The Dead Lawyers Journal

The Dead Lawyers Journal is a Young Adult legal thriller set in Philadelphia. Teenaged Matt Taylor wakes up late one morning, refreshes his browser and is shocked by the Yahoo caption that his favorite uncle was the alleged perpetrator of a mass murder-suicide at his law firm. Matt, with the help of his estranged half-brother and an attractive tax attorney attempt to find out what really happened to Matt’s uncle Mick. The Dead Lawyers Journal takes place in a world where mass shootings are common. Matt Taylor is already known for his role in uncovering the truth behind an incident at his old high school known as the “School Bus Massacres.” The Dead Lawyers Journal explores the implications of a world that has largely come to accept the inevitability of such occurrences and a society that values the façade of safety and order over the truth and the revolutions that are possible once it is in the hands of the people. Matt Taylor’s perspective is complimented by that of his older brother Nolan in the form of journal entries Nolan writes. Nolan, Mick and Nolan’s girlfriend Lisa all attended law school together. Mick and Lisa went on to successful careers at prestigious firms. Nolan was laid off after a brief stint at a lackluster firm and has yet to recover emotionally, mentally or financially. Nolan’s friendship with Mick also abruptly ends at this point. Nolan’s journal entries are dark, thought-provoking and sorrowful. But there is more to his journal than just Nolan’s reflections. As a therapeutic exercise Nolan painstakingly crafts a plan to kill every lawyer at his old firm. Matt Taylor is very isolated. He is a high school student living on a college campus. His mother and uncle are white. His father and half-brother are black. Matt is the product of the finest schools and prefers to exist in a world where the President looks just like him and race places no significant factor in his life. Matt is forced to confront the role that race still plays, particularly in high-powered law firms when he steals his brother’s journal to look for clues about his uncle. He also inadvertently discovers his brother’s blueprint for a massacre nearly twice the size of the one allegedly perpetrated by his uncle. Matt is aided in his quest by Lisa, and Julie the freshman who lives across the hall from his parent’s cramped faculty-in-residence dorm room. Matt is attracted to Lisa and wonders why she continues her relationship with his older brother given his plethora of issues and inability to hold a steady job. Both Matt and Lisa have trouble fitting in what happened to Nolan within their particular world-views. Lisa feels bad for Matt although she never particularly cared for his uncle. Lisa’s world is dominated by one thing: the billable hour. She knows that most attorneys fudge their timesheets but Mick was notorious for it. As far as she is concerned what happened to Mick was inevitable. Lisa is also the only other person aware of the journal Nolan keeps. When the murders in the journal are executed and there is nobody left at the scene with a self-inflicted gunshot wound Lisa becomes the only person Matt can trust with what he knows and what the implications of that knowledge might be. Nolan writes Matt two letters entitled “How to Have a Successful Legal Career” and simply “Prison.” The first should be read by anyone who is considering law school or knows someone who is considering law school. The second should be read by anyone who has ever been incarcerated or knows someone who has been incarcerated. Nolan is acutely aware that his brother does not consider him a source of mentorship or brotherly knowledge. Nolan wants Matt to be less concerned with Mick’s death and what he does not know and more concerned with Mick’s life and what he does not choose to accept.