If you finished this book without looking at who wrote it, you would assume that it was a John Grisham novel. Curtis Wilkie writes an entertaining non fiction account about his personal friend, the powerful Mississippi trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs. In the late 20th century, Scruggs became ridiculously rich from winning class action lawsuits involving asbestos and tobacco litigation. After decades of amassing hundreds of millions, Scruggs eventually finds himself in jail for allegedly bribing a judge.
While there is no doubt that Scruggs was involved in questionable and most likely illegal activity, Wilke makes a great argument showing that the politics and justice system in Mississippi is overrun with corruption. Scruggs and his law firm appear to be unfairly singled out by the U.S. Attorney‘s office. Scrugg’s was just like many of the other lawyers in Mississippi only he had accumulated so much wealth and power that his opponents saw him as a threat that needed to be taken down.
It’s interesting that Wilkie sometimes sounds like he is discussing two separate people. One side of Scruggs wants to help give plaintiffs a voice in fighting powerful businesses, generously donates to charities and genuinely cares about other people. The other side is selfishly focused on chasing money, constantly looking to hit the big lick, deals with the dark side, becomes greedy and showers himself with the comforts of a lavish lifestyle.
This is not one of those boring biographies written carefully not to tarnish the reputation of the individual, its a rare account where Wilkie delves closer to the truth about Scrugg’s than would otherwise be expected.
Rating: 5/5
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