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I really liked this book even though the ending was somewhat predictable. What I can't understand is why Jake is always so broke? He's obviously a good lawyer and received huge notoriety from the Time to Kill case. So why is he bordering on poverty? Is Grisham implying that unless an attorney is a scum sucking slime bag, he can't make a decent living? And why can't he get paid by the insurance company for his house that was fire bombed by vigilantes?

It's 1980s Mississippi. And a small town, to boot.

Small town lawyers have clients who don't have money. And, Jake is a nice guy who won't rob his clients.

He lost his heavily mortgaged home in a revenge fire and the insurance company refused to pay his claim. That's why he's living in inferior housing and making payments on a house that no longer exists.
Plus, of course, small town, poor clients and a lot of people who are angry about the previous verdict in A TIME TO KILL. SYCAMORE ROW, you must remember, takes place only three years after the previous book.

Would he be as interesting a character if he were rich? A poor lawyer fighting for the "good guys" and the "right thing" is a much more interesting story.

Also, I wonder how much Jake is based on Grisham's life experience. I don't know enough about Grisham's background, but I don't get the impression that he was a big city corporate lawyer or anything.

Well, I've worked with and around small town lawyers and none of them ever had very much money. I feel it is very realistic that Jake was portrayed as having financial troubles. Just because you're a lawyer doesn't mean you're rich. Loved this novel!

As a former small town lawyer I think Grisham's books about Jake Brigance and harry Rex Vonner are spot on.

It's possible to make a lot of money but not if you're a "street lawyer" and not if you do a lot of criminal law cases for regular people.

Hey,

The above is right. Street Lawyers don't make a killing. I am a judge who appoints to a lot of cases and they are starving. But they are some of the best people you will ever meet

It's a good balance that Lucien is around to pick up some of the tabs. Jake can be poor, but still get on with his job, with Lucien to bale him out when necessary.

Many of these kinds of lawyers are always broke. It costs a lot to run an office. My dad is an attorney like Jake. We practiced together 18 years. I am very familiar w being in the money and having none. My Dad would say sometime it is time to shake the money tree. That meant we needed to work hard to settle small cases get ghetto money so we could keep working on the bigger things. Sorry for long answer.

Typo didn't mean ghetto money. I hate autocorrect.

I think that might be primarily why Grisham wrote in Lucien and the big office space afforded to Jake. It meant his character could "survive" being broke and at the same time take on poor clientele. As someone said, if Jake were a rich lawyer, it wouldn't be the same.

Jennifer wrote: "Would he be as interesting a character if he were rich? A poor lawyer fighting for the "good guys" and the "right thing" is a much more interesting story."

Couldn't agree with you more Jennifer. I'm not sure if Jake's heart would have been in it to win it if he was extremely financially stable.

Agree with a lot of posts. I think most folks think lawyers are rich--and a lot of them are not. But love Grisham, love his voice and the way he uses the South almost as another character. A TIME TO KILL is still one of my favs.

working in a small rural town with two many lawyers and a clientele base who are far from wealthy.