The devil at the partnership table


Anonymous Lawyer

Jeremy Blachman

Vintage Originals £7.99

Jason M Hadden
This book is a grotesque stereotype of everything bad associated with the US legal profession, and therein lies its charm - although in the light of recent events in the City, its message is perhaps more sinister.



Anonymous Lawyer tells the tale of a hiring partner at one of the largest law firms in the US. Written as an Internet blog over eight weeks, it charts his attempt to become chairman (or senior partner) of the firm and defeat the ambitions of his nearest challenger, referred to colloquially as 'The Jerk'.



It also allows 'Anonymous Lawyer' the opportunity to pass on his views of the new set of law school summer interns. All are destined for a seat in the firm where they too can make more than $1 million a year if they are prepared to give up just one thing - their lives.



At the welcome meeting, Anonymous Lawyer shows the interns two films to give them a sense of what they are letting themselves in for: Rent, 'to illustrate that while there are indeed 525,600 minutes in a year, the important thing is that every one of those minutes is potentially billable to a client', and March of the Penguins to show that, while penguins walk for thousands of miles in a mindless fashion, they do not complain, and nor should trainees when photocopying for months on end. Harsh, but fair.



He talks proudly about sacking staff for getting pregnant; of torturing associates and of 'the one who missed her son's funeral'. Well, if you have billable targets you have to make them, whatever the emergency. Clearly none of these things go on in UK law firms, thankfully.



The novel is at its best and most revealing when the Anonymous Lawyer becomes concerned that others within his firm are starting to read his blog and may discover his identity. At this juncture you start to see his insecurities and his hatred, not only of his job and his profession, but of his life.



There are moments in this book that are pure car-crash reading and the humour is so tasteless you don't know whether to laugh or wince in pain. But it is also funny, frightfully revealing and refreshing. That said, the real problem with this novel is that it is something of a one-trick pony - it contains one joke, based solely on the premise that lawyers are evil and will do anything to anyone to get both power and money. Where have we heard that one before? This is The Devil Wears Prada for lawyers but without the happy ending.



Jason M Hadden is a solicitor advocate with BPP