Edition 59

An intriguing movie based on true events. A story that brought DuPont, one of America’s Fortune 500 companies to its knees holding them guilty of environmental pollution and malfeasance.

The movie portrays the real-life struggle of Robert Bilott, an environmental lawyer championing the cause of chemicals polluting the environment, humans and other beings.

Robert Bilott (played by Mark Ruffalo), is a hot shot corporate attorney. A chance meeting with his farmer friend in West Virginia leads Bilott to know of unexplained deaths of animals and scores of sick people. The friend believes that such deaths are directly the outcome a chemical / effluent being discharged from DuPont’s chemical manufacturing units into the neighbourhood. The friend asks Bilott to defend him in the case. Reluctantly, Bilott agrees to defend the case.

However, on thorough investigation and gathering scientific evidence, Bilott is convinced that DuPont has been releasing toxic chemicals / effluents into the neighbourhood. Perfluorooctanoic acid (also known as “C8”) accumulates in the body over a period causing multiple cancers. Then begins an epic class action lawsuit with Bilott defending a large group of common people directly permanently affected by such toxic effluents. After a long legal and relentless battle that nearly ruins Bilott’s family life and his peace of mind, he succeeds in getting justice. Robert Bilott wins multi-million-dollar settlements for the affected people as damages and compensation.

In 2017, DuPont and its merged company Chemours Co agreed and settled to pay $ 671 million in cash to settle thousands of lawsuits involving a toxic chemical leak. A victory of justice. Take a bow Robert Bilott.

Every avid reader would have read at least a couple of novels of John Grisham. His readers are not limited to lawyers or advocates only. In his list of over 30 novels (and counting) is this legal thriller.

Published in 2019, the novel deals with the imprisonment of a coloured man. Quincy Miller is a black man who is wrongly convicted of cold-blooded murder of his lawyer. He is sentenced to life in prison. Nearly two decades later, he writes a letter to the “Guardian Ministries” – a small well-intentioned organization. Headed by a former priest, Cullen Post, the objective of this group is to scout for wrongly imprisoned convicts / inmates and go all out to defend them. When Cullen Post chances upon Miller’s request and interacts with him, Post is convinced that Miller is indeed innocent and embarks on a journey of truth. From Miller’s “confession” to a planted weapon and even Miller’s wife testifying against him, Cullen Post unravels that Miller was a scape goat and there was conspiracy and cover up at the highest level to murder the lawyer. Read the novel to know more.

An American legal drama series, this series had a screen time run of a little over a year from March 2018 to May 2019. The series focuses on brand new lawyers appearing both as prosecution and defence lawyers in southern New York Federal court. Each episode depicts their journey – professional and personal. From defending a juvenile in a detention centre to bringing to court a crime lord, witness the trials, tribulation, and triumphs of these passionate lawyers.