A Civil Action, Uncivilly.

In Jonathan Harrs A Civil Action, Jan Schlichtmanns actions are portrayed as heroic, selfless and humanitarian. Ho ever, on closer inspection, many of his actions ere unethical and narcissistic, ultimately resultin! in a poor outcome for his clients, his practice, and himself. Had Schlichtmann more faithfully performed his duties, perhaps the overall result could have "een more favora"le. Schlichtmanns first lapse of #ud!ment lies in his overestimation of his competence for a case of such ma!nitude. $ith little e%perience, he accepted a case that older, more e%perienced firms and practitioners feared, a!ainst "etter prepared, e%perienced, and funded la firms. He repeatedly i!nored the advice of multiple ell esta"lished la yers to drop the matter, yet accepted the !rossly overstated opinions of Charles &esson almost immediately and ithout 'uestion. His pride and ina"ility to value opinions differin! from his o n directly lead to his ultimate failure. He further failed his clients "y failin! to heed their opinions, and in some cases, even esche ed solicitin! their !uidance in matters they should have "een directly involved in. As their representative, a colla"oration "et een counsel and client as, in several instances, i!nored. He failed to consider settlement at the onset of the case, due to his desire to see it tried "efore a #ury, and in later settlement attempts "oth accepted ithout discussion and also failed to discuss the possi"ility of settlement ith his clients. (his desire to see hat he considered a landmar) case at court i!nored "oth the needs and stated desires of his clients, deprivin! them of the 'uality counsel they deserved. (he incredi"le e!o displayed in several circumstances, includin! "ut not limited to his ar!umentative confrontations ith Jud!e S)inner, his lac) of respect and decorum durin! the

special depositions, and his pu"licity efforts see)in! other in#ured parties dama!ed not only his credi"ility, "ut also that of his firm as a hole. *ailure to pay his o n o"li!ations and the financial #u!!lin! +ordon attempted, failure to pay his o n employees, and most e!re!ious, failure to pay his ta% responsi"ilities, ere detrimental to the firm and its employees, their morale and ell,"ein!. Handlin! of the fees and e%penses portion of the case, post,settlement, ere all "ut insultin! to others at the firm. In the end, Schlichtmanns ea) ethics, hile never overtly morally ron!, led to a preponderance of minute lapses. (hese lapses, en masse, eventually resulted in failure in the suit, and heavily influenced the destruction of the entire practice and the la yer himself.