Jennifer Chesley

Business 2050-043
Book Report
The King of Torts by John Grisham
1. List the ethical issues brought out in the story
When Clay was approached by Max to start a new law firm so that he could
represent the victims families, several ethical dilemmas presented
themselves. At the time Clay represented one of the people accused of the
murders and he was asked to switch sides and now represent the victims
family in the same case. Clay had privileged knowledge from his interview
with Tequila, and although he did not represent Pumpkins family in a criminal
or civil suit against Tequila, this is an example of a grey area in the ethical
arena. At the start-up of the new law firm, Clay was paid money from an
unknown company for his silence in regards to their illegal activities of setting
up drug trials outside the scope of the FDA. Clay was not the lawyer for the
big pharmaceutical company, so he did not have a privileged information,
and he should have reported the illegal testing being done even though he
had received assurances that the testing had been permanently
discontinued. After establishing the firm, Clay and the other lawyers began to
actively seek for clients and to prey on their fears for their health and safety.
The information that the new clients were given were not always the full truth
and many of them felt that they had now become victims of the law firm as
well.
2. In what subtle ways did Clay's fortune corrupt his mind and his sense of
ethics?
Clays fortune corrupted his mind and his sense of ethics in subtle ways. At
first Clay just wanted to improve his standard of living by buying a new home,
a new car, and new clothes, but as he purchased them, he realized that he
could afford more than just the basics. Clay decided to purchase the best
home and a flashy car to impress people, namely, his ex-girlfriend and her
parents. Clay then felt that he had to portray an image to his clients,
employees, other lawyers, and the public in general. This resulted in his
continued purchases in extravagance including an airplane. With Clays need
to impress people, he began dating a model, Ridley, but he need her to be
outfitted in the latest styles. Ridley realized that she needed to make the
purchases of clothing, jewelry, and the vacation home as soon as she could if
she wanted to maintain the lifestyle since Clay was not emotionally attached
to Ridley to stay with her for the long-term. Clay had the money to spend at
the time, so why not indulge in the luxury while he could afford it, he could
always make more money. Clays need to make big bucks quickly so that he

could spend as he had been resulted in him listening to poor advice and
making uneducated choices for his clients that ultimately backfired.
3. What role did the stock market play in building Clay's wealth? In his sense of
ethics? In his eventual downfall? Did he realize he was doing something
illegal when he "sold short"? Why didn't he do it more than once?
Clay had inside information that the stock for the pharmaceutical company
would fall quickly when the announcement was made about the harmful side
effects. Based on this information and the subsequent information about the
merger, Clay made stock investments that netted him millions of dollars. At
first, I think Clay could only see the potential to make money on a sure thing
and the lure of profits was too great of an opportunity to pass by. Clay did not
stop to think that what he was doing was illegal and unethical until it was too
late to prevent his eventual downfall. Subsequent information that Clay
received did not entice him to use the stock market since either he
recognized the unethical nature of the activities or he wanted to play it safe
with the money that he had already made on something that could not
realized the same profit margin. Even though Clay did not continue to invest
in the stock market based on the information that he received, the damage
was already done and the FBI and SEC were already looking into his trading
activities.
4. Where or when did Clay start to go wrong in his legal dealings? How could it
have been prevented? What was the chief cause of this problems?
Clays legal dealings really started to go wrong after he decided to go after
Goffman and Maxatil. He relied on the information supplied to him and
Mooneyhams court case to be successful in this suit. His previous experience
in tort cases had gone so smoothly that he did not take proper accounting of
the possible negative consequences. All Clay saw were dollar signs from the
possible attorney fees. Clays previous experience as a lawyer did not prepare
him for tort cases. He was used to dealing with one client per case and in a
criminal law setting. Switching to tort law was a major change that he was
unprepared for and instead of starting small and learning the ropes, he began
big, stayed big, and ultimately fell big.
5. Why was Mooneyham so stubborn about settling out of court? Was it
reasonable under the circumstances? Why would the jury find in favor of
Goffman?
Mooneyham wanted to win the case and not take a settlement and end up in
a tie so part of it stemmed from pride. Mooneyham also believed that the
case that he had, which he had carefully selected had the potential and
ability to be won in court. If a court found in favor of Mooneyhams client, the

client had the likelihood to receive more in punitive damages than what
would have been given in either a settlement or a class-action suit. It was
reasonable for Mooneyham to continue the court case. He presented to the
jury a well-reasoned and compelling argument for the plaintiff and spectators
believed that he would win the case. The jury, however, found in favor of the
defendant, Goffman. The jury likely sided with the defendant because there
was no evidence that the medical problems that the plaintiff had was a direct
link to the medicine that she took.
6. Why was Paulette, in particular, but also Rodney and Jonah so loyal to Clay
even after they had quit the firm and "retired"?
Paulette, Rodney, and Jonah had all been offered jobs that would help them
out financially. In this new job, Clay treated them well and shared in the
profits. Clay did not have to give them a bonus on top of the very generous
salary, but he wanted to share to good fortune to these friends. They were
friends before the wealth came and remained loyal to Clay even when the
money began to dry up.
7. What have you learned about settlements and court litigation with regards to
an attorney's motivation to quickly settle a dispute? How does each member
of the class action usually fair?
The motivation of the lawyer is not always in line with the best interest of his
or her client. Often money, either for greed or to meet their obligations, may
be at the core of the actions. Also if a dispute is settled quickly, the lawyer
can realize the money sooner and take on new clients. Each member of the
class action suit received some money, but a large chunk of it goes to their
lawyer or to taxes, so the money may not adequately cover the costs to
repair the damage that had been done in the first place.
8. What have you learned about "air-tight" contracts? Does your opinion apply
to both the public and attorneys alike?
There is no such thing as an air-tight contract. There is always a human
element that will need to be taken into account. The contract may say
something specifically, but the interpretation by people may vary person to
person. The goal to contracts is to leave as little room as possible for
interpretation, but what one person may think of as a clear clause, another
person may understand it differently. There are people, in the general public
and specifically lawyers, who can look and find weak points or openings in
contracts that they can take advantage of.