The Rainmaker

My father hated lawyers.

All his life.

He wasn't a great guy. He drank

and beat up my mother, and me, too.

You might think I became a lawyer

to piss him off, but you'd be wrong.

I'd wanted to be a lawyer since I read

about civil rights lawyers of the 60's, -

- and the amazing uses they found

for the law. They did the impossible:

They gave lawyers a good name.

So I went to law school. It pissed my

dad off, but he was pissed off anyway.

In my first year, he got drunk and fell

off a ladder made by his own company.

He didn't know who to sue first.

He died a couple of months after that.

Some of my classmates knew they'd

be going from school to top law firms, -

thanks mostly to family connections.

My only connections were made in

the bars I worked in to pay my tuition.

I still had plans to shine the light

of justice into every dark corner, -

- but I needed a job, badly.

There's too many lawyers in Memphis.

This city's infested with them.

I don't think so.

What can be more embarrassing than

admitting you work for Bruiser Stone?

I mean, he's a lawyer, and they call him

"Bruiser". That's how desperate I am.

- Shut the door.

- No, not that. Not that, either.

Sure. Let's make it my house.

I pity the FBI technician who'll have to

extract the data from that conversation.

Live sharks in a lawyer's office.

It's a joke, get it?

- So Prince, is this the law student?

- Yes. I just finished my third year.

Couldn't you use him here?

I'll vouch for him. The boy needs a job.

He's tended bar at our clubs.

This would be a great place

for you to work, Rudy. A great place.

You'd see what real lawyers do.

It ain't exactly a salaried position.

- It isn't?

- My associates pay for themselves.

They generate their own fees.

Talk to me.

- How exactly does that work?

- You draw a thousand dollars a month.

You keep one third

of the fees you generate.

If you can't cover your draw at the end

of the month, you owe me the balance.

- Do you understand?

- Sounds fair to me, Rudy.

You'll make a lot of money.

That's the only way I operate.

And I'll get you a lot of good cases.

I have cases.

One is a will I'm drafting for an

older woman. She's worth millions.

My other case is an insurance case.

Great Benefit. You heard of them?

- You got these clients signed?

- I'm on my way to see them now.

- I helped them before, at a workshop.

- I want you to talk to Deck Shifflet.

He used to work with the big insurance

firms. He handles the big stuff here.

Deck!

- You got the paperwork on this stuff?

- In my car.

Hey, good-looking.

This is Deck Shifflet.

He'll get you plugged in.

Draw up a lawsuit against

Great Benefit, and put my name on it.

- We're gonna file it today.

- Thank you.

- You're gonna learn a lot.

- Rudy, I'm glad you came here.

- You're making good choices already.

- Close the door on your way out.

If there's somebody in an office,

you can't have it.

This is the bathroom.

Sorry.

- Are you an associate here?

- Sort of. Actually, I'm not a lawyer yet.

Bruiser asks me to review

the insurance cases.

I used to work for Specific Mutual.

I got sick of that, I went to law school.

- When did you finish law school?

- Five years ago.

I'm having a little trouble with

the bar exam. I sat for it six times.

- When do you take yours?

- In three weeks. It's that hard?

Yeah. I took it a year ago,

I don't think I'm gonna take it again.

This is Bruiser's library. If you want to

use the fridge, put your name on stuff.

Put that in for me.

Daisy, I made a mess here.

Pick that up, huh?

What happens when you go to court?

I haven't got caught. There's so many

lawyers, they can't keep up with us.

- Bruiser owns all this.

- Oh... nice.

You can't call it a firm,

it's every man for himself.

You'll learn.

- Are you moving?

- Evicted.

Here's the policy.

- What do you think?

- This is the armpit of the industry.

- What are their grounds for denial?

- They first denied it on principle.

Then they said that leukaemia, as a

pre-existing condition, isn't covered.

- Have all the premiums been paid?

- Every one, according to Mrs Black.

This is a typical debit insurance scam.

The blacks call it "streetsurance".

- So what do I do?

- You sign them all up.

- To J. Lyman Stone.

- All right.

- I'll help you on this one.

- Thank you, I appreciate it.

There's nothing more thrilling

than nailing an insurance company.

Mrs Black, Rudy Baylor. I'm handling

your case against Great Benefit.

- I met you at the law workshop.

- Come in.

I'm sorry about them crazy dogs.

I thought you was a Jehovah's Witness.

- Where's Buddy?

- In the car.

- Where's he going?

- Buddy isn't going nowhere.

He ain't right in the head.

War injury. Korea.

He could walk through a metal detector

buck naked, and the thing would go off.

- He's got a plate in his head.

- Oh... that's awful.

- How's Donny Ray?

- Well, good days and bad.

"Plate in head".

Maybe I can meet him later.

Great Benefit first denied your claim

last August, -

- when Donny Ray was diagnosed.

Why wait till now to consult a lawyer?

Stupid, I guess. I just kept writing them,

and they kept writing me back.

This here's the latest one.

"On seven prior occasions

we have denied your claim in writing. "

"We now deny it for the eighth time.

You must be stupid, stupid, stupid. "

"Sincerely...

...Everett Lufkin,

vice-president of Claims. "

- I don't believe this.

- You're the lawyer...

Mom says nice things about you.

She says you're suing those bastards

over at Great Benefit.

- Gonna make them pay, huh?

- That's right.

- Hi, Mama.

- Hi, honey.

Before we can file the claim,

I need all three of you to sign this.

- Is Daddy coming in?

- Well, he said he wasn't.

- Some days he does, some he don't.

- This is a contract.

- What's in it?

- The usual. It's standard language.

It says you hire us to represent you,

and we take care of the case for you.

We handle any expenses

and get one third of any recovery.

- It takes two pages to say all that?

- Don't light that.

No wonder I'm dying.

- All three of us have to sign it?

- Yes, ma'am. Where your name is.

- He said he wasn't coming in.

- Then take the pen and go out there.

I guess I could...

Buddy, you got to sign this paper,

so Donny Ray can get his operation.

Or I'll throw that damn bottle across

Union Street. Now sign the damn thing!

You must think they're crazy.

They're nice folks.

Hey, man...

Your nose is bleeding.

Mrs Black!

Hold your head up.

It's okay, I got it...

Put your head back.

Oh, sweetie.

You'll be all right.

I got it.

- I got to...

- You're gonna be all right.

- Where's the paper?

- You can wait.

- No, I want to do this now.

- Okay.

All right, you can do it.

Go ahead, you're doing it.

Ms Birdie? It's Rudy Baylor.

Who is it?

It's Rudy Baylor.

We met at the law workshop.

Oh, yes! Come in.

- How are you doing today?

- Fine.

- I want to talk about your will.

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