The Firm Quotes

“Any lawyer worth his salt knew the first offer had to be rejected.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“I've loved you all my life. Even before we met. Part of it wasn't even you. It was just a promise of you.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“[you’ll acquire] A certain amount of cynicism. This business works on you. When you were in law school you had some noble idea what a lawyer should be. A champion of individual rights; a defender of the Constitution; a guardian of the oppressed; an advocate for your client’s principles. Then after you practice for six months you realize you were nothing but hired guns. Mouthpieces for sale to the highest bidder, available to anybody, any crook, any sleazebag with enough money to pay your outrageous fees. Nothing shocks you. It’s supposed to be an honorable profession, but you’ll meet so many crooked lawyers you’ll want to quit and find an honest job. Yeah Mitch, you’ll get cynical. And it’s sad, really.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“I'm being followed so much I'm causing traffic jams.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“You know, I have a very bad reputation.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“Her thoughts could not escape the present.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“They were lawyers, trained to argue five sides of every issue.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“They left Chickasaw Gardens and drove west with the traffic toward downtown, into the fading sun. They held hands, but said little. Mitch opened the sunroof and rolled down the windows. Abby picked through a box of old cassettes and found Springsteen. The stereo worked fine. “Hungry Heart” blew from the windows as the little shiny roadster made its way toward the river. The warm, sticky, humid Memphis summer air settled in with the dark. Softball fields came to life as teams of fat men with tight polyester pants and lime-green and fluorescent-yellow shirts laid chalk lines”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“¿Qué más adquiriré? —Cierta dosis de cinismo —respondió Lamar, después de sacudir los cubitos de hielo y reflexionar unos instantes—. La profesión te va amoldando. En la facultad de derecho tenías una noble idea sobre la función del abogado, como paladín de los derechos individuales, defensor de la Constitución, protector del oprimido, sostenedor de los principios del cliente... Pero después de seis meses de práctica te das cuenta de que no somos más que mercenarios. Portavoces de alquiler al mejor postor, a disposición de todo el mundo, de cualquier estafador, cualquier tramposo con suficiente dinero para pagar nuestras desorbitadas tarifas. Nada te conmueve. Se supone que la nuestra es una profesión honorable, pero conocerás a tantos abogados corruptos que llegarás a sentir deseos de abandonarla para buscar un trabajo honrado. Sí, Mitch, te convertirás en un cínico. Y es realmente triste.”
― John Grisham, La tapadera

“Empezarás trabajando mucho y a todas horas, pero no podrás hacerlo eternamente. De modo que comenzarás a descubrir atajos. Créeme, Mitch, cuando lleves un año con nosotros sabrás cómo trabajar diez horas y facturar el doble. Es una especie de sexto sentido que adquirimos los abogados. —”
― John Grisham, La tapadera

“Parece inmoral. —También lo es el acoso por parte de los abogados del demandante. No es ético que el defensor de un narcotraficante acepte su dinero, cuando existen buenas razones para suponer que no se trata de dinero honrado. Hay muchas cosas inmorales. ¿Qué me dices del médico que recibe a cien pacientes de la seguridad social en un solo día? Algunas de las personas más inmorales que he conocido han sido mis propios clientes. No es difícil hinchar una cuenta cuando el cliente es un multimillonario que quiere estafar al gobierno y pretende que tú se lo soluciones dentro de la legalidad. Todos lo hacemos.”
― John Grisham, La tapadera

“La mayoría de los buenos abogados pueden trabajar de ocho a nueve horas diarias y facturar doce. Lo llaman rellenar. No es demasiado honrado de cara al cliente, pero todo el mundo lo hace. Las grandes empresas han crecido gracias a las cuentas de relleno. Son las reglas del juego.”
― John Grisham, La tapadera

“Như được hẹn trước, âm nhạc chợt dừng lại, những người đi dạo trên bãi biển chợt đóng băng và ngước nhìn, tiếng ồn tại Rumheads chợt lắng đọng khi mọi cặp mắt xoay chuyển để chiêm ngưỡng cảnh mặt trời đang tiếp nước. Những đám mây xám trắng rơi rớt của cơn bão hạ thấp dần ở đường chân trời rồi chìm xuống cùng vầng dương. Chúng từ từ làm xoay chuyển những sắc cam, vàng và đỏ, thoạt tiên chuyển thành màu xanh xám, rồi bất chợt là những tông tươi sáng. Trong một khoảnh khắc ngắn, bầu trời là một tấm vải bạt mà mặt trời vấy lên đó những sắc màu tuyệt mỹ bằng những nét mạnh bạo. Rồi quả cầu màu cam sáng chạm mặt nước và, chỉ trong tích tắc, nó biến mất. Những đám mây trở lại với màu đen và tản mát dần. Đó là khung cảnh mặt trời lặn ở Cayman.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“The bar exam was a nuisance, an ordeal that must be endured, a rite of passage,”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“DeVasher, head of security, occupied the largest of the small, plain offices.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“The human body was not meant for such abuse. After about six months they lost steam. They would cut back to fifteen hours a day, six days a week.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“For years he had led the prayer each Sunday at the First Methodist Church in Danesboro, and the other six days he had tirelessly practiced greed and manipulation".”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“What if they find the car?” “They’ll find it, and they’ll throw a blanket over Panama City Beach. You’ve got to be careful. After dark, try to sneak into a drugstore and buy some hair dye. Cut your hair extremely short and dye it blond.” “Blond!” “Or red. I don’t give a damn.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“He nodded at the big leather bags. “What’s in there?” “Papers.” “Papers?” “Papers.” “What kind of papers?” Toilet paper, she thought. I spend my vacations traveling the Caribbean collecting toilet paper. “Legal documents, crap like that. I’m a lawyer.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“They moved closer together, and his hand was suddenly between her knees. His elbow nestled next to her left breast, and he smiled. She smiled. This was not altogether unpleasant, she thought, but there was business at hand. The”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“You’ve been hurt by every person you ever cared for, except Abby. You raised yourself, and in doing so became self-reliant and independent. You don’t need the firm. You can leave it. You’re hardened and calloused beyond your years. And you’re smart enough to pull it off, Mitch. You won’t get caught. That’s why we picked you.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“I’m happy to see you’ve found a church home, Abby,” her father said piously. For years he had led the prayer each Sunday at the First Methodist Church in Danesboro, and the other six days he had tirelessly practiced greed and manipulation. He had also steadily but discreetly pursued whiskey and women. An”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“How do you like your coffee?” “Black, but I’ll fix it myself.” “I don’t mind fixing your coffee for you. It’s part of the job.” “I’ll fix it myself.” “All the secretaries do it.” “If you ever touch my coffee, I’ll see to it that you’re sent to the mail room to lick stamps.” “We have an automated licker. Do they lick stamps on Wall Street?” “It was a figure of speech.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“He was headed for Wall Street and had been sidetracked by the money. Only the money.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“Capps earned over nine million last year and paid a pittance in taxes.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“It was simply unheard of for a member of the firm to ignore his billing.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“(whom they could not find) and some sympathetic relatives. The poverty hurt, and they assumed, correctly, it had bred the intense desire to succeed.”
― John Grisham, The Firm

“With a six-figure income guaranteed for the rest of his life, Lamar could enjoy the twelve-hundred-dollar tailored suits that hung so comfortably from his tall, athletic frame.”
― John Grisham, The Firm