 First edition (US) | |
| Author | John Grisham |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | class action lawsuit, pharmaceutical drugs |
| Genre | Legal thriller |
| Publisher | Doubleday (US) Hodder & Stoughton (UK) |
Publication date | October 25, 2011 (hardcover) June 26, 2012 (paperback) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook and E-book |
| Pages | 385 (Hardcover 1st edition) |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-53513-7 |
| Preceded by | The Confession |
| Followed by | Calico Joe |
The Litigators is a 2011 legal thriller novel by John Grisham, his 25th fiction novel overall. The Litigators is about a two-partner Chicago law firm attempting to strike it rich in a class action lawsuit over a cholesterol reduction drug by a major pharmaceutical drug company. The protagonist is a Harvard Law School grad big law firm burnout who stumbles upon the boutique and joins it only to find himself litigating against his old law firm in this case. The book is regarded as more humorous than most of Grisham's prior novels.
The theme of a young lawyer being fed up with a giant law firm and bolting away to a less lucrative but more satisfying career is shared with The Associate. The theme of a lawsuit against a giant corporation appeared in The Runaway Jury, but in the present book, the corporation is vindicated and proven to have been unjustly maligned (at least on the specific drug which is the subject of the lawsuit) and the mass tort lawyers are seen as greedy and unscrupulous, ultimately bolting and leaving the protagonist's tiny Chicago firm in the lurch.
Critical reviews were mixed for the book, with several opinions noting a lack of suspense. Nonetheless, the book has achieved both hardcover and ebook #1 best seller status on various lists, including both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. However, since some services do not separate fiction and non-fiction books, it did not debut as a #1 bestseller on certain lists, such as the USA Today. Some reviewers noted that this story would lend itself to an adapted screenplay.