Customer Reviews

Mouthpiece: A Life in -- and Sometimes Just Outside -- the Law

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I just got this book and I have to say, it's brilliantly written. This is really man-lit posing as law-lit. The arc of the book is as much about becoming a man as it is about becoming a lawyer. Hayes's life, of course is a lot of fun---what hardscrabble Irish kid wouldn't like fame, fortune and supermodels after all? But well beyond the material, it is the taut muscular writing and hilarious turns of phrase that transform the book from the self-important claptrap it might have been into the engaging parable of manhood it actually is. From what I can tell, it's Lehman as much as Hayes that deserves the kudos here. A great book, a great read and a hell of a lot of fun.

Yale University's alumni magazine once published a list of the ten greatest Yale graduates who never were, literary characters who claimed a Yale degree among their many imaginary distinctions. Sherman McCoy, the protagonist of Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities" featured high on the list. But Tommy Killian, his tough-as-nails, take-no-prisoners lawyer did not. After reading "Mouthpiece" I know why.

It's because the real life of Edward Hayes, the inspiration for Killian, is far more interesting than fiction. Reading through his memoirs, you quickly realize: no, kids, you really can't make this s**t up.

Hayes' writing style is quick, crisp and surprising, leaving you feeling as though you're reading a boxer's punches put to paper. And the experiences he recounts, both professional and personal, will leave you breathless. Whether prosecuting low-lives out of Fort Apache or defending them out of his midtown office, partying hard or becoming a family man, Hayes grabs your attention and will not let go.

"Mouthpiece" also offers instructive and cautionary insights to the young attorney, none of which you'll learn in law school and all of which Hayes learned on the job, representing the likes of Daniel Libeskind, the Estate of Andy Warhol, Anna Wintour, P. Diddy (or is it just Diddy now?), and a cross section of NYC's highbrows and low-lifes and low-life highbrows. What's more, he did it all while impeccably dressed. In fact, I dare you to find another memoir that includes as ravishing a photo spread of the author's custom-made clothing and shoes.

This is compulsive reading, plain and simple. A memoir written in undiluted adrenaline. So for chrissakes, put away that copy of "The Da Vinci Code". Counselor Hayes is taking the floor.

Leave it to Ed Hayes to make a probate dispute unfold like a murder mystery. But he does that, and much more.

This is the story of a fascinating life, well told. And told warts and all. I was slightly shocked to read in Tom Wolfe's preface that this book contained things that Ed had never told his friend of some 20 years. But after reading the book, I can understand it. Mouthpiece is brutally honest in a way that most people don't even wish to be with themselves, much less the world at large.

This is also a great account of growing up and thriving in New York City. The literature on the city is vast, much of it informative, but a great deal too sentimental to be true or useful. Mouthpiece captures the city as it is -- from the working class neighborhoods in Queens to the tony precincts of the Upper East side; from the harsh world of the Lower Manhattan and South Bronx jails and courthouses to the wood-paneled halls of the great Midtown law firms. New York is an engine whose fuel is ambition. Mouthpiece -- and the life it recounts -- brings that all to life in a way that few books, or few authors, could. If you want to understand how New York really works, Mouthpiece is almost an instruction manual. A very, very entertaining and riveting instruction manual.

Do you remember Bonfire of the Vanities, the late-'80s mega-bestseller by Tom Wolfe? In that novel, a Wall Street trader --- a 'Master of the Universe' --- has a car accident in the Bronx. And his life starts going radically...wrong. Who can save him? Tommy Killian.

Tommy Killian. The defense lawyer. As Irish as a potato. But dressed like a British gent. Custom-tailored suit. Custom-made shoes. Shirts in a pattern seen nowhere else. And then he opens his mouth, and out comes Irish bar, genius lawyer and Mafia don.

Reading the book, you always felt better when Tommy Killian was around. His Rolodex was the world. He kept score. He knew how to get things done. He was that ultimate attorney --- the fixer.

'Bonfire' was satire. Tommy Killian is real. His name is Edward Hayes. You may know that name from 'Bonfire' --- Wolfe dedicated the book to him. Or from television; he co-anchors 'Cutler and Hayes' for Court TV. Or, if you follow high-profile cases, you may even know him as a lawyer.

'Mouthpiece' is, on one level, why Very Important People like Si Newhouse and Anna Wintour and Sean ('Diddy') Combs reach out for Eddie when they're in trouble: When you hire Eddie, he's not just in your corner --- he's in your opponent's face. It's personal with Eddie: "You screwed my friend. And now you will pay."

Why is he like this? So charmed and amused is New York by Eddie Hayes that no one ever stops to ask. Now we have 'Mouthpiece' and no one will need to ask --- a book that could have been only about cases and celebs is also an unflinching memoir of a awful childhood, a life spent trying to overcome it, and, at last, an effort to change.

How the book starts: Eleven-year-old Eddie in a dark basement. Why is he there? His father is drunk and raging. And now, in the gloom, Eddie is to shine his father's shoes. The boy's silent response: "I'll show you." He'll be the best, have the best. Including shoes.

That's the Prologue. How the book actually starts: "I learned as a child not to expect to be loved for myself." Then what are you loved for? What you do for people. Your utility. A harsh-real-world philosophy. And, of course, the hole-that-can-never-be-filled philosophy of the abused child.

