The King Of Torts is a John Grisham novel that features a young and ambitious lawyer who starts out with good intentions before he is tempted by fame and wealth.
Clay Carter works as a litigator in the Office of the Public Defender. It is a job with no prospects for growth and he is growing tired of it, hungry to explore new pastures.
Clay is assigned to defend a man named Tequila Wilson in what he believes to be a routine drug-related murder case that is all too common on the streets of Washington DC. However, as he digs deeper, he discovers a huge case of malpractice by a drug company.
This large pharmaceutical company had been using people for a drug experiment without their knowledge. While the drug proved effective in most cases, in a few people like Tequila Wilson, it incited violence. A man named Max Pace approaches Clay with an offer from the drug company to settle the matter out of court.
Clay, who is a principled young man, is tempted by the huge amounts involved in the settlements and decides that this is his chance to pull himself out of the rut. He becomes a tort lawyer and is highly successful in suing big companies and getting large settlements, a sizeable chunk of which goes into his own pockets.
Clay soon becomes The King of Torts and lives a high-flying lifestyle. He has made a lot of enemies who are waiting for an opportunity to bring him down. Just when he thinks that he has finally realised his ambitions of fame and riches, Clay’s world comes crashing down around him.
