The Firm, a novel by John Grisham: Summary

John Grisham is an American bestselling author and well-known for legal thriller works. The Firm has been in movie in 1993 starring by Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman. The 490-page book was printed in 2007 and the originally was published in 1991. I have got familiar with Mr. Grisham’s works since first year in college. A Time to Kill, the Last Juror, the Testament, the Rainmaker, the Chamber, and Innocent (based on true story). One of the most borrowed novels from the library at that time. It’s really entertaining, comprehensive, and fine writing. A good memory of cherry blossom in Hiroshima and Mihara stays with this book.

The Firm, a novel by John Grisham: Summary

The story follows Mitchell Y. McDeere, a new recruited lawyer who has the brains, the ambition, and the good looks. His dream comes true. A twenty –five man from a poor family turns to be a rich young lawyer. His father was killed in the coal mines when he was seven years old. His mother remarried and lives in Florida. He had two brothers. Rusty was killed in Vietnam. He has another brother Ray. He was top five in class and Harvard selected him. His wife, Abby, has a degree in elementary education. For the past three years she taught at a private kindergarten.

The small firm in Memphis who hired only forty one lawyers, it takes only rich clients- corporations, banks and wealthy people who pay healthy fees and never complain. Bendini, Lambert & Locke had developed in a specialty in international taxation. The firm gives him a base eight thousand the first year, plus bonuses, a new BMW, and a low-interest mortgage. The small firm has no black, no unmarried man, and no female lawyer.

Two lawyers, Joe Hodge and Marty Kozinski were killed in Cayman Island just few days after Mitch worked in Bendini Building. Special agent FBI, Wayne Tarrance warns Mitch not to trust anyone. The deaths of Kozinki and Hodge were not accidents. But Oliver Lambert, a senior partner, reminds him to stay away from that agent.

The lone certificate on his bare walls recognized him for thirty years of dedicated service as a detective with New Orleans Police Department. DeVasher, head of security, has controlled all the lawyer’s activities from monitors at fifth floor in Bendini building. As usual, Mitch house, bedroom, the limo, and the phone were wired by the firm. He even found  Mitch visited his brother Ray McDeere at a State Prison.

Convicted of second-degree murder eight years ago and sentenced to fifteen years with no parole. A bunch drunks in a bar fighting over a woman. The victim was hit twice with his fists and cracked the skull. He is thirty-one years old, no family, and served three years in the Army. Mitch bought a houseful. The lawn was thick, green and neatly trimmed. Ray said that his kid brother would be the first McDeere in a hundred years to own real estate

Ray gave him a name, an ex-cellmate that could help him. Eddie Lomax was a cop for nine years, until he got up sent up for rapist. They almost kill him in prison when they found out he was a cop. Ray saved him. Lomax owed him his life. He has been out and ran private investigator. His office was in the building that was in the low-rent section of downtown. The door upstairs advertised investigations of all types- divorces, accidents, missing relatives, and surveillance.

Mitch hired Lomax investigating for three death lawyers: Robert Lamm was killed in 1970 in haunting accident- Alice Knauss died in 1977 in a car wreck – John Mickel committed suicide in 1984. His body was found in his office and currently Mitch’s office. The fourth one was Wayne Tarrance, the man he met at a bar who admitted as a FBI agent.

It seems odd receiving marital advice from a man who had left his wife. The firm indicates Mitch in marital problem. Avery and Mitch were out of the way and left for Grand Cayman on behalf of clients. Royce McKnight had approved the trip. He found himself broke the unwritten rules and it was a woman. Oliver Lambert, Lamar Quin, Royce McKnight, and gang were impressed upon him repeatedly that the firm frowned on divorce, women, booze, drugs, everything but hard work and money.

He investigated Barry Abanks, the owner of Abanks Dive Lodge. According to the paper, the dive guide was Philip Abanks, son of Barry Abanks. A mysterious explosion killed the two lawyers and the dive guide. Wayne Tarrance approached Mitch and warned him three things: number one- not to trust anyone, number two- utter word carefully- house and car were bug, and number three- calling Tarrance only from a pay phone.

Lomax studied all the tree of the dead lawyers were suspicious. Robert Lamm was the deer hunter. They ruled out suicide, but there was simply no evidence to begin investigation. He was murdered and autopsy showed the entry at the base of the skull and an exit would that removed most of his face. Suicide would have been impossible. A real touching letter said goodbye to the kids and his mother beside Mickel’s body was suspicious. It was typed and he had a terrible handwriting. He never bought a gun in his life.

Police report said Alice Knauss was hit by a car but oddly enough, no such driver was ever found. They ran the plates and found that the truck had been stolen three days earlier. No fingerprints or nothing. Tarrance was one of best agents; transferred from New York about two years ago. Lomax reminded Mitch people in the firm were bad and dangerous guys. Mitch told his wife Abby everything including the three dead lawyers, agent Tarrance, and the wired phones.

