Unbillable Hours: A True Story
by Ian Graham
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Description
The story—part memoir, part hard-hitting expose—of a first-year law associate negotiating the arduous path through a system designed to break those who enter it before it makes them.Landing a job at a prestigious L.A. law firm, complete with a six figure income, signaled the beginning of the good life for Ian Graham. But the harsh reality of life as an associate quickly became evident. The work was grueling and boring, the days were impossibly long, and Graham’s sole purpose was to show more rack up billable hours. But when he took an unpaid pro bono case to escape the drudgery, Graham found the meaning in his work that he’d been looking for. As he worked to free Mario Rocha, a gifted young Latino who had been wrongly convicted at 16 and sentenced to life without parole, the shocking contrast between the greed and hypocrisy of law firm life and Mario’s desperate struggle for freedom led Graham to look long and hard at his future as a corporate lawyer.Clear-eyed and moving, written with the drama and speed of a John Grisham novel and the personal appeal of Scott Turow’s account of his law school years,Unbillable Hoursis an arresting personal story with implications for all of us. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Surprisingly good. I read this on a trip and found I finished it in just a couple of hours. The description of life at a big firm is spot-on, but it is fortunately leavened by the story of a fascinating pro bono case the author had the good luck to be staffed on.
Not a great book, but a great story. The book was a first novel by a non-author and that shows at times. The best parts of the book are when he doesn't get in the way of the story. No offense, but I DO NOT CARE about his travails as an attorney. I DO CARE about Mario Rocha. Really compelling true story.
This book gave an accurate and entertaining portrayal about what it's like to be a hot shot law student, to be courted by the most reputable firms in the country, to being a first year lawyer. The main character Is given a case that he can't seem to forget. Ultimately, it reads more like a memoir than a fiction novel (likely because it is), but it's a good story and someone that likes to read law novels will enjoy this book.
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1 Work 145 Members
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- Members
- 146
- Popularity
- 223,501
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.48)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
