Nicholas O’Reilly was a partner in a large New York law firm, Williams Gardner & Schmidt. He went places with this company and had a lot of prestige even though he knew that this type of company was a ruthless company. He had many friends at the firm. Nick felt very close to a lawyer, Evan, at the firm, but there was another lawyer who was there to criticize every move Nick made, good or bad. Phil was one of those guys who loved to cause trouble with his words and deeds. Phil had a slightly higher position than Nick within the company and he loved to assert that fact. Evan and Nick dreamed of once having their own firm that would handle many in the entertainment business as their clients. But in the meantime, forward and up to where they now worked.
At a firm meeting, Nick was selected to start a new pro bono department for the firm. Williams Gardner & Schmidt decided that they needed more good publicity and felt that this free work for individuals or organizations that could not afford lawyers would place them very well in the public eye. However, your work for billable clients may not be affected by pro bono clients. Nick’s first client was Dawn Nelson. Dawn was a beautiful young woman, the mother of a young son, who was having a horrible time with her husband. She wanted to divorce her to get away from all the physical and mental beatings she was taking from her husband, but she couldn’t afford a lawyer. Through a local organization, Drew found Nick, even though Nick had never handled any type of domestic dispute law or any pro bono work. As with most firms, it was a rule that no personal contact between clients and attorneys that could be construed as sexual or too personal would be allowed. After several meetings, Nick and Dawn had very strong feelings for each other and did their best to avoid any contact that could be seen as inappropriate, but things didn’t end that way.
Nick was called before the firm’s management and criticized for his conduct and for causing Dawn’s case to blow up and escalate when everything should have been over and the divorce final. Legal authorities censured Nick and, of course, he was fired from the firm. Nick was devastated to lose his job and the position he had worked for so long and done such good, solid work, but even though he felt he was not to blame for such actions with a client, Dawn, he could see how his time and place with her might have caused her downfall. The board imposed a two-month suspension from the practice of law. This caused Nick to spin in circles and spin his wheels to determine his future. The suspension gave him time to get to know Dawn and her son, Jordan, who grew happier every day, and to reflect on what his future might be.
Before long, Nick got a call from Evan telling him that he had done what they had discussed years before by starting his own law firm to handle his entertainment clients and expand the roster. Nick was elated, but he couldn’t legally do this job yet, but he did everything he could to help the new company grow, and it grew fast.
Then came the talk of a wedding, a honeymoon, another baby, a new home, and with the business growing, finances weren’t an issue. Things were going great until Nick started feeling sick. He hadn’t been feeling well for a while, but he blamed all his work and the old company’s problems. He continued to work hard, enjoy life and look forward to the wedding and their future together.
The Life O’Reilly is a story that I am very excited to have read. I really didn’t know what to expect when I started the book. I thought it would just be another good lawyer story, but I never expected the story that Brian Cohen told me. I felt very connected to this book. Many times we say that we had read a book that we could not put down. Trust me, The Life O’Reilly was one you won’t be able to put down until you finish it. Excellent writing style that contains an excellent plot. thanks brian