Tammy Hemphill, Lomax’s secretary, got information from her friend in Homicide. Eddie Lomax got hit three times in the back of the head. And they don’t have a clue and it was a very clean and professional job. Now she and Micth cooperated. Director FBI F. Denton Voyles met Mitch personally. Director described the law firm of Bendini. Lambert and Locke was owned by the Morolto crime family in Chicago- the mafia and the mob. Twenty-five percent of their clients are legitimate.

They bring new rookie, throw money at him, buy the BMW, the house, wine and dine go to Cayman island. They dropped the bomb on Kozinski after he had been seven years there. Hodge and Kozinski made the fatal decision to get out. So after they got killed, FBI indicted every significant member of Morolto family. There could be over five hundred indictments; tax evasion, laundering, racketeering. Nobody would suspect a small firm in Memphis.

Bendini, a very good lawyer, was son-in-law of Morolto and he was sent to Memphis to set up a shop. Oliver Lambert was perfect senior partner, a cold-blooded murderer. He started young, bright, and ambitious. If he didn’t cooperate, they would find him floating somewhere. Each year or so they recruit the bright young law student from poor background, no family money, with a wife who wants babies, and they throw money at him and sign him up.

Nathan Locked grew up from a poor kid in Chicago and was running errands for old man Morolto by the time he was ten. Scratched his way through law school, and the old man sent him work with Anthony Bendini. Morolto had two sons, Mickey the Mouth and Joey the Priest. Mickey lived in Las Vegas and has limited role in the family business. Joey was the boss. Director wanted the Morolto family.

Mitch gave documents to indict every member of the firm and most of the top Morolto people. Tarrance agreed to give him a lot of money and released Ray McDeere from jail. Since the feds had no authority to interfere with state prison, they arranged Ray’s escaping from jail. Lou DeVasser has blackmailed Mitch with a photograph. It was him and a girl on a beach in Cayman Island. DeVasher threatened him not to contact the feds. The trouble lived Mitch and Abby McDeere proceeded quietly without interference from Wayne Tarrance or any of his confederates. The routines returned.

Lazarov was Morolto’s man. His little source was telling him that there was some kind of secret meeting involving McDeere and some FBI agents. Tammy was in undercover as a prostitute in Cayman Island to steel some documents from Avery Tolleson and Abby was in the mission too. The firm only knew Abby went home to her mother who got lung cancer. Morolto already cracked Mitch and came after him and his wife. If DeVasher caught him he was dead.

Lazarov studied Mitch, Ray and Abby in Panama City Beach. Mitch has familiar with that place, so he figured with all cheap motels on the beach. For a man on the run, he’s carrying too much baggage, like a brother who everybody wanted and a wife. Lazarov had instructed his troops to enter from the beach side and pretended to be cops.  The eyes, noses, and cheekbones are similar after careful analysis, but nothing else. The documents were in the names of Lee Stevens, Rachel James, and Sam Fortune.

The three of them sailed to Cuba, the Caribbean, and Jamaica. They started new life in Little Cayman. Mitch shared the money to Abby’s parents and Tammy. The headlines told of the mass indicting of the Bendini law firm. The paper listed the names of every Bendini lawyer indicted and there was no joy in seeing their names.

Sekapur Sirih

John Grisham adalah penulis novel terlaris dan ternama berkebangsaan Amerika. Dia adalah lulusan fakultas hukum sehingga hampir seluruh novelnya berkaitan dengan tema hukum. Novel-novelnya telah terjual 250 juta kopi secara internasional. Ini adalah novel ke duanya setelah novel terlaris A Time to Kill, sebagian besar karyanya masuk dalam deretan novel terlaris dan beberapa di antaranya telah difilmkan seperti The Firm, The Last Juror, The Rain Maker dan karya lainnya.

Tentu saja diperankan bintang-bintang kenamaan. The Firm juga telah diangkat dalam film dengan judul yang sama pada tahun 1993 dibintangi Tom Cruise dan Gene Hackman. Tahun pertama masa bangku kuliah, saya cukup akrab dengan karya-karya John Grisham. Kala itu hari-hari  senggang diisi dengan buku-bukunya dan karyanya merupakan salah satu yang paling dipinjam di perpustakaan ketika itu, jadi harus bersabar untuk mendapatkannya.

The Firm (Firma) karya yang dikemas dalam 490 halaman dan terbitan pertamanya pada tahun 1991. Buku ini adalah edisi tahun 2007, ketika melihat buku ini terpajang dalam sebuah toko buku di Ube, tangan pun segera membawanya ke kasir. Tercetak memori indah pada buku ini, menemani menikmati mekarnya bunga sakura di sepanjang perjalanan saat berlibur ke kota Hiroshima dan Mihara. Cuaca lembut di pipi dan sedikit dingin kedua kota itu. Tepat berjejer dengan stasiun Mihara, sebuah warung makan udon menambahkan  kenangan akan lezatnya udon dan salah satu hidangan terlezat di lidah sepanjang masa.

