ll actually learn about class action suits is minimal. There’s a second book in the series soon to be published, but I’ll pass on reading it.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com