The Rooster Bar

The Rooster Bar is the 25th legal thriller novel by John Grisham.^[1]

Plot

The plot centers around three third-year law students: Mark Frazier, whose younger brother Louie is facing prison for selling cocaine, Todd Lucero, a bartender and Mark's closest friend, and Zola Maal, the only American citizen in a family of illegal Senegalese immigrants who will soon be deported back home.^[1] All attend Foggy Bottom Law School, a third-tier D.C. establishment with a reputation as a diploma mill that churns out hundreds of mediocre students who are unable to pass the bar exam, forcing them to take nonprofit or government positions that pay far less than what they were promised, all while leaving them with thousands of dollars' worth of debt from student loans.^[2]

Zola's boyfriend, Gordon Tanner, whose bipolar disorder has been greatly worsened by the anxiety and stress of an uncertain future, stops taking his medication, and she calls Mark and Todd for help. When they find Gordon, they discover that, in his mania, he has been collecting evidence on Hinds Rackley, the investor who owns FBLS, which he's learned is one of a network of schools controlled by Rackley, as well as several small law firms and banks that allow the schools to funnel their students into jobs, thus maintaining the illusion of a successful education, while trapping them in a cycle of debt that allows Rackley and his partners to earn millions regardless of whether or not they succeed. Mark points out that none of this is illegal, but Gordon is convinced that there's enough for a class-action lawsuit that would, at the very least, expose Rackley's fraud. Later that night, Gordon gets drunk and flees the apartment, getting arrested for DUI. Mark, Todd, and Zola bail him out with the help of Darrell Crowley, a professional street lawyer, and Mark tries to find Gordon's doctor. Before he can, however, Gordon escapes again and commits suicide by jumping off a bridge.

Distraught, and blamed for Gordon's death by his family and friends, Mark and Todd realize that they have no future at FBLS; Mark's promised job at a D.C. firm is withdrawn, and both he and Todd drop out, getting jobs at The Rooster Bar, a pub owned by Todd's boss Maynard. Mark persuades him to lease the two some office space, and they, together with Zola, set up an unlicensed firm called UPL (Upshaw, Parker, and Lane). Inspired by Crowley, Mark and Todd decide to pose as lawyers under assumed identities and work the D.C. courts for clients, arguing to Zola that they can get rich while also escaping the grasp of FBLS and their creditors, so long as no one discovers that they are, in fact, engaged in a criminal enterprise. Uncertain, but aware that she also has nothing better to look forward to, she agrees to join them.

At first, the firm is a success, with Mark and Todd winning several victories and collecting payouts while Zola tries (but mostly fails) to expand their practice into personal injury, an area that none of them have any real expertise in. Seeking a quick payday, Mark agrees to file a lawsuit on behalf of Ramon Taper, a man whose infant son died due to negligence at the hospital where he was born. An expert assures Mark that his case is sound, and he refers it to another lawyer, Jeffrey Corbett, who informs Mark that he's been deceived: the statute of limitations on the case ran out while he was preparing it, meaning he and UPL could now be sued for legal malpractice by their client. With no other way out, Mark reluctantly informs Edwin Mossberg, the lawyer for Ramon's former girlfriend, that he is not a lawyer and would therefore be ruined if the case were to proceed. Mossberg agrees to drop it, but passes the information along to the D.C. bar. Meanwhile, Ramon, furious that Mark has stopped taking his calls, gets a new attorney: Crowley.

Mark, Todd, and Zola decide to focus their efforts on Swift Bank, one of Rackley's outfits, which will soon have to pay billions in settlements over charges that it defrauded its customers. By inventing thousands of fake clients and forwarding them to different firms involved in the settlement, the three bet that they can make enough money to flee the country, just as the bar's investigation heats up. Maynard fires Mark and Todd to protect himself, and the police arrest them for practicing without licenses, though they are allowed to go free so long as they stay in town.

In the middle of it all, Zola is forced to travel to Senegal after her parents are targeted by corrupt officials for purposes of extortion. Using $26,000 from UPL's account provided by Mark and Todd, she is able to hire a well-connected lawyer, Idina Sanga, who gets them released from custody, as well as a place to stay. At the same time, Mark and Todd pay a visit to Rackley and blackmail him with Gordon's evidence to stop dragging his feet on the settlements before returning to D.C. to attend their trial, where Crowley, Ramon, and many of their former clients cause a scene when they reveal the extent of UPL's misconduct.

Setting up a hedge fund in the Caribbean to handle their finances, the two men obtain fake passports and leave the United States just as evidence of their fraud allows Rackley to force a temporary halt to the settlements, though not before enough money is transferred to the fund to allow them to reunite with Zola in Senegal. With news that a grand jury has indicted all three on racketeering charges, Mark cuts several checks to pay off their law school debts as well as take care of their families. Knowing that they will never be able to return home, they assume the identities of Christophe Vital, Tomas Didier, and Alima Pene, and together with Alima's brother Bo, purchase a bar to run, which they name The Rooster Bar.^[3]

References

External links

• Website at JGrisham.com
• Official website at Random House
• The Law School Scam