Seperti biasa, umumnya novel Grisham ditulis mengalir dalam menggambarkan kehidupan sosok dan percakapan yang ringan dan mudah dimengerti dan kaya dengan kata benda, ikatan struktur cerita dan kekuatan plot. Pada halaman 205 disebut kata Indonesia, “Mitch tengah sibuk mendalami perjanjian minyak dan gas di Indonesia.” Bila Anda ingin belajar bahasa Inggris lewat novel maka buku ini layak menjadi acuan.

Terjemahan dalam Bahasa Indonesia: the Firm (Firma), John Grisham

Cerita bertumpu pada kehidupan tokoh Mitchell Y. McDeere seorang pengacara muda yang baru saja lulus. Dia baru saja diwawancarai oleh tim sebuah firma pada sebuah hotel mewah. Lelaki berusia dua puluh lima tahun itu memiliki kecerdasan, ambisi tinggi, dan penampilan menarik. Pengacara muda yang masuk dalam lulusan terbaik dari Harvard. Ayahnya terbunuh saat bekerja pada sebuah tambang ketika dia berumur tujuh tahun. Ibunya menikah lagi dan tinggal di kota lain. Kakak lelakinya bernama Rusty telah meninggal dalam perang Vietnam. Dia memiliki satu kakak lelaki lainnya bernama Ray. Istrinya Abby merupakan lulusan sarjana pendidikan untuk sekolah dasar. Telah mengajar tiga tahun pada sebuah taman kanak-kanak.

Oliver Lambert, Royce McKnight, Lamar Quin, dan anggota lain menawarkan gaji besar, mobil baru BMW, dan pinjaman lunak rumah mewah. McDeere pun bergabung dengan firma Bendini, Lambert & Locke. Hidup baru dengan rumah besar dan hidup mewah di antara empat puluh pengacara lainnya. Oliver lambert, senior partner dari firma itu menjelaskan banyak aturan tidak tertulis yang harus dipatuhi termasuk tidak ada boleh bermain wanita, perceraian, dan narkotik. Semua pengacara berkulit putih, trauma dengan pengacara wanita, dan pria menikah.

Micth dan Abby MCdeere sangat menikmati kehidupan baru mereka. Dari apartmen sempit di kota besar dan kini menempati rumah besar, nyaman, dan berumput hijau di kota kecil Memphis. Hanya dalam beberapa hari bekerja, dua rekan kerja mereka terbunuh dalam sebuah boat ketika berdiving di Cayman island. Seseorang yang mengaku agen FBI bernama Tarrance mendekatinya dan memperingatkan kematian kedua temannya tidak wajar. Mitch pun memberitahu hal ini pada Lambert. Mereka meyakinkan Micth untuk menjauhi Tarrance.

Lou DeVasher, kepala security, adalah mantan detektif dari kepolisian yang berdinas selama tiga puluh tahun. Kini hidupnya menempati sebuah ruangan khusus di lantai lima gedung Bendini. Dengan beberapa layar monitor dia bisa mengamati semua gerak-gerik para pengacaranya dari kamar tidur, mobil, telepon, dan hal lainnya. Tanpa sepengetahuan Mitch dia telah disadap. Bahkan keberadaan kakak lelakinya di sebuah penjara pun terlacak.

Ray McDeere lelaki berumur tiga puluh satu tahun, tidak menikah, telah di penjara dengan tuduhan pembunuhan. Perkelahian di bar karena membela seorang wanita membuatnya memukul korban hingga mati. Dia memiliki teman bernama Eddie Lomax, seorang mantan polisi dengan tuduhan memerkosa. Polisi sangatlah tidak aman di penjara dan Ray menyelamatkan nyawa mantan polisi itu. Dia pun telah bebas dari penjara. Membuka sebuah usaha detektif swasta menangani pencarian orang hilang, pengintaian perceraian, dan masalah lainnya.

Wayne Tarrance kembali mendekati Mitch dan menawarkan kerjasama membantu FBI. Mitch pun curiga dengan kematian dua rekan kerjanya dia membayar Lomax untuk menyelidikinya. Abby sudah mulai bosan menunggunya Mitch yang terlalu sibuk dalam pekerjaannya. Avery Tolleson seniornya mengajaknya dalam perjalanan dinas di pulau Cayman. Dia menyempatkan diri menyelidiki kematian dua rekannya itu pada Barry Abanks yakni ayah dari pemandu dive yang turut terbunuh. Dia pun mendapatkan informasi dan kelak bekerja sama dengan pengusaha diving itu.

Lomax melaporkan hasil penyelidikannya akan tiga pengacara yang terbunuh beberapa tahun silam, pada akhir tujuh puluhan dan tahun delapan puluhan. Ketiganya mati secara mencurigakan dan bukan kecelakaan. Ia mendapati bahwa Tarrance adalah agen hebat FBI dari New York dan baru dua tahun bertugas di Memphis. Lomax pun mengingatkan Mitch untuk lebih berhati-hati dengan firma itu. DeVasher dan Lambert semakin kuatir akan gerakan Mitch. DeVasher, kepala sekuriti itu mengancamnya dengan sebuah foto Mitch dengan seorang wanita di pantai Cayman.

Lazarov, anak buah kepercayaan Morolto mendapat bocoran informasi dari FBI jikalau McDeere berhubungan dengan pihak federal. Semula Lambert dan timnya sulit memercayainya namun dugaan Lazarov semakin diperkuat dengan bukti. F. Denton Voyles, ketua FBI bertemu langsung dengan Mitch. Sang ketua menjelaskan bahwa firma itu adalah milik mafia Morolto, sebuah perusahaan berbahaya. Mereka hanya merekrut para pengacara muda, cerdas, ambisi, menarik, dan  dari keluarga yang kurang mampu. Mereka digaji tinggi, BMW baru, dan pinjaman lunak rumah mewah.

Voyles pun menceritakan bahwa terbunuhnya dua temannya baru-baru ini bukan karena kecelakaan tapi dibom, keduanya sangat ceroboh ingin keluar perusahaan. Memang dua puluh lima persen klien dari firma itu benar adalah legal tapi di luar itu mereka melakukan pencucian uang, penggelapan pajak, dan dengan mudah menghilangkan nyawa. Pada awalnya para pengacara di kantor itu adalah orang terbaik dari Harvard dan baik seperti Mitch. Semakin lama bekerja di firma itu maka mereka akan menjadi jahat. Sekali keluar maka akan mati dengan tragis atas nama kecelakaan seperti pengacara terbunuh pendahulunya.

Negara telah dirugikan jutaan dolar. Telah banyak transaksi ilegal. Voyles menawarkan kerjasama dengannya dan menawarkan perlindungan namun dia masih memberi ruang bagi Mitch untuk mempertimbangkannya terlebih dahulu. Tarrance pun menawarkan uang dalam jumlah besar, perlindungan, dan setuju atas permintaan Mitch agar membebaskan kakaknya dari penjara. Karena federal tidak memiliki otoritas dengan penjara lokal maka pelarian akan diatur untuk membawa Ray.

Istri Mitch, Abby, sangat terkaget dengan ceritanya tentang firma dan detektif FBI. Mereka lebih berhati-hati karena semuanya disadap. Perusahaan hanya mengetahui Abby pun pulang ke rumah orang tuanya, merawat ibunya yang tengah sakit kanker padahal dia juga terlibat dalam misi FBI.

Tammy Hemphill, mantan sekeretaris Eddie Lomax, menghubungi Mitch sejak Lomax terbunuh dan keduanya pun kerjasama. Mitch merancang sebuah rencana untuk mencuri dokumen dari firma atas bantuan Tammy dan Abby. Upaya pencurian dokumen penting berhasil yang kelak menjatuhkan operasi ilegal firma dan bisnis gelap mafia Morolto berhasil dan uang pun ditransfer dalam jumlah besar dalam rekening Cayman Island pihak Mitch. Satu juta dolar dia kirimkan kepada mertuanya untuk membantu pengobatannya dan sebagian untuk Tammy.

Informasi penghianatan Mitch pun semakin terdengar kepada Joey Morolto, pemilik firm. Lazarov mengejar Mitch dan mendeteksi mereka bertiga berada di Panama City Beach. Dengan segala upaya pasukan Lazarov dalam penyamaran sebagai polisi mencari ketiganya yakni Mitch, kakaknya Ray, dan Abby. Ray sendiri tercatat sebagai buron. Walau mereka berusaha berpenampilan baru namun garis pipi dan hidung mereka masih terlihat bila diamati. Tiga paspor baru dengan identitas baru dikirimkan oleh Tammy Hemphill.

Mitch masih menyimpan sejumlah uang besar dari FBI di rekening Cayman Island. Mereka pun berhasil berlayar ke Kuba, Jamaika, dan Karibia. Untuk menghindari pengejaran FBI dan mafia Morolto, Mitch pun memilih sebuah pulau kecil, Little Cayman, dan memulai hidup baru di sana. Berita di surat kabar menyebut kejahatan pajak dalam firma Bendini dan mafia Morolto terkuak dan beberapa nama telah ditangkap. Wajah Mitch sedih membaca nama-nama rekan kerjanya.