Key Insights & Memorable Quotes
Below are the most popular and impactful highlights and quotes from The Firm:
“Any lawyer worth his salt knew the first offer had to be rejected.”
“I've loved you all my life. Even before we met. Part of it wasn't even you. It was just a promise of you.”
“[you’ll acquire] A certain amount of cynicism. This business works on you. When you were in law school you had some noble idea what a lawyer should be. A champion of individual rights; a defender of the Constitution; a guardian of the oppressed; an advocate for your client’s principles. Then after you practice for six months you realize you were nothing but hired guns. Mouthpieces for sale to the highest bidder, available to anybody, any crook, any sleazebag with enough money to pay your outrageous fees. Nothing shocks you. It’s supposed to be an honorable profession, but you’ll meet so many crooked lawyers you’ll want to quit and find an honest job. Yeah Mitch, you’ll get cynical. And it’s sad, really.”
“I'm being followed so much I'm causing traffic jams.”
“if you don’t think about death, you don’t appreciate life.”
“love yourself,.,.,.,for the sake of your better future”
“You know, I have a very bad reputation.”
“I’m in shock now. I’m not believing this, Mitch. This is like a bad dream, only much worse.” “And this is only the beginning.”
“It was the eyes, the cold black eyes with layers of black wrinkles around them. Great eyes. Unforgettable eyes. His hair was white and thin on top with thickets around the ears, and the whiteness contrasted sharply with the rest of his face. When he spoke, the eyes narrowed and the black pupils glowed fiercely. Sinister eyes. Knowing eyes.”
“said.”
“Her thoughts could not escape the present.”
“They were lawyers, trained to argue five sides of every issue.”
“They left Chickasaw Gardens and drove west with the traffic toward downtown, into the fading sun. They held hands, but said little. Mitch opened the sunroof and rolled down the windows. Abby picked through a box of old cassettes and found Springsteen. The stereo worked fine. “Hungry Heart” blew from the windows as the little shiny roadster made its way toward the river. The warm, sticky, humid Memphis summer air settled in with the dark. Softball fields came to life as teams of fat men with tight polyester pants and lime-green and fluorescent-yellow shirts laid chalk lines”
“¿Qué más adquiriré? —Cierta dosis de cinismo —respondió Lamar, después de sacudir los cubitos de hielo y reflexionar unos instantes—. La profesión te va amoldando. En la facultad de derecho tenías una noble idea sobre la función del abogado, como paladín de los derechos individuales, defensor de la Constitución, protector del oprimido, sostenedor de los principios del cliente... Pero después de seis meses de práctica te das cuenta de que no somos más que mercenarios. Portavoces de alquiler al mejor postor, a disposición de todo el mundo, de cualquier estafador, cualquier tramposo con suficiente dinero para pagar nuestras desorbitadas tarifas. Nada te conmueve. Se supone que la nuestra es una profesión honorable, pero conocerás a tantos abogados corruptos que llegarás a sentir deseos de abandonarla para buscar un trabajo honrado. Sí, Mitch, te convertirás en un cínico. Y es realmente triste.”
“Empezarás trabajando mucho y a todas horas, pero no podrás hacerlo eternamente. De modo que comenzarás a descubrir atajos. Créeme, Mitch, cuando lleves un año con nosotros sabrás cómo trabajar diez horas y facturar el doble. Es una especie de sexto sentido que adquirimos los abogados. —”
“Parece inmoral. —También lo es el acoso por parte de los abogados del demandante. No es ético que el defensor de un narcotraficante acepte su dinero, cuando existen buenas razones para suponer que no se trata de dinero honrado. Hay muchas cosas inmorales. ¿Qué me dices del médico que recibe a cien pacientes de la seguridad social en un solo día? Algunas de las personas más inmorales que he conocido han sido mis propios clientes. No es difícil hinchar una cuenta cuando el cliente es un multimillonario que quiere estafar al gobierno y pretende que tú se lo soluciones dentro de la legalidad. Todos lo hacemos.”
“La mayoría de los buenos abogados pueden trabajar de ocho a nueve horas diarias y facturar doce. Lo llaman rellenar. No es demasiado honrado de cara al cliente, pero todo el mundo lo hace. Las grandes empresas han crecido gracias a las cuentas de relleno. Son las reglas del juego.”
“Như được hẹn trước, âm nhạc chợt dừng lại, những người đi dạo trên bãi biển chợt đóng băng và ngước nhìn, tiếng ồn tại Rumheads chợt lắng đọng khi mọi cặp mắt xoay chuyển để chiêm ngưỡng cảnh mặt trời đang tiếp nước. Những đám mây xám trắng rơi rớt của cơn bão hạ thấp dần ở đường chân trời rồi chìm xuống cùng vầng dương. Chúng từ từ làm xoay chuyển những sắc cam, vàng và đỏ, thoạt tiên chuyển thành màu xanh xám, rồi bất chợt là những tông tươi sáng. Trong một khoảnh khắc ngắn, bầu trời là một tấm vải bạt mà mặt trời vấy lên đó những sắc màu tuyệt mỹ bằng những nét mạnh bạo. Rồi quả cầu màu cam sáng chạm mặt nước và, chỉ trong tích tắc, nó biến mất. Những đám mây trở lại với màu đen và tản mát dần. Đó là khung cảnh mặt trời lặn ở Cayman.”
“The bar exam was a nuisance, an ordeal that must be endured, a rite of passage,”
“DeVasher, head of security, occupied the largest of the small, plain offices.”
“The human body was not meant for such abuse. After about six months they lost steam. They would cut back to fifteen hours a day, six days a week.”
“For years he had led the prayer each Sunday at the First Methodist Church in Danesboro, and the other six days he had tirelessly practiced greed and manipulation".”
“What if they find the car?” “They’ll find it, and they’ll throw a blanket over Panama City Beach. You’ve got to be careful. After dark, try to sneak into a drugstore and buy some hair dye. Cut your hair extremely short and dye it blond.” “Blond!” “Or red. I don’t give a damn.”
“He nodded at the big leather bags. “What’s in there?” “Papers.” “Papers?” “Papers.” “What kind of papers?” Toilet paper, she thought. I spend my vacations traveling the Caribbean collecting toilet paper. “Legal documents, crap like that. I’m a lawyer.”
“They moved closer together, and his hand was suddenly between her knees. His elbow nestled next to her left breast, and he smiled. She smiled. This was not altogether unpleasant, she thought, but there was business at hand. The”
“You’ve been hurt by every person you ever cared for, except Abby. You raised yourself, and in doing so became self-reliant and independent. You don’t need the firm. You can leave it. You’re hardened and calloused beyond your years. And you’re smart enough to pull it off, Mitch. You won’t get caught. That’s why we picked you.”
“I’m happy to see you’ve found a church home, Abby,” her father said piously. For years he had led the prayer each Sunday at the First Methodist Church in Danesboro, and the other six days he had tirelessly practiced greed and manipulation. He had also steadily but discreetly pursued whiskey and women. An”
“How do you like your coffee?” “Black, but I’ll fix it myself.” “I don’t mind fixing your coffee for you. It’s part of the job.” “I’ll fix it myself.” “All the secretaries do it.” “If you ever touch my coffee, I’ll see to it that you’re sent to the mail room to lick stamps.” “We have an automated licker. Do they lick stamps on Wall Street?” “It was a figure of speech.”
“He was headed for Wall Street and had been sidetracked by the money. Only the money.”
“Capps earned over nine million last year and paid a pittance in taxes.”
