The Partnership: A Novel [Paperback]

Steven J. Harper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2010

Debut novel from the author of the true-crime award winner "Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster's Story" "The Partnership" opens a window into a secret world. A mysterious death, illicit romantic liaisons, courtroom drama, and crises of personal conscience frame a titanic struggle at the nation's most lucrative law firm. A twenty-first-century legal thriller with a twist, "The Partnership" reveals what happens to rich and powerful insiders as the business school mentality extends its tentacles across a once-noble profession. The themes resonate; "The Bonfire of the Vanities" still burns.

Albert Knight has reached the pinnacle of power as one of the "magnificent seven"-leaders of the international legal powerhouse Michelman & Samson. Only one step remains: Knight and his archenemy Ronald Ratkin are front-runners to replace the Executive Committee's retiring chairman. Knight and Ratkin were once best friends, but that was long ago.

Despite their twenty-year animosity, each has embraced the firm's transformation to a bottom-line business and the stunning wealth it produces. As the price of success, they endure and inflict profound personal damage along the way. When gifted trial lawyer Ronald Ratkin's $100 million client defies protocol by interrupting the sacrosanct Executive Committee meeting, all seven attorneys are suspicious. The news, Ratkin suspects, could upset his ongoing billion-dollar trial, send stocks plummeting, and destroy his client, his law firm, and his personal wealth. But the wily Ratkin has a foolproof plan. Or will his own greed and that of his fellow partners undo him?

***
Praise for Steven J. Harper's "Crossing Hoffa":

"One of the Best Books of the Year" -Chicago Tribune

"Gripping, tender, and intriguing" -Scott Turow

"A tale of mystery and intrigue . . . unique and personal" -Booklist

"Tightly woven and gritty . . . poignant and personal" -American Lawyer

"Riveting eyewitness history . . . Bravo!" -Charles Brandt

"A must-read" -Prof. Steven Lubet

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There are mysteries behind mysteries, betrayals beyond betrayal, and clever plotting that keeps the reader turning pages and wondering...."
--Gather.com (Sheila Deeth) (gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978355049#comments)

"An exciting thriller; highly recommended." --Midwest Book Review

"PICK OF THE MONTH:  The Partnership reminds us of why we love John Grisham novels involving lawyers...Mystery and thriller readers will get their money's worth with this novel." --Alan Caruba (bookviewsbyalancaruba.blogspot.com/)

"A great read. Harper...weaves together such an intricate tale with such amazing detail the characters come alive."
--Authors Reading (authorsreading.com/the-partnership_66.htm)

About the Author

Steven J. Harper is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University and a regular contributor to "The American Lawyer (AM LAW DAILY)." In addition to "The Partnership," he has written two non-fiction books: true-crime award winner, "Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster's Story" (a Chicago Tribune "Best Book of the Year") and "Straddling Worlds: The Jewish-American Journey of Professor Richard W. Leopold."

His award-winning blog is "The Belly of the Beast" (thebellyofthebeast.wordpress.com).  

Steve is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. For thirty years, he was a litigator at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, a large law firm that he joined upon graduation from Harvard Law School. He received combined B.A. and M.A. degrees in economics from Northwestern. He and his wife have three adult children and live in suburban Chicago. Visit his website at stevenjharper.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Steven Harper (April 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0984369104
• ISBN-13: 978-0984369102
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #654,573 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven J. Harper is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University and a regular contributor to "The American Lawyer" ("AM LAW DAILY"). His latest book is "The Lawyer Bubble - A Profession in Crisis" (Basic Books/Perseus, April 2013).

In 2010, he published his first novel, "The Partnership" -- a legal thriller. His award-winning blog is "The Belly of the Beast" (www.thebellyofthebeast.wordpress.com), which the editors of the ABA Law Blawg chose as one of the best blogs of 2010.

In addition to "The Lawyer Bubble," he has written two other non-fiction books. "Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster's Story" (Borealis Books/Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2007) received the Chicago Tribune's award as one of "BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR" and won honors at the LONDON, NEW YORK, HOLLYWOOD, and NEW ENGLAND BOOK FESTIVALS. It's the true-crime story of his father's two-year tangle with Jimmy Hoffa from 1959 to 1961.

"Straddling Worlds: The Jewish-American Journey of Professor Richard W. Leopold" (Northwestern University Press, 2008), chronicles the life of a mentor who was a leading educator and historian. Harper wrote the book while spending every Sunday morning with Leopold during the final two years of his former professor's ninety-four-year life.

Harper is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and retired recently after 30 years at a large international law firm, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, which he joined upon graduation from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude). He received B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa and with distinction) and M.A. degrees in economics through a combined program at Northwestern University.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars How Not to Measure Attorney Merit July 7, 2010

By Justin Donoho

Format:Paperback

This page-turning thriller is a must read for any law-firm attorney including those of us who rarely read fiction, because it is great fodder for non-fiction discussion. Amid the quick-moving plot and interesting characters, the detailed focus is on how not to measure attorney merit for purposes of promotion within a law firm. It is a fast read at only 260 pages, but also dense with nuggets of the author's obvious wisdom from decades of experience in big law.

I give it only four stars because personally I rate highest only those novels whose main characters are heroes, not scoundrels. But as far as dystopic novels go, this is a five-star gem right up there with Brave New World and 1984, at least for those of us who practice law. One can only hope that Mr. Harper will write the sequel depicting utopia.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Future of the Legal Profession June 18, 2010

By Steven Lubet

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"The Partnership" presents an unsettlingly accurate picture of life in large law firms. Steven Harper shows how stress, ambition, and the bottom-line profit motive can combine to distort the practice of law, making many people very unhappy in the process. And he does it while telling a page-turning story about the struggle for control of the executive committee of a fictional firm. Although the picture is sometimes bleak, there is hope. Harper himself is a veteran litigation partner, and he weaves in the good examples of lawyers who maintain their sense of professionalism and manage to practice law with dignity and integrity.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling glimpse of life inside Big Law June 14, 2010

By S. Marmor

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Partnership gets a lot right about the way Big Law, as "Above the Law" calls major American law firms, operates at the dawn of the 21st Century. It captures the ways in which, at mega-firms, money has become the primary marker of value, respect and power at the expense of collegiality, personal life and intellectual honor. Happily, however, this is not a dry pamphlet but a compelling and entertaining story surrounding the battle at a big firm for leadership of the "Executive Committee." It also is a bit of a legal thriller, for good measure. Lawyers who have practiced in this world will recognize what Harper describes; for young and aspiring lawyers, it is a cautionary tale about the trade offs of entering this world; and for non-lawyers, it is a glimpse of a world you're probably happy not to inhabit.