The King Of Torts: Problem With Overnight Riches -By Saifullahi Attahir

This is a short review of a thriller novel written by the famous lawyer and writer John Grisham. I found the story needful to share as it tries to explain the psychology behind how we tend to act when ever we acquire a new found wealth especially overnight one. I hope it would be a source of pleasure, reminder, and at the same time a guide in our universal quest to live a happier and prosperous life.

Clay Carter is a Washington city based poorly paid lawyer who works as a public defender in the outskirts of the city. As with most employees like him, he was not satisfied with his job as it hardly pay his monthly expenses, plus the challenges he faces living in a city with it’s opulent life style. Another problem with Clay was that he was in a relationship with a woman called Rebecca for a long time, and the fact that he was not wealthy enough makes her parent to deny him more access and forcing to separate them totally.
And to be fair to her parent, Rebecca was from a wealthy family, and Mr Clay can hardly rent a house talk less of buying one when the matter of their marriage arose. These are some of the issues that kept Mr Clay’s poor mind busy always thinking of nothing but how he would become rich.

One afternoon at office, out of no where, a man named Max pace appeared in Mr Clay’s office claiming he was an insider of one pharmaceutical company that secretly carried out a clinical trial on some prisoners without their consent while serving their sentences. The story goes that the drug called Tarvan had a side effect that forces its victim to carryout senseless killings without any remorse. Mr Clay become interested in this case and went deep investigation up to the prison and had interviewed with the victims.

Mr Clay was able to gather enough evidence that can help him to sue the pharmaceutical company involved. Before that he went in to an agreement not to disclose or involved Max Pace in the dealing no matter how. Like magic, after litigation the company pleaded guilty and made a huge compensation/settlement to the victims through the hand of Mr Clay. Without mentioning, this made Mr Clay a hot cake within a month.

While he was trying to adjust to his new life, surprisingly Max Pace appeared again this time promising to Mr Clay that there are more litigation cases hanging that needed another lawyer to be investigated, so he advised Mr Clay to try his luck. Ever insatiable with money , without questioning, Clay accepted the challenge and plung in to action. This one involved another giant pharmaceutical company called Ackerman laboratories that developed a drug called Dyloft and was found to be carcinogenic ( potential to cause cancer ). This time Mr Clay rise a campaign in TV and magazines until eventually the Ackerman laboratories pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $100 million Dollars settlement. Barrister Clay became an overnight Millionaire and the talk of the city, with magazines featuring and making stories about him, they even called him ‘ The King of Torts’.

Typical of a man longing for cool Dollars, Mr Clay bought a new black and latest Mercedes Benz for couple of millions, bought a house in a neighbouring suburb, lease a building and founded a new private law firm just for handling litigation cases. He hired hot newly recruited smart rookies ( young lawyers), a secretary,an IT expert, and renovated his office with latest office gadget to appear big and affluent.

As it occurs with many, the problem with soft Dollars is that it sometimes affect our thinking negatively. This time Mr Clay’s relationship with Rebecca become sour, and he began to distance himself from her although he truly loves her, but the fact that her parents are not happy with their relationship and that they would not allow her to live with him at his house, this forced Mr Clay to start secretly dating other young girls. He was always roaming from one five star hotel to another, paying huge bills was not his concern as long as he would satisfy his pleasure.

Apart from that, he enter the big league of hot lawyers in town, spending lavishly, travelling around the country attending conferences and not in a car, but lease a new state of the art private Jet!. He travelled a lot to the Caribbean and Panamanian Islands enjoying his wealth.

The problem was that like affected by spirit, he eventually met a lady named Ridley who was a Model ( women who appear on magazine for beauty contest). Ridley in our culture can be referred to as modern day prostitute. That is were Mr Clay was losing his soft Dollars very fast and without noticing. He bought many properties, but fearing for losing them to FBI he option to signed them on behalf of Ridley’s name, thinking he trusted her enough and their relationship was permanent.

