Books, Litigators

Standard Of Review: 'Law And Disorder' Is Strong On Legal Process, But Struggles With Story And Characters

An entertaining read, but undermined by its lack of character development and clumsy integration of the author's views.

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law-and-disorder-mike-papantonioI have read many legal novels during my tenure as legal entertainment columnist at Above the Law, and I have noticed that while attorney authors are usually very skilled at writing about the legal process, they occasionally struggle with crafting a cohesive plot and creating compelling characters. That is the issue with Law and Disorder, the new novel from attorney and radio host Mike Papantonio.

The novel’s protagonist is Nick “Deke” Deketomis, a prominent plaintiffs’ attorney in Florida. As the novel opens, Deke is litigating a product liability lawsuit against behemoth corporation Bekmeyer Pharmaceuticals, alleging that Bekmeyer’s birth control pill Ranidol causes partial paralysis. Deke is also considering a major environmental lawsuit against a company owned by the evil Swanson brothers, who are thinly veiled allusions to the Koch Brothers. But despite seeking massive judgments for his clients (and his law firm), Deke’s life quickly spirals out of control. One of his clients passes away after Deke loses a major motion in court. Deke’s daughter, who herself took Ranidol, almost dies from the drug. Then, Deke is antagonized and accidentally kills someone, leading to his arrest for manslaughter.

As a civil litigator myself, I appreciate that the novel heavily (albeit not exclusively) focuses on civil litigation, a rarity in the world of legal thrillers. Papantonio is a very experienced and successful plaintiffs-side litigator, and he is clearly very knowledgeable about the legal process. The novel thus includes nuances about civil litigation such as a scene in which Deke works with his colleagues to choose a new lead plaintiff in his lawsuit against Ranidol, a scene in which Deke recruits another plaintiffs’ attorney from Texas to find him a lead plaintiff, and a scene in which a judge makes a ruling on the admissibility of an expert report. Litigators will surely enjoy these touches.

Law and Disorder is also well-paced; the narrative moves quickly and never drags. No one is going to be bored while reading this novel.

However, the novel is not as strong at plot and characterization. The story pinballs around between the lawsuit against Bekmeyer, the lawsuit against the company run by the Swanson brothers, and Deke’s own criminal trial, and due to this lack of focus all three storylines are a bit half-baked, particularly the environmental trial. Obviously, a lawyer has to balance many cases at once, but Papantonio would have better off telling one story.

Mike Papantonio (by YouTube via Wikimedia)

Mike Papantonio (by YouTube via Wikimedia)

The characters are relatively thin. Papantonio describes how Deke grew up impoverished and on the street, but he does not fully expand on this characteristic and does not properly lay the groundwork for why Deke would lose his cool and kill someone. With the exception of Deke’s son Andy, the minor characters are mostly unmemorable. And the villains – including the Swanson brothers, the prominent pastor Rodney Morgan, and prosecutor Darl Dixon (clearly Papantonio has never seen The Walking Dead) – are one-dimensional, bordering on mustache-twirling.

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The novel has an obvious ideological bent. Papantonio clearly portrays Deke’s firm as good guys helping to fight for the public interest, whereas the opposing attorneys – all mega-defense firms – are extremely unscrupulous, engaging in sanctionable offenses such as destroying evidence.

Furthermore, the narrative occasionally goes on paragraphs-long polemics on issues such as pollution and how churches benefit from their tax-exempt status. As a progressive myself, I mostly agree with Papantonio’s worldview. But as a critic, these paragraphs bog down the narrative and seem more appropriate for an essay than a novel.

Also, somewhat distractingly, Papantonio repeatedly mentions that Deke is a good friend of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who even shows up at one point to offer support for Deke. I was not surprised to learn that Papantonio himself co-hosts the nationally syndicated radio show “Ring of Fire” with Kennedy.

Law and Disorder is an entertaining read but is undermined by its lack of character development and its clumsy integration of Papantonio’s views. On the bright side, there is only one character in the novel whose name is one letter away from a character on The Walking Dead; thankfully, there is no one named Egan.

(Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book)

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Law and Disorder [Amazon (affiliate link)]

Harry Graff is a litigation associate at a firm, but he spends days wishing that he was writing about film, television, literature, and pop culture instead of writing briefs. If there is a law-related movie, television show, book, or any other form of media that you would like Harry Graff to discuss, he can be reached at harrygraff19@gmail.com. Be sure to follow Harry Graff on Twitter at @harrygraff19.

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