Customer Reviews

All the Justice Money Can Buy: Corporate Greed on Trial

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This book is an excellent read. Written in clean, fresh prose, it compellingly tells its disturbing tale in the form of a real-life courtroom drama. I read it within 24 hours--couldn't put it down. Merck's convoluted attempts to deny culpability for the Vioxx-heart attack connection are laid out plainly and clearly. In many ways, the book gets to the heart of one of the many flaws in our health-care system: When money talks, seemingly decent people will shut their eyes and ears. It also paints a blatant picture of how individual human beings can become almost irrelevant to their own story, once the wheels of "justice" start rolling. It provides a fascinating, complex characterization of the lead prosecutor, as well as thoughtful descriptions of those around him. Throughout it, the author's charming but unobtrusive voice renders the events as immediately as if she were sitting ringside at a championship fight. Highly recommended.

This is the true story of a legal battle (the trial itself took 7 weeks) between a respected corporation (Merck) and a man man consider the best trial lawyer (Mark Lanier) over whether Merck had adequately warned doctors and patients about heart attack risks associated with its Vioxx painkiller. The story begins by relating how Vioxx allegedly injured two individuals and killed a third, how those initially involved sought legal help, and then thousands of similar cases were consolidated from among the almost 20 million that had used it before Merck pulled the drug from the market. (A senior FDA scientist estimated Vioxx caused 88,000 - 140,000 serious cases, with almost half fatal.)

Merck created a $675 million legal fund in 2004, and by the end of 2006 had spent all of that plus an additional $110 million. By the end of 2006 only 13 cases had been tried (first began in 2000), with Merck winning eight, two ending in mistrials, and the plaintiffs winning three. Merck then appealed all the cases it lost, and attempted to consolidate the remaining cases in federal court - easier to defend. Plaintiffs, however, managed to consolidate the majority of cases into a N.J. state court trial. That trial is the focus of the book.

Lead attorney Lanier recognized he had to explain the science involved in simple terms, and that doing so required 25 - 30 such 'mini-lessons.' Lanier had made himself a student of such teaching, and believed only three such concepts/day could be absorbed and retained by jurors. (The federal trials were limited to three weeks - a length Lanier believed was insufficient for the complexity involved and teaching required.) Lanier's exhaustive preparations included surveying the Atlantic City juror pool to develop a 170-item jury questionnaire to help in jury selection, requesting and reviewing some million pages of internal Merck documents, assembling a mock jury that was questioned each day to determine reactions, reviewing past testimony of the major witnesses, and considerable effort devoted to how he would visualize his story using PowerPoint and displays. Author Prakash also relates the gamesmanship underlying legal objections during the trial, and why 'top of the class' lawyers are not necessarily best in the courtroom (written skills dominate class rankings, oral skills in the courtroom).

Ultimately most of the plaintiffs won, and Merck paid out $4.85 billion that was allocated among 50,000 claimants. Typical individual recoveries ranged from $100,000 to $375,000, less about half for legal expenses and fees.

Bottom-Line: Reading "All the Justice Money Can Buy" was inspiring - learning the skills and effort put into the case by Mark Lanier and his associates. The book was also disillusioning - learning how Merck had deliberately put patient safety aside to maximize earnings, and then tried throughout the trial to cover this up.

In "All the Justice Money Can Buy: Corporate Greed on Trial," author Snigdha Prakash provides a unique view behind the scenes as the plaintiffs' legal team prepares and goes to battle. It is an engaging and sometimes humorous story of court room theatrics with a significant and painful dose of reality. The book is provocative and will provide book clubs and discussion groups a great deal to talk about. Five stars!

I read this book in one fell swoop on a train and came away with a deeper understanding of the
pharmaceutical industry and tort litigation plus got lost in the book, forgetting where I was! Very well researched and written, it is a rare instance of a journalist embedding with a legal team.

The truest thing I can say about this book is that even if you don't care about big drug companies putting profit over human life, or the arrogance and ultimately self-serving pyrotechnics of the country's best personal injury lawyers, the clash between the two portrayed in All the Justice Money Can Buy is a page-turner. Written with style and grace from an inside perspective (the author was invited to embed with the plaintiffs' lawyers), the book unfolds like a legal thriller, and the real-life characters prove the adage that truth is often stranger, and more fascinating, than fiction.

This may be the first book that explores the world of drug safety litigation with great detail. The author presents a riveting account of how a blockbuster drug (rofecoxib or Vioxx) from Merck, marketed as breakthrough anti-inflammatory drug went sour when reports of heart attacks related to the drug started to pile up. The author takes the reader on a journey of what it takes to win against a giant that has the best lawyers in the country and millions of dollars in its disposal and will stop at nothing to win. The book is also an eye opener on the American legal system at least in the area of drug safety litigation. It is indeed a great read.
Mahyar Etminan, University of British Columbia

I almost never read non-fiction, but this book may have me turning a corner. It does a great job of moving back and forth between documentary style and behind-the-scenes, personal insight and humor. When it's over, readers really feel they "know" the primary characters involved in the drama. Great first book by the author!

It's so rare to see this level of access granted to a journalist in multi million-dollar litigation this contentious. And even rarer to get someone as talented as Prakash to actually write the story. So beautifully reported: fantastic color and amazing research into an era of irresponsible phrarma blitz marketing that I'm sure Merck would rather forget. I'm glad that Prakash wrote this to remind us all.

There are not many books that keep me up late in the night reading. This was one of them. I remember NPR's coverage of Vioxx, and, I am interested in the stories behind the published journal articles that end up in the news. This book also included riveting stories of a courtroom trial. I found some interactions between attorneys laugh-out-loud funny. It is a fast read. If you read it, you'll love it. Honest.

It reminds me of a John Grisham crossed with A Civil Action. And it's all true. That is the craziest part of it all.

"All the Justice Money can buy:Corporate Greed on Trial" is a gripping and compelling account of how the system works (or doesn't). The author's unique access to the major characters in the drama give her a deep insight which she shares seamlessly. Snigdha Prakash has certainly made her mark with her first book, which is a tour de force, and I look forward to reading whatever else she will write.