The Street Lawyer

The next morning, Saturday, Michael awakens with soreness all over his body from his various physical struggles. Trying not to think about his pending grand-larceny charge, he goes to a local bakery for coffee and a newspaper. In the Metro section, he finds his photo and a four-paragraph article headlined “Local Attorney Arrested for Grand Larceny.” Although it is somewhat embarrassing, Michael recognizes that it sounds “like a silly little spat—a bunch of lawyers quibbling over nothing but paperwork” and that “there [are] too many real stories in the world” for anyone to really care (260). He grabs some cookies for Ruby and heads to the office.

Ruby admits to Michael that she left the AA/NA meeting the day before at Naomi’s and that she is not sober. He reminds her of their deal regarding Terrence and drives her to Naomi’s, when she promises to attend both meetings. On the way there, Ruby tells Michael she knows he got arrested; he is surprised and embarrassed, and he tells her it is a “misunderstanding” (261). While Ruby sings and talks with people at Naomi’s, Michael banters and flirts with the center director, Megan. She invites him to come back for lunch, “to check on Ruby” (264).

Michael drives to several shelters and churches hoping to locate the other River Oaks evictees. He makes some connections but gains no solid information. He calls Megan to cancel lunch, and she tells him that Ruby made it through the meetings and that it would be best for Ruby to be off the streets for at least a night. Michael drives Ruby to a motel room they rent for her in Gainesville, Virginia, where she will stay with the door locked until the next morning.

Michael spends Saturday night at his apartment drinking beer, eating pizza, and watching television. He calls Ruby to check on her, and she is doing well, enjoying her time in the motel. Claire calls unexpectedly because she is worried about Michael, and they converse about his arrest and pending trial.

When Michael arrives at the motel to retrieve Ruby, she announces she has remained sober. He drives her to Naomi’s, and everyone celebrates her achievement. Megan and Michael try to figure out what her next 24 hours will look like, and they decide on another suburban motel. Megan invites Michael to lunch again, and he accepts.

Michael flies to Chicago to look for Hector Palma. At the Chicago office of Drake & Sweeney, he pretends to be sick in order to get past the receptionist on the 51st floor, and he surprises Hector in his office. He tells Hector about the River Oaks lawsuit, and he tries to get Hector to give him more information, namely the memo Hector wrote that was removed from the original file. Palma is reluctant to talk in the office, so they agree to meet later outside the building, where he delivers the memo in an envelope to Michael. The memo contains all the information Michael thought would be there. Notably, it also contains a copy of a receipt that Lontae Burton had gotten for her January 15 rent payment. He faxes the memo to Mordecai from the airport and flies home.

While Michael is in Chicago, Mordecai establishes a temporary guardian of the Burtons’ estate so that they can legally sue River Oaks, Drake & Sweeney, and TAG on her behalf. Michael receives notice from the DC bar that Drake & Sweeney has filed a formal complaint with the Court of Appeals on the basis of his “unethical behavior” (283). He and Mordecai attend a Georgetown-Syracuse basketball game hoping to talk to Jeff Mackle, a security guard working the event, who also handled the eviction for Drake & Sweeney. They talk to him, but he denies any knowledge of the firm or the eviction.

When Michael arrives at Ruby’s third motel to pick her up, she is not there. He and the manager search the room, but everything is neat and looks unused. He calls Megan to alert her, then checks with Sofia to see if Ruby went there, but she did not.

Mordecai and Michael prepare the final draft of the lawsuit on behalf of Lontae Burton and her children, as well as a back-up plan. Michael describes their argument as simple, brief, and concise. The only possible problem is the file Michael stole. The tragedy of the Burtons’ deaths has become a hot issue in the District, so they know that Drake & Sweeney will never let their case go to trial, where they risk a loss. Michael and Mordecai prepare to negotiate with the firm. Michael provides information to a reporter who will release a damning story about Drake & Sweeney.

So far, Michael has not been able to locate Ruby, and he feels responsible. Warner, Michael’s brother, calls, says he is in town for business, and wants to meet for dinner. During dinner, Warner teases Michael about his new image, pointing out all his physical changes that obviously show his personality shift, calling him “a real radical” (292). Michael takes these remarks in stride, keeping the conversation light, but eventually he tells Warner about his arrest to divert his attention. Throughout the exchange, Warner continues to emphasize money, particularly the contrast between how much money Michael could/should be making and how much he is making. Michael tries to get Warner to connect with the heart of street law, but Warner is too far removed from the experience of poverty to understand, and he does not want to change that. Their conversation becomes heated, and they part ways under slightly veiled hostility, with Warner saying, “Call me if you get hungry,” which Michael does not see as humorous (298).

The chapter ends with Michael reading the very thorough article on the entire River Oaks saga, beginning with DeVon Hardy and detailing the roles of all the connected parties, including Michael and Mordecai.

Warner calls Michael at 5:00 a.m., two hours before his plane leaves, to talk strategy about the lawsuit, and Michael humors him. He promises he will begin doing research to help Michael as soon as he returns to his office in Atlanta. After they hang up, Michael thinks about all the possible fallout from the case, weighing his conscience about it all.

Still having not heard from Ruby, Michael and Megan set out in search of her car, but to no avail. A congressman from Indiana gets shot in the evening as he is jogging, and the city scrambles to find the guilty party. Four witnesses describe the gunman as “a male black homeless-looking type,” so the police begin a massive sweep of the city, “shoveling the street people into cars and vans and taking them away” (304-06). Some of the “street people” are arrested, and some of them are driven to other states and dumped.

The congressman, Burkholder, has garnered more media attention, and his story is on the front page of the Washington Post, but nothing is mentioned about the police sweep. In the Metro section, another reporter has published a lengthy article on the River Oaks case, this time focusing on the three defendants.

Michael makes his first appearance in court, accompanied by Mordecai as his lawyer. Two lawyers from Drake & Sweeney are there, including Donald Rafter, who was another of the DeVon Hardy hostages. Michael believes they have chosen Rafter because he “[is] the smartest and meanest of all litigators” and they want to intimidate him (310).

Michael and Mordecai meet with Judge Kisner in his chambers. Kisner explains that if Michael returns the file, he will knock the charge down to a misdemeanor and could “sweep it under the rug with a bit of paperwork” if Michael would agree not to use any of its information (311). If he does not return the file, his grand larceny charge remains active, he goes to trial, and, if convicted, Kisner will sentence him. He could also lose his law license. Kisner gives them two weeks to make a decision, and Mordecai informs Michael that Kisner is a “hard-ass” and that they should not make a hasty decision (313).