Thanks, Counselor, for sparing us the entire grim childhood --- a little goes a long way. And then the changes start. The unaccountable admission to the University of Virginia. Learning to be a campus pol. Figuring out the favor bank (see the opening of 'The Godfather'). Columbia Law. And then, instead of a corporate job, a stint in the prosecutor's office in the Bronx.

Eddie Hayes, as a young male adult. Frightening. The guy runs five miles each morning, does hundreds of pushups, works all day, chases Dominican women all night. He doesn't drink, he doesn't do drugs --- no matter, this is one hopped-up guy.

In the Bronx and, later, as a defense lawyer, he comes to see that "most of the time, law is about power." Not justice. It's who you know and how well you know him and can you reach out to him when you need him. And now we're in the part of the book that's a romp: the rise and rise of Edward Hayes, with one bigtime client after another and a great girlfriend who becomes an even greater wife and vacations with the likes of DeNiro.

And then the client from Hell. The Warhol Foundation. Which shows him just how much of the law really is about power and how Edward Hayes, a nobody Catholic pretender from Long Island, does not really have so much power as he likes to think. But does the phoenix rise from the ashes? A no-brainer. Eddie Hayes is a Terminator. You knock him down, you hurt him, he gets up. And then he makes you very, very sorry.

Fifty years of this --- it takes a toll. And that's the surprise of the book. Eddie Hayes deals with it. Yeah, he's tough. Tough enough to get help. Tough enough to work on being a better husband and father. And still tough enough to kill for his clients.

Eddie Hayes pushes buttons. He's an agitator. Prepare to have your expectations of the law challenged and your personal codes questioned. All in 280 pages

Excellent book. Portrays both the personal and professional life of Ed Hayes in two parallel tracks which help the reader understand what motivates this very successful attorney to will victories in his cases.

The book goes into equal and elaborate detail describing both Hayes' difficult childhood and his legal career which began as a prosecutor in the South Bronx and eventually morphed into his current prolific, high profile, and legally diverse practice. Hayes provides a glimpse into the inner workings of his cases from an "out of the box" perspective i.e. the ways in which politics and the media can often decisively impact the outcome of a case.

"Mouthpiece" is a compelling, entertaining, and well written book.

Better time spent elsewhere - not that well written because I thought the 'hard punching' style of the 'hardscrabble' attorney Hayes was a 'put on'. Anyone around NYC with access to high level politicians, who gets high profile criminal and civil cases is a 'member of the club' as opposed to a rough and tumble Irish kid 'fighting the system' as Hayes portrays himself in this book.

I titled my review as people who don't live in New York City think that people as Hayes is portrayed in NYC exist - they don't at least the real ones don't go into Court in 25k custom suits.

What I enjoyed - there were so many lower class Irish kids in Queens that went through what Hayes did - with fathers that never came home from combat in WW2 right - it starts off with that and Hayes is touching when he talks about what happened to he and his mother over the years at the hands of his father. You do get an open door into a slice of Queens/Long Island life spanning 40 or so years - that is interesting. Hayes got out - this was a guy who had to go away to college. Over his life - Hayes gets involved in some 1960's disturbance over the Vietnam War but does not say why. He hangs around with a criminal element in bars in downtown Manhattan and as a result starts building his practice. He hangs around with the typical 60's radicals - doper diaper babies, etc. - calls each one his clients every day for a time - no doubt Hayes worked like a dog those early years.

Hayes now ended up walking into Court in 25k custom suits and, from working his fingers to the bone, amassed quite a lifestyle - but the 'street kid' portrayal failed. He is still trying to play up his time with the District Attorney's Office prosecuting criminals as proof of his blue collar Queens middle class 'cop' status - it fails.

I would have read something else - I can't recommend it.

Loved this book. This is a real life story about a can-do , refuse to lose personality. I found it quite inspirational

If the famed Joseph Mitchell - the best American writer whose best work profiled guys like Eddie Hayes, a dashing lawyer who lives on the matchete-edge of the New York underbelly - was still alive and writing for the New Yorker he may not have captured the lawyer as well as this book did. As a former New York crime reporter who moved in the same circles as Hayes, I love the way Mouthpiece tells the story behind the most notorious stories. It's a must read. Michele McPhee, former Police Bureau Chief of the New York Daily News.

An insightful, worthy, read... "narrative" from a man who fights the good fight and wins...and keeps on winning which encourages one to keep on reading! I appreciate Mr. Hayes' pluck,and look forward to the rest of this New York lawyer's story.

I tried to stop. I failed. I didn't sleep all night and the next night after that, rushing home from work to find out what happened next. Irreverent, brash, honest....and with a touch of something special that sets this memoir above the rest.

If you aren't familiar with the name Edward Hayes, you should be. He not only led one heck of a life but he pulls no punches in describing the reality of being an attorney for clients as diverse as Andy Warhol (handling estate matters) and the Mafia cops case. He is tough, outspoken and not willing to water down the reality of his job. In short, he doesn't try to make things prettier than they are. There is plenty of grit in this writing. I loved it.

If you are put off by plain speaking, including some clearly stereotyped viewpoints of certain cultures and ethnic groups, then consider yourself forewarned. But if you are willing to listen to the uncensored voice of a guy who grew up street smart, you may find yourself actually learning something from the experience of reading this book.

By the way, the intro is by Tom Wolfe and there is a blurb by Robert DeNiro as well. Recommended by two very diverse guys with, presumably, very different tastes and values. Those recommendations were enough for me to buy this one...glad I did!