Book Review

BOOK REVIEW: Filthy Rich Lawyers:

Book One: The Education of Ryan Coleman –It’s not a novel. It’s a lifestyle.

by Brian Felgoise and David Tabatsky

Review By Jules Mermelstein, Esq., author of Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue

This novel, which I will call Filthy Rich Lawyers for short, has been described as a satire on the field of class action lawsuits, and particularly, the attorneys and judges involved in those suits. It certainly begins that way but the satire continues to include all judges, the judicial system, the government, the pursuit of what some call “success,” extravagant wealth, the NFL, and other societal issues. It gradually also turns into a thriller.

Brian Felgoise, the co-author who is an attorney with experience in various areas of the law, including class actions, has his law office in our county, located in Jenkintown. He also wrote about what his inspiration was to create this novel, which you can read at https://www.filthyrichlawyers.com/ home/1dlm7dymbo7ydf8fyyv9n0nx3jnb1h (or find it on the filthyrichlawyers.com website if you don’t want to copy the URL).

Ryan Coleman, who Felgoise admits is modeled loosely on himself, is a young attorney trying to succeed. In his mind success includes earning a great deal of money while helping people. When he comes to the attention of an established class action attorney who takes him under his wing, he has to wrestle between the ideas expressed by this attorney, and others this attorney introduces him to, and his conscience, which is firmly ensconced in his head in the voice of his mother.

In addition to the class action field and what actually constitutes “success,” this novel touches on issues of drug use, sex work, death by suicide, and the job of “fixer.”

Some quotes that bite, and some just humorous, from this novel:

Smalley was the quintessential example of a lawyer who became filthy rich by exploiting corporate greed and the judicial system for his own best interests, without really affecting any significant change or improving the problem at the center of the action.

Ryan Coleman, in a struggle between the desire for financial success and his conscience, asks Smalley a question:

“So, Bob, what’s your view of being a class action lawyer where, you know, lawyers make all of the money, and the

Class Members get next to nothing?” . . .

“Coleman, listen to me. I do not give a shit about Class

Members. You hear me? I am only concerned with the riches that I develop from the practice of law. Boom! That’s it.”

Ryan Coleman eventually becomes a “fixer” for a class action attorney who is even richer than Smalley. He continues to wrestle with his conscience while doing so.

Anyway, while I was plotting a crime in one half of my brain,

I was trying to legitimize my actions in the other half, as if I had a conscience or something.

This is an excellent read that, through satire and humor, leads the reader to consider more serious issues involved in our various power systems. I strongly recommend this novel, which ends quite surprisingly.

When will you find out the ending? I will answer that with a phrase that occurs throughout the book: “In due time.”