The Rainmaker Case

The Rainmaker

In John Grisham's classic story of a young lawyer named Rudy Baylor struggling to beat the odds that seem so greatly against him in his journey to success. He shows that you can be a successful lawyer without being a sell-out. He follows his heart and makes real connections with each of his clients. The story starts off with Rudy in a desperate need for work and goes searching in a hospital for potential clients while studying for the bar exam. The phrase "rainmaker" is a legal case that brings in a large sum of money for the client and the lawyer. This title seems appropriate because of the roller coaster ride Rudy goes through throughout the movie in each case. Rudy is in a tug-of-war situation between himself as a person and himself as a lawyer. Some question his ethics as an attorney because of some of the choices he makes that lead to his success in the end. But others believe he did what was right in the end by bending the rules a little.

Rudy's first case is for an elder women named Mrs. Birdie, and she needs his help to draft her will. She lets him know that she doesn't want her children in her will even though Rudy advises her otherwise. She starts off by saying "Cut, cut, cut ! Cut my children out." Rudy then asks who she wishes to leave the money to and she responds that she would like the money to be left to a spiritual spokesman on television who she believes wouldn't touch the money. Rudy must assist her and urges her not to leave her estate to a T.V. Evangelist. While he works on her will, Rudy notices an empty guest house in her backyard and decides to make a deal with Mrs. Birdie. The two agree that if Rudy will work on her will and help her around the house, he can live there free of charge. In the end, Rudy and Mrs. Birdie become close and she cooks and takes care of him. They have many relationships such as attorney/client, landlord/tenant, and mutual friends. So Mrs. Birdie decides to leave everything in her will to Rudy after all. I would give Rudy an ethical grade of a B because living on the property of your client is wrong and unprofessional. This changes the business relationship to a personal one. This could cause a potentially dangerous situation for Rudy's business and he takes the risk regardless. In the lawyers Code of Professional Responsibility it states "A lawyer should avoid the appearance of professional impropriety." Living with a client is a clear disregard for this rule. Also, he does Mrs. Birdie a favor by making sure he doesn't speak to her son when she doesn't either. This is "exercising independent and professional judgement on behalf of a client" in the lawyers code of professional responsibility. Then, on a rate of success for the case with Mrs. Birdie I think Rudy deserves an A+ because he successful assists her in drafting her will the way she would like it and creates a good relationship with his client.

In Rudy's next case he represents Kelly Riker, a nice girl he meets at the hospital, in her divorce.