The Rainmaker, by John Grisham, is a story about a man, Rudy Baylor, who just became a lawyer and finds himself questioning his values while representing a low-class family in a case about an insurance scam against one of the best law firms in the country. The concept of justice in The Rainmaker is fair handling and due reward or treatment.
Rudy Baylor is a law student in his final semester of law school, hoping to someday become a practicing lawyer. Before he even takes his bar exam he gets a job at a low level law firm. While in school, he gives free legal advice to the elderly. His clients are diverse. His first client is a woman, Miss Birdie Birdsong, who is worth twenty million dollars. She wants Rudy to construct a will for her. She does not want her heirs to have any money because they are all mean. One of them has a wife whom Miss Birdie is sure will take all the money. The others are just down right mean to Miss Birdie.
Soon after meeting Miss Birdie Birdsong, Rudy meets Dot and Buddy Black. They come to him because their son Donny Rae is dying of leukemia and the insurance company they pay, Great Benefit, refuses to pay for a bone marrow transplant. This multi-million dollar insurance company has also hired one of America's best defense attorneys, lead by Leo F. Drummand, for them. Rudy has many problems to deal with. First, he was evicted from his house because he is broke. While visiting Miss Birdsong at her house to discuss her will, Rudy finds a small cottage behind her house. Miss Birdsong allows him to stay in the cottage as long as he helps around the house. Another problem is Rudy is fired from his law firm before his first day on the job due to new management. Next, his new firm lets him go in hopes of stealing the insurance scam case. Rudy barely keeps the rights to the case and moves to the law firm of Bruiser Stone.
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