As for his trade/work , he was luckily getting more Dollars, litigating more pharmaceutical companies with the latest involving a company called Goffman that produced a drug called Maxatil that also had side effect. Thinking it’s always a win, he invested heavily in this case by orchestrating expensive adverts, hiring expensive lawyers, and even recruiting fake victims just to get the soft Dollars. Unfortunately Goffman were not ready to back down, they too hired more expertise lawyers and carryout deeper investigation, eventually Mr Clay lost the case.

Losing for the first time, Mr Clay lost his balance, and more problems awaits as immediately the Goffman company sue him for black mailing their products, this forced Mr Clay to lose large proportion of his fortune.

He entered another case with a cement company Hanna that polluted the neighborhood environment, hungry for money he tried all his best but lost again, with paying more for the damages he caused the company. The problem with Mr Clay was that he was not paying his clients enough money whom on behalf he collected hundred of millions, so as soon as the news leaked, they too sue him before court. Without saying, Mr Clay become more deeply in to trouble after trouble.

He was eventually investigated by the FBI, risking a jail term or a settlement that would cost him almost all of his fortune. He option for the later. He lost all his assets, his new ‘friends’, including Ridley who fled away without a trace. He fled the country, and surprisingly all this while, his original lover Rebecca was married to another man, but getting divorced later, she found out about Mr Clay story, she traveled to meet him, console him and offers her true and genuine care and love. They continue to live afterwards, and Mr Clay learnt his lessons.

This story can be a reflica of some of our lives today, with this insatiable search for soft money by young and old, everyone searching by hook or crook, it could be a reminder of the old maxim that happiness, contentment, genuine wealth, and loving family matters the most.

History have continually shown that people who became overnight riches or those that stumble upon a huge fortune quickly and effortlessly, are more susceptible to lose it in a similar manner.The problem with overnight riches is that it upons occlude our positive thinking, it allows us to deep dive in to fantasies, it open of unrealistic doors and opportunities, it draw us toward deceptive paths.
The problem with overnight riches is that it block those who are sincere to us accesing our environ, we became surrounded by crooks in form of ‘new friends’. People lose capacity of controlling their desires, as if they were released from captivity. They became short sighted in term of spending, they even begin to forget their humble past and how they acquire their new wealth.

The problem with overnight riches is that it seldom allow us to invest our fortune in tangible businesses, we became vulnerable to ‘advises’ that may end up becoming disaster. The problem with quick riches is that people are never satisfied with it, the more you became, the more hungry you are, it leads it’s possessors ending up employing crook methods to earn more. The end story is that we end up losing everything.

I’m sure the reader can remember many examples of the above stories; example of a newly elected politician that handles huge money for the first time, he ended up marrying more wives, more cars, more new houses, more Mecca, more lavish spending, until after his tenure with nothing to show. Or the stories of celebrities among the soccer stars, or musicians that begins to handle huge money, they ended up becoming drug addicts, more lavish spendings, more traveling, etc.

In this age of ‘Japa’, with people thinking of travelling abroad solely to amass a fortune,with people thinking success only as securing jobs with NNPC, FIRS,CBN, or NGOs, this could be a reminder. The causative agent of this quagmire is complex, the attention of the society has shifted toward capitalism, the society no longer cares for the hardwork, some women and their parents are looking for a ‘hot boy’ in town , this must have unconsciously made men to hustle more in order to ‘made it’ no matter the route.

It’s never bad to look for fortune, because it’s truly a means to ease many of our life activities, it’s a source of pleasure, a source of happiness, a source of helping others, a source of giving qualitative education and improved standard of living for our family. But the path to acquire it actually matters, because in majority of cases that determines how you end up spending it.

Finally, for those diligent, hardworking and honest young men, I urge you to continue working hard but work smarter too, try your lucks, take positive risks, and wait patiently, you would be prosperous and live a happier live God grace. Never rush, never never rush, and never rush.

saifullahiattahir93@gmail.com
Sat 16th- Dec-2023