Not Too Shabby (Barrister Tales From Ed's Breakfast Emporium)

Not Too Shabby (Barrister Tales from Ed’s Breakfast Emporium) is a delightful collection of thirty short stories told against the backdrop of six attorneys who regularly meet at a diner outside of Boston for Sunday breakfast, small talk, and discussion of the cases they have handled. The group is comprised of practicing attorneys, each approaching sixty years of age and nearing the final stages of his or her legal career. The stories they share with each other at Ed’s Breakfast Emporium are varied, vibrant, and highly entertaining, and they teach valuable lessons about what it means to be a lawyer. From a teenage girl’s civil commitment hearing for allegedly burning down her house, to the lawsuit brought by a casino against a compulsive gambler who won big after being banned from the premises, the attorneys discuss cases that are both serious and humorous. Many tales touch upon topics with broad social implications, such as the right of a bisexual man to make a donation to a sperm bank, neighbors’ objections to a residential alcohol treatment facility coming into their neighborhood, and the legal ramifications of a doctor prescribing a sexual surrogate for a troubled teenage boy. Always eavesdropping is the diner’s proprietor, Ed, who has derisively dubbed them “the Barristers,” and who often offers his barbed criticism of how each Barrister handles the case he or she is relating. Unlike most lawyer fiction, Not Too Shabby does not involve sensational crimes, but rather civil cases, which the reader learns can be just as stimulating and suspenseful as criminal cases, and just as challenging to lawyers. As the stories unfold, readers experience the many difficult practical, moral, and ethical decisions lawyers must make when representing their clients. Readers also get an up-close look at the creative process involved in trying civil cases. A book that will forever change the way you look at lawyers and civil cases, Not Too Shabby is sure to appeal to anyone interested in learning more about the legal profession and the trial tactics and strategies lawyers use, as well as to anyone simply looking for